Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality (AR): The Perfect Second Screen for Final Fantasy XIV

AR and VR have been on the forefront of many people's minds for quite some time now; ever since the Oculus Rift made it big that VR was an idea that was no longer caked in fiction and was finally becoming a real piece of kit. Now, VR has taken the limelight as of late, but it seems AR is creeping back up in terms of popularity; part of the reason being just how you can implement its use into video games – without needing it to be the one and only focus.

One of the first games to try and make the jump into implementing augmented reality into an MMO is Square Enix's Final Fantasy XIV. This is only a proof of concept at the time of writing, but it quite clearly reveals how AR can be used as a perfect second screen to keep the game and its UI immersive and entertaining, all while being rolled into one. The way it works is when you wear a secondary peripheral – such as the HoloLens – it will project certain menus like your hot-bar within an area around you; acting as a second screen that doesn't technically exist outside of that one peripheral you wear.

For the time being the idea isn't exactly flawless, especially with its implementation into FF14, but it demonstrates that a second screen that exists only in an augmented reality is a great way to improve the experience of both MMO's and games in general. With this idea hopefully getting fleshed out a little more in the oncoming years, it will lead to more and more improvements for MMO's that do decide to make use of the AR feature. While it may not seem quite as flashy as VR does, it does a tremendous job of relaying small amounts of information to the player on the fly without filling up the player's main area of view.

UI design is already a key point of development in any game, but when you use it in AR it would require some extra attention, just so when you look around a little more it doesn't start swinging about in front of the main screen. However, even with the possible shortcomings that can come along with AR, the potential that it could also bring with some high-end UI design could mean that when gamers are about to settle down for a raid – almost every single thing you could want on your display is within eyeshot, without getting in the way of the action.

With some time, effort, and attention spent into designing and developing this idea a little more predominantly, it could allow for seamless interaction between the secondary peripheral (screen) and your main PC screen. For instance, if you're suddenly thrust into battle for one reason or another, you could quickly click and drag a window away onto the second screen to get it out of the way of the action. Hell, to go much simpler on that, with all your extra menus thrown onto the second screen; if you've got just one thing you want to focus with on your main screen; simply flick your secondary peripheral, like a pair of glasses, onto the top of your head and focus on what matters for a little while.

Looking at the use of AR right now is rather on the limited side and it might take some time before we start seeing it more commercially for games; especially so in the case of MMO's. Even with looking at the small progress it's made in the past couple of years, it just goes to show that the addition of AR on a secondary peripheral could make so many leaps and bounds for video games in the future and shows that it could soon be the perfect secondary screen for players if it continues going in the direction it's going right now.