Paizo and “Extended Reality” devs Mirrorscape have announced a collaboration, bringing Pathfinder and Starfinder to AR. Mixed reality is a heck of a phrase. It doesn’t just refer to how it feels to live in Anno Domini 2023, but it also refers to both virtual and augmented reality. All of these phrases, which originated in sci-fi novels are real now and have been for some time. Augmented Reality or AR if you’re unfamiliar, is best exemplified in Pokemon Go, which maps digital Pokemon onto the real world. They show up through the lens of your camera.
And Mirrorscape will be doing that but for your tabletop RPGs. The platform, which is “extended reality” is an AR platform that brings a virtual tabletop to your real tabletop. Among other things.
Mirrorscape will be adding Pathfinder and Starfinder products to their platform, allowing gamers to bring their games with them wherever be it in person or over the information superhighway. Okay but what is all this? Actually? Well, according to Mirrorscape:
Mirrorscape is the first of its kind, a visualization tool that delivers an authentic 3D experience using the magic of augmented reality you already own on your mobile device. Mirrorscape has partnered with industry leaders like Dwarven Forge, Fat Dragon Games, Hero Forge, Reaper Miniatures, Norse Foundry, and Death Saves so that DMs/GMs and players can build and play with digital twins of the terrain, minis, and dice they love. Mirrorscape aims to be the platform for endless creativity and boundless play and recently joined the Open RPG Creative license (ORC) to allow for universal, system-neutral play and to encourage innovation and collaboration in tabletop gaming, especially user-generated content and “homebrew” campaigns.
In a nutshell, a virtual tabletop you can interact with right in the same spot. Mirrorscape will eventually even be compatible with AR glasses because it’s only a matter of time before those are a thing again. But what really seems to be their driving goal is the immersiveness of digital tools combined with the presence of physical space.
And it looks like they are all in on the ORC license, which is presumably why they will feature Starfinder and Pathfinder. Per Paizo’s Erik Mona, Mirrorscape has a lot to offer Pathfinder fans:
Bringing Paizo’s titles to Mirrorscape allows us to replicate the true-to-life, around-the-table experience that our fans have enjoyed for decades in an astonishing virtual experience, The team at Mirrorscape has dedicated a tremendous amount of time and effort into keeping the Paizo experience as realistic and original as possible on the platform, and we are thrilled to contribute to the growth of such a unique and exciting development in virtual tabletop gaming.
Want to know more? You can check out Mirrorscape for yourself below!
