The platform supports popular tabletop games such as Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, and Starfinder.
The mixed reality gaming company Mirrorscape has just launched an open beta for its one-of-a-kind Mirrorscape app, which allows users to play their favorite tabletop RPGs through a first-of-its-kind 3D tabletop gaming experience powered by augmented reality (AR) technology.
So far the company has partnered with various tabletop gaming industry leaders, such as Dwarven Forge, Reaper Miniatures, Hero Forge, Norse Foundry, Death Save, and Fat Dragon Games, to provide fans of tabletop gaming with a more authentic and unforgettable gaming experience than you could ever imagine.
Mirrorscape has been working on this for a long time. Aside from mobile devices, the company is also developing its platform to support a wide range of AR headsets and glasses, including the Vision Pro from Apple and the Snapdragon Spaces platform from Qualcomm. The company noted that it was thrilled to unveil the Mirrorscape app, which is available for both iOS and Android devices.
With so much excitement building up around Mirrorscape, Grant Anderson, the company’s CEO, took a moment to thank everyone who helped make the platform a reality, telling GameBeat: “The support Mirrorscape has received in building our platform has been thrilling to see, and we thank every one of our users, backers, developers, and partners for their contributions to the future of tabletop gaming.”
Unlike other companies in the virtual tabletop space, Mirrorscape features robust building capabilities that are integral to the core experience. Game masters can create an animated world of their own dark and twisted dreams using just the tools provided by the company.
The app comes with a free starter kit, which includes several maps and various structures you can use in your custom games, such as doors, caverns, and cobblestone floors. At the moment, Mirrorscape features 50 maps in total which you can purchase through the store’s build tab. Other digital items, such as terrain and miniature figures, can be bought starting at 99 cents.
If you are a Hero Forge user, you can link also your digital minis to the game for absolutely free.
Mirrorscape supports open play of various popular tabletop games, such as Paizo’s Pathfinder, Starfinder, and, of course, Dungeons & Dragons. This allows players to interact with the game pieces and other individuals in a similar way they would in a physical setting.
When it comes to technology, gaming, and fantasy worlds, Anderson brings a lot of experience to the table. During the 1990s, he worked on the design and development of QuickTime VR for Apple. He then worked on creating Star Trek: The Next Generation — Technical Manual, an interactive VR walkthrough of the Starship Enterprise. Anderson would eventually move to Los Angeles where he would work on the visual effects for various movies, such as Titanic, Spider-Man, and The Matrix.
Since then, he has spent the last nine years focused on the AR and VR gaming space while always holding on to the roots of fantasy tabletop games. “We’ve been working in AR and VR now for about nine years, which is insane. And all the while I was thinking, in the back of my head, I was also an avid tabletop game player. So I’ve been playing Dungeons & Dragons since I was seven,” said Anderson.
Mirrorscape has gained more than 4,000 active users in its open beta, and the company’s funding from its fans on Kickstarter has helped it grow even further by over $400K. The money that was fundraised will be used to support and continue developing the game engine and other XR projects.
Mirrorscape’s COO Donald Bland noted that the resurgence of tabletop gaming can be attributed to the increasing interest in games like Pathfinder and Dungeons & Dragons. He also noted that the company’s technology could change how people interact with their favorite titles.
When playing Mirrorscape, you have two different playing modes. One of these is AR, which allows you to interact with the virtual world in your real-world space. The other is 3D, which allows you and other players to explore a virtual world through rooms such as “Forge’s Tavern,” which offers up a nice fireplace where you can sit and enjoy a mug of mead. You can also check out “The Hall of Heroes,” a shrine to those who have died in battle.
The two different versions of Mirrorscape come with a POV mode, where players can enter the world and look at the world through their characters’ perspectives.
During gameplay, a game master can add an engaging atmosphere by letting players use their AR device to go outside and explore the real world through POV mode, kind of like Pokémon GO.
“Imagine all the players actually meeting up in person and going outside,” McIntire said, painting one possible scenario. “The gamemaster can watch from inside as they walk around his dungeon, and he narrates in their headsets, ‘You start to smell burning sulfur, death, and decay.’ And they walk around the corner and see zombies moving towards them.”
One of the most interesting features, according to the Mirroscape team, is the gamemaster’s ability to hide certain areas of the map using AR technology. For instance, if a game master wants to keep a monster away from a certain room, they can tap on it and watch it disappear. According to Donald Bland, the company’s next step is to allow users to create 3D versions of their own handwritten maps using their smartphone’s camera.
Other interesting additions include a messaging feature and a journal that keeps track of one’s dice rolls. The company is also working on adding various effects to the app, such as lightning bolts.
According to Anderson, the concept of Mirrorscape came to him during the early stages of AR technology’s development. He noted that it was the perfect way to create a tabletop gaming experience that would allow players to connect with their friends.
One fan is True Blood actor, Joe Manganiello, who also serves as Mirrorscapes’s creative director. “I am both excited and invigorated to be a part of the Mirrorscape team,” said Manganiello. “Through their technology, I have seen the future of gaming and entertainment, and I am incredibly passionate about getting it into the hands of the public. It is going to blow minds and change everything!”
Feature Image Credit: Mirrorscape
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