TROY, N.Y. (NEWS10) -- A Troy company has made it possible to actually drive your favorite Hot Wheels cars with a new mixed-reality video game. Hot Wheels: Rift Rally is a video game for Apple iOS and Play Station with a grip on reality.
Troy-based Velan Studios created the game for Mattel. It allows players to design a virtual car and then race it right through their living room.
“You have choices that you are making digitally that are actually affecting how the car moves physically throughout your world,” said game director, Dan Doptis.
The physical component is the Hot Wheels Chameleon. In the real world, it runs like an RC-style car equipped with a camera, but through the game, the Chameleon transforms into 20 different types of vehicles with more than 140 variations.
“Because we are mixed reality with this digital car we can do things that the real car isn’t actually doing,” said Doptis. “We can do various stunts like going up on one wheel.”
Doptis said Hot Wheels: Rift Rally is a nice compromise for parents concerned with too much screen time. “I think being able to get kids to be more creative to look at what makes fun is really what inspires them to want to seek out and become tinkerers,” he said.
Since it hit the market in March, the game has received great reviews. “To work on such a beloved brand and bring in new experience to that franchise is really exciting,” said Velan Executive producer Nicholas Roepp. With all of Velan’s success, the local company is hiring, bringing more people and more business to Troy.
“We’re dedicated to Troy and the Capital District community and we plan to stay here,” said Roepp.
Hot Wheels: Rift Rally can be purchased at www.riftrally.com, Amazon and GameStop.
