Gaming is heading in a new direction. Where once photorealistic 3D worlds were the future of gaming, the Wii phenomenon heralds something new: a world where gamers get out into the real world.

Locomatrix is a new digital game publisher with a mission to bring gaming back to the outdoors. The brainchild of Brighton entrepreneur Richard Vahrman, Locomatrix have partnered with Future Platforms to bring this vision to life.

This is no blue-sky dream: the first working prototype using mass market technology was built and tested at the end of 2006, and we're now working on a full production version.

• The game is built in Mobile Java and can therefore reach most handsets on the market today
• It uses standard matchbox-size GPS units, available from several mobile accessory retailers
• The game communicates with the GPS unit over Bluetooth - again available on most mobile handsets on the market
• A "game designer" allows players to create their own games

The prototype is a multi-player game. Gathering in a field with a mobile phone and a GPS unit each, players hop into the game and then start wandering around the real-world playing field, picking up letters and bringing them back to a home-cell. As the team progresses, they see their letters come together to spell a word.

It's a simple collaborative game that can be set-up very easily in any 30x30 meter field or park; but it's enough to demonstrate the fun of outdoors digital gaming. Even better, it shows that it can be delivered through widely available technologies - the mobile phone and a GPS dongle.

We are now working in the next phase of Locomatrix. Get in touch with us if you'd like to get involved or for a demonstration.

Read more about our work with Locomatrix