Slingshot Effect Introduces Hyde, a Real World Cross Between Crystal Maze and Portal

Video games are always evolving in one manner or another. We have the HoloLens from E3, virtual reality, and so much more than just the basic console and PC gaming. We have entered the "post-modern" era of video gaming.

Slingshot Effect, based in Bristol, are unveiling their latest game, titled Hyde. This game is a combination of Crystal Maze and Portal, utilizing an entirely new concept.

What's the concept?

Players will be battling their way through a dynamic maze that responds to bio-data.

Based somewhat on the story of Jekyll and Hyde, Hyde invites players to take part in experimental trials of a new drug, brought to you by the Jekyll Corporation. What the new drug does is modify the capabilities of the human body, giving people the power to control the environment. Donning wearable tech, people must navigate through a maze of connected rooms, using new powers to conquer puzzles.

Technology that links bio-sensors to players will be used in order to trigger actuators such as locks, lights, and motors. What the player must do is to control their heart rate, breathing, and posture to trigger the actuators to progress.

Furthermore and interestingly enough, Hyde is a "smart maze," which tracks players throughout and adjusts effects and difficulty based on the progression of the player.

Simon Evans, co-founder of Slingshot, stated in regards to the concept:

"We are incredibly excited about this project; it will be unlike anything else people will have experienced before, a kind of 'Crystal Maze meets video game Portal' experience. Imagine a game that can track your emotional state. It'll be a real-life psychological thriller, where what people imagine is far more terrifying than what they see. It will be a horror of the mind, drawing people to the thing they fear most. We are looking forward to hearing all the ideas the Kickstarter Community has about what that might be and to receiving their contributions to its development."

"We have put together a number of packages that will enable funders to not only get exclusive access to tickets for the opening weeks but to also participate in the design and development process. For example, the 'Lab Rat perk' will allow players to come to the maze during development and be wired into Hyde to offer up their bio-data to help us test and [give] feedback on the experience. And the 'Mad Scientist perk', where funders can help us design one of the rooms in the maze and get credit."

It sounds a tad creepy, but at the same time, curiosity-piquing and highly innovative. Well, the maze has been recently awarded acceleration funding from the REACT Alumni Scheme to help market the powerful idea, but the studio has posted a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign on June 18th, with a goal of £50,000 or $78,047. The design and development will begin soon after the ending of the campaign, with user testing being held in August and September. Tickets for opening day will go on sale in February 2016. The game expects to be open between late March and early April of 2016, in an undecided location. If you'd like to back the project, you can go to Slingshot's official Kickstarter page here.