My most interesting appointment at PAX East came on Day Two of the show. I received an email, I believe a few weeks before the show, to see if I was interested in checking out what OVR Technology was showing at the show. I read the email, and I was intrigued by what I read. It appears that OVR Technology wants to use scents and smells to stimulate the player's mind. I wasn’t sure what to think about this because there have been a few brave few try using smells to get gamers thinking in the past and failed. Will OVR Technology be able to smell the future?
I mentioned previously that I didn’t know what to think going into this presentation with OVR Technology. I met with Dave Stiller and Sam Wisniewski, the co-founders of the company, and it was a very interesting meeting. I was picturing a headset-like device that would go on your nose. If you’ve seen the Futurama episode with the Smell-o-scope, that’s kind of what I was thinking this device would be. The Omara Sent Display is a device that emits a gentle breeze when needed, which smells like something is going on in the game. For the demo, we played a Minecraft mod that showed the basics of the Omara. The Omara works with Bluetooth as well as being plugged into a USB port. I believe Sam and Dave want the Omara to primarily be Bluetooth-powered but are flexible. What I found fascinating is how the smells are implemented into the game. You get a scent cassette that comes with sixteen scents that help the gamer be one with the game they’re playing. You can download the connecting application that goes with the Omara to make your smell-sperience better. Before I sat down, I thought the Omara would be overpowering and too strong. I’m happy to say that it does a great job in not overpowering the player, as well as not trying to knock the player off their chair.
Now, let’s get into how the Omara works with Minecraft, the game I played during the demo/presentation. If you set something on fire or use a flint, you’ll get a dark/smoky smell every so often. If you were in the Boston Convention Center Thursday morning, you may have smelled something inside. That’s similar to how the Omara works, but the smells aren’t as strong as the burning smell. There was a smell when it was raining. There was a smell when you jumped into water. There was a smell when it was chilly. You’ll also be able to interact with things in the environment and get hit with smells. Feed a horse apples and you’ll get a smell that is going for apple-like and a little horsey but not overpowering. None of the smells were overpowering, which is a great thing because if these smells were too strong, it could be a make-or-break feature for the Omara. I was told the Omara is planned to come out at the end of the year, near the holiday season. I asked if there would be a Gingerbread smell planned, but nothing yet. You can preorder the Omara now on the OVR Technology website. They would eventually like the Omara to be sold in stores, but right now, it’s only on their website.
This was a very interesting meeting, as I left impressed with OVR Technology and the Omara. This is going to be a piece of technology you’ll want to keep your eyes, or your noses, out for!