While working at Bioware, Casey Hudson made his name as the director of Mass Effect 3, though he left the studio in August last year. Today, Microsoft announced that he will be joining the company as its new creative director.
(This article originally appeared on Kotaku UK.)
His main focus is going to be on Microsoft’s augmented reality headset, the HoloLens. “I am extremely passionate about the potential of this kind of technology, as anyone who’s talked with me over the last couple of years can attest,” Hudson said in a press release. “I feel that the work being done at Microsoft on mixed reality and holographic computing will have a tremendous impact on how all of us interact with technology in the coming years.”
While we knew games were going to be a part of the HoloLens package, it’s exciting to see someone so explicitly from the games industry oversee the development of the technology.
When he describes the potential applications for the headset, however, games are literally the last thing he mentions: “I was fortunate to try an early prototype of HoloLens before it was announced, and I was blown away by the technology and what it was already capable of. Walking on Mars while sipping coffee in an office setting, Skyping with a friend who can draw on the walls of my environment, sculpting an object in 3D modeling software while a hologram of it sits on a table next to me... These first experiences cemented my belief that holographic computing was where I needed to be. There’s no end to the potential of this technology, and I look forward to being able to influence the full-spectrum experience on HoloLens, from hardware to OS, to applications and games.”
HoloLens won’t be his only focus. Hudson says he will be “involved in driving a creative focus for Xbox and Windows gaming” too.
I just hope he makes HoloLens Clippy a reality.
This post originally appeared on Kotaku UK, bringing you original reporting, game culture and humour with a U from the British isles. Follow them on @Kotaku_UK.