HP Demos Mscape Location-Based Gaming Handheld

Technology company and hardware manufacturer HP has publicly revealed a prototype for its Mscape device -- a new handheld gaming platform specifically integrating location-based gaming with a GPS and other specialty features. Shown off on the Sci Fi channel's blog and via a YouTube trailer, the blog notes that the device's screen "acts kind of like a lens through which the real world is rendered just like a video game." "For example," Sci Fi says, "holding it up to a part of the street may reveal a virtual crater where the ground should be. It's not actually rendering the environment in real time; Mscape cues up the proper graphics when prompted by sensors on the device, including GPS." On its developer site, HP says the Mediascape project encompasses "mobile, location–based experiences that incorporate digital media with the sights, sounds, and textures of the world around you" that blends "digital images, video, audio and interactions with the physical landscape." There's no indication yet on when or if a specialized device and platform will be put into retail production, and the Sci Fi blog specifically notes that "HP gave no hint about when that might happen," but left the demo "impressed."