Goodby, Silverstein & Partners (GSP) has decided to develop a virtual ping pong tournament in order to build up excitement for the Google+ Hangout platform. Thanks to the recently released Hangouts API, GSP’s virtual ping-pong tournament will rely on a unique way of controlling the ping pong paddles in there, through the clever use of facial recognition as well as Hangout effects that are more than capable of tracking players’ head movements. Someone who does not know what is happening on the outside might think that folks indulging in a little bit of virtual ping pong might think that they are high on some sort of newfangled drug or something.
Actually, the technology will enable just about anything to ‘stick’ to the user’s head, which means the Hangouts API offers a fairly sizeable opportunity for brands to develop games of their own, while throwing in branded accessories which will literally be front of the player’s mind. How’s that for product placement, hmmm? The creativity of human beings never cease to amaze me.