There isn’t much longer to go until sci-fi cans will be able to see the highly anticipated “Star Wars” film, and if they own one of the el-cheapo Google Cardboard gadgets, they’ll even get to experience a virtual take on Star Wars sooner rather than later.
That’s because this week, the team at Star Wars is revealing an app developed by the creators of the franchise — Lucasfilm — and its ILMxLAB studio, a department focused on furthering effects and interaction in the digital motion picture realm.
Google and the American mobile service provider Verizon have apparently helped out too, and their efforts have culminated in a virtual reality addition to the regular Star Wars app that is designed to benefit anyone with a Google Cardboard, or something close to it, such as the View-Master made for smartphone.
When the app is run, you’ll find a “Jakku Spy” option on the menu, and when played with a Google Cardboard-based device, you’ll find you have small increments of a mini Star Wars experience for you to take part in.
Worth noting is that you’ll need to check on this daily (or totally at the end) to see how the experience is going because Star Wars is rolling this one out in trickles, delivering section by section of the 360 degree video experience in segments.
The first one appeared less than 24 hours ago, and the next one will appear in then next day, and there’s even a countdown on the app telling you when it will drop.
When it does, however, you’ll be able to pick up where you left off, slotting the phone into a cardboard viewer and looking around you, experiencing the world of Jakku from the upcoming “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” complete with a rolling BB-8 in front of you.
And if that doesn’t whet your palette, you just need to know that even old Star Wars fans will appreciate elements of what we’ve seen.
You don’t really need a Google Cardboard gadget to watch this either, so don’t think it’s a requirement. Viewing it in VR will need one, sure, but if you want to watch it in standard video, an option for smartphones and tablets will be provided, just make sure you click the phone or tablet icon rather than the one that looks like a VR headset.
In any case, Star Wars fans will see this as part of the “Star Wars” app on iOS and Android, though we’re sure Star Wars fans are already there, clicking download as fast as they can.
