We're just hours away from the global premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The film already had its spectacular premiere at the Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles, and the rest of the planet eagerly awaits to storm the theaters. As expected, Disney and Google keep the hype alive with different developments, and the latest is Lightsaber Escape, an advanced Chrome experiment that turns your smartphone into a lightsaber.
The Star Wars universe is about to reach critical mass. Starting today, The Force Awakens will be presented in countries like France, Italy and Sweden, before jumping to Latin America on Thursday and finally debuting in Spain on Friday, in sync with US theaters. I'll probably wait a few days to see it. Why? First, I prefer screenings that minimize the amount of noise and children in the room (both factors tend to go together), and second, I have no doubt the film will be in theaters for months. What Disney has invested in advertising is terrifying, and it means placing the Star Wars franchise everywhere. The latest is a very striking Chrome experiment.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/LPd0w3pVQVIThe experiment is called Lightsaber Escape, and the player's goal is to escape the imperial forces using their lightsaber. The most notable thing is that it combines Google Chrome (version 47 or later) and other compatible browsers (Firefox 2, Edge, IE 11 and Safari 9) with a smartphone, so the mobile device can be manipulated like a lightsaber, thanks to its built-in sensors. After eliminating the Stormtroopers in the corridors, the player enters a hangar where they must repeat their defense. If they take too many shots, the game declares they've been captured. The 'boss', so to speak, is a Stormtrooper equipped with an energized staff, the same one seen in one of the trailers fighting Finn.
The experience lasts about five or six minutes (depending on the player's skill and how well the smartphone is calibrated), but it doesn't offer much replayability. According to the Lightsaber Escape FAQ, smartphone support is limited to a handful of models (Samsung, Nexus, iPhone and Motorola), it completely excludes tablets, and the minimum version for Android is 4.4.
