Oculus released optical hand-tracking on Quest as an experimental feature late last year, and ever since developers have been showing off their own unique and creative ways of integrating users hands into VR. Yet again we look at developer Daniel Beauchamp for inspiration on the future of XR design, as he’s put together a literal mini-version of Beat Saber (2018).

Beauchamp has been busy creating plenty of quick-fire prototypes over the past few months, with three in particular that have caught our eyes lately. He seems to have a knack for making fun and interesting game concepts that, for the lack of a better word, are absolutely bonkers.

However Beauchamp’s latest work, called Miniature Beat Saber, not only gives us a peek into the future of AR games, using a virtual commercial jet interior as a backdrop, but it also somehow recalls the olden days of flash versions of the popular dancing game Dance Dance Revolution too.

Check out the video below, as Beauchamp slashes away at incoming blocks with his mini finger lightsabers, presumably while he waits for the virtual chicken and pasta tray and a 33cl can of Heineken.

Beauchamp, the Head of VR and AR at e-commerce company Shopify, actually does his public prototyping on his personal time. Speaking recently with Road to VR, he revealed his design philosophy, emphasizing that quick and silly is his personal path to creating new things.

“One of the best ways to unlock new & powerful ideas is to build upon silly ideas. That’s what I’m doing with hand-tracking. Rather than starting with ‘How can I build a useful product with hand tracking’, I play around with many little ideas that bring a smile to people’s faces. They may seem random, but I’m learning a lot about what’s possible with the tech and interactions that could be applied elsewhere,” Beauchamp said. “I wish more VR devs did this. Don’t put the burden on yourself to build out a whole game or build out a whole product. Build many small things, no matter how silly they may seem. You’ll be surprised at just how much you learn.”

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And it doesn’t get much more silly than cleaning up your virtual blocks after playing.

Quest hand-tracking is expected to eventually leave its experimental status behind and become a full-blown feature on Quest, and other VR headsets are likely to follow, making the time ripe for developer experimentation ahead of implementation.

If you want to see more madcap creations from Daniel Beauchamp, make sure to follow him on Twitter for all things hand-tracking.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 4,000 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • VRagoso

    AR is a useless gimmick. Convince me otherwise.

    • AR will be bigger than phones

      Tell us how you felt about computers in the 90s again
      AR isn’t ready for today, but it will dominate tomorrow. There is no upside to holding a phone and there never was.

    • kontis

      The biggest fight in the smartphone world right now with billions invested is the bulkiness / screen size factor (all the folding phones are just that). AR can make that factor infinite. IMAX everywhere. Game Over.

      • VRagoso

        Folding phones are an unecessary gimmick.

    • Regis Souza

      The use in training and troubleshooting is something that I’m looking for to become mainstream. e.g. Imagine if your car broke down and you can have a virtual mechanic helping you figure out the problem, with the hability to see what you are seeing and mark things of interest in your vision, it would be cool.

      • Dan Lokemoen

        You can’t repair your car with virtual tools, and a technician in your ear is going to cost the same as a technician doing it for you. “OK, now lift the engine block out of the car.”

        • ComfyWolf

          Tech support telling someone what’s probably wrong with their computer over the phone doesn’t cost as much as having someone come out and personally fix the computer, so why would virtually helping someone fix a car cost as much as having someone personally come out?

    • ComfyWolf

      AR at the very least has creative applications, imagine designing a skyscraper and instead of spending time building a model you can look at the model on your desk, scale it to any size, maybe even head outside and see what it would look like in the actual build location.

    • Ad

      AR allows all light VR applications with less friction than VR could do, and is probably better for more social applications. A lot of the crowd of people who hate VR being about games don’t see that the applications of VR they’re talking about will work better on AR.

    • anony

      if you really think ar is a useless gimmick then youre probably the dumbest person on the planet. Any person who is told about overlaying visual data onto what you see in the real world, instantly can see millions of uses and benefits….

      please stop talking if this is how you think because im afraid youre just too stupid.

      • VRagoso

        I´m stupid, I wanna play AR in the airplane.

    • TechPassion

      AR will be good to watch virtual tv and browser web while resting in your armchair

  • Ad

    I expected it to have you holding imaginary sabers, or pens for tactility. Honestly as soon as someone can make a version of beat saber for AR, I think it will replace the one in VR. It’s strange how many people push these very light experiences for VR that you know will be more popular in AR. As in, if you play beat saber in your AR glasses, will you bother playing it in VR?

  • He is a damn genius. Nothing else to say

    • Theresa J. Lampert

      My acquaintance demonstrated me the way in which she was averaging over $4k /monthly by doing this work she found from the internet… The greatest benefit of doing the job through the internet is that I am always home with the little kids and also I conveniently move out on trip for a long period. I got genuinely fascinated and decided to go for it… Now I feel very graced she demonstrated me this, and want to advised it to any individual to try it… This is just what I do> earn18kmonthly.vksq.com

  • Looks nice. Can I get this game App?