Moto X owners have a quirky, unusual piece of interactive animation to try out today. The Motorola Spotlight Player has been updated with a short story called Windy Day, which gives users the ability to explore and follow the ensuing narrative by moving their handset around in the physical world.
The tale revolves around a small mouse called Pepe, who wants to retrieve a fashionably orange, sombrero-like piece of headgear. It’s been written by Jan Pinkava, co-director of the Pixar film Ratatouille, and uses the same graphics standard implemented by the famous computer animation film studio.
The app’s description in the Google Play store reveals a little more about how you can interact with the story and Pepe’s various adventures:
“Unlike a conventional film, we’ve given you control of the camera so you can explore. Every viewing is a little different. Look around – there are surprises where you least expect them. It’s fluid and natural because we adapted the controls from those used for precision planetary landings.”
It’s a wildly unorthodox piece of fiction. Motorola says it’s not a film or a game, and on initial inspection we think they’re probably right. This is interactive entertainment, blending augmented reality with a moving graphic novel.
Motorola teased Windy Day earlier this month on YouTube, but needless to say the video did very little to explain what the app (and resulting user experience) was all about:
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Going back further though, Windy Day popped up during the UPLINQ 2013 held by Qualcomm in September. Dr. Regina Dugan, a Senior Vice President for the company, showed some early footage on-stage. If you don’t own a Moto X, it’s undoubtedly the best way to understand what Jan Pinkava has been able to achieve.
If you have a Moto X smartphone, the app should already be installed on your device. Just tap the miniature orange sombrero on your home screen, sit back (or stand up, depending on how involved you want to be) and let the magic unfold.
➤ Motorola Spotlight Player™ (Android)
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