'Sword Art Online' VR Project Releases Screenshots, as It Begins Alpha Testing
IBM Japan has started the alpha testing phase of its latest project "Sword Art Online: The Beginning." The company has also released some screenshots of the virtual reality massively multiplayer online role-playing game (VRMMORPG).
The alpha test, which is currently ongoing, doesn't have the standalone game yet, according to Kotaku. However, IBM does let participants experience the upcoming game's virtual environment at this point in development. Inside Games has gotten hold of the game's first screenshots of what "Sword Art Online" presently looks like. The "Sword Art Online" demo will end on Sunday, March 20.
A couple of Twitter users shared some images showing the current testing of the VR experience at an event in Tokyo, Japan. These social media users were lucky enough to have been chosen as among the 208 people to participate in the alpha testing event. Inside Games reports a total of more than 100,000 people applied to participate in IBM Japan's event.
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IBM Japan will start the VR experience by scanning participants in order to recreate 3D models for their avatars. Upon immersion, participants won't need any controllers, as they will be able to control their characters in the game by moving their body. This capability is made possible through IBM's Cognitive System, the company's next-generation computing system. The game also makes use of SoftLayer, the company's high-performance cloud system.
Series creator Reki Kawahara believes the project will offer "something completely foreign from any other video game experience," according to Siliconera. Kawahara also hopes it will have the community "wonder more about the future of virtual reality gaming."
"Sword Art Online" is set in a future when VRMMORPG is already feasible as a gaming platform. The year is 2022, and a number of gamers playing the game discovered they couldn't log out. The game has been adapted into a popular anime.
