Auki Interoperability & The State Of Matterless #5

Build 0.2 is on the way, different codebases calibrated into the same space have synchronized animations, and our animation pipeline is up and running. Read on to learn more.

Auki Interoperability

Three entirely different codebases (two mobile apps and a web app) are calibrated into the same space, all viewing the same art asset with synchronized animations.

Matterless is being built on the Aukiverse protocol, which creates peer-to-peer sessions of shared augmented reality. By using the Auki SDK, anyone can build a host of social AR experiences. What that means for Matterless is that you will be able to see your companions in shared AR with other Matterless Apps and potentially on ANY app using the Auki SDK. Eventually, we can truly create a whole world visible through the Looking Glass Protocol.

Art Updates

This week the Matterless creative team has been in full force producing 3D assets. After several weeks of concepting and defining the visual style for our companions, we’re pleased to present the first animal going through our own animation pipeline now, before entering the Matterless app. It’s a Shiba doggo!

Snow leopard concept with varying hues of fur.

We are also testing a few hue changes on the snow leopard sketch. In the coming weeks, we will be working on modeling out, texturing, and animating several other animal companions. In the meantime, here’s a sneak peek at the upcoming tiger companion:

Wild, but cute.

Entity Management

This week we added a new entity tracking system. This allows us to track and assign different types of interactions to items that a player will place down in AR. Your pet will be more aware of the world around it. This is a key step to adding an inventory feature in the next build.

Sound Updates

In terms of vocal phrases and accents for the voice of the pet, we recorded a few vocalists (who worked with BBC/Disney) and processed them using a reverse-engineered Wall-e sound algorithm. As a result of the processing, the vocals got a digital, yet still organic texture. However, this solution is not working, but we gained a lot of valuable experience in reconstructing an algorithm that inspired us so much! We’re already taking a different approach, and Dusko (our sound engineer) is crafting a new set of tools, something we can explore next week.

That’s it for now, see you in March!

— Jason, Product Manager, Matterless