The result of this collaboration is Helios (which translates
to Sun in Greek), a narrative mobile AR adventure that uses volumetric video (a
fancy word for modern 3D holograms) to give you a new perspective on mobile
entertainment. As you play, a thriller unfolds of a missing sister, a coverup,
a hacktivist who has double crossed the wrong bad guy and a young woman named
Petra Barnes. You must navigate the story by piecing clues together to gain
information and uncover the mystery. But let's not spoil too much.
"I started 30 Ninjas with Julina Tatlock and Jed
Weintrob for precisely this type of project and partnership with Verizon,"
said Doug Liman, co-founder and partner of 30 Ninjas. "We're drawing on
everything we know about making great entertainment and applying it to an
entirely new medium. One with that you carry with you everywhere. Given the
chance to build new worlds on the most powerful phones, untethered from home
internet: The Mobile Metaverse has limitless potential."
Your 5G phone is the portal to the metaverse. Players move
around an augmented version of their personal physical space (home, apartment,
office, street corner) to hack "glitches" in their space. As the
player hacks their way through the first level of information they unravel more
clues (audio, visual, and text) and discover the conspiracy goes even deeper.
Once the glitches are hacked they will unlock more narrative.
"Verizon and 30 Ninjas' 5G content collaboration blends
industry-leading storytelling with next-gen technology," said Erin
McPherson, chief content officer at Verizon. "We're thrilled to work
together to create a captivating interactive thriller that showcases the
evolution of mobile entertainment and the capabilities that we can unlock in
our smartphones on Verizon's 5G network."
Helios will deliver high-octane cinematic video content,
augmented-reality puzzle-solving and game mechanics, and lifelike 3D AR
characters that users can virtually interact with. The low latency and
high-capacity of Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband network will enable seamless
interactivity, fast download speeds, and high-quality visuals to invite the
user into a truly immersive narrative that expertly blends cinematic
storytelling with interactive gamification.
Helios will launch for Android and iOS 5G-capable
smartphones this fall.