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Portal in Microsoft's HoloLens looks like the best demo ever

It's the first time I've actually wanted one.

Sean Hollister Senior Editor / Reviews
When his parents denied him a Super NES, he got mad. When they traded a prize Sega Genesis for a 2400 baud modem, he got even. Years of Internet shareware, eBay'd possessions and video game testing jobs after that, he joined Engadget. He helped found The Verge, and later served as Gizmodo's reviews editor. When he's not madly testing laptops, apps, virtual reality experiences, and whatever new gadget will supposedly change the world, he likes to kick back with some games, a good Nerf blaster, and a bottle of Tejava.
Sean Hollister

Microsoft 's HoloLens headset isn't a toy. There's no release date for a consumer version, and the current oh-so-limited-but-awesome development kit costs US $3,000 a pop.

And yet, I've never wanted to play with a HoloLens more. That's because Toronto developer Kenny Wang figured out a way to use the HoloLens to bring Portal to the real world.

Portal, in case you're unaware, is the famous video game from Valve where you use a "portal gun" to escape a hilariously deadly laboratory by solving space-bending puzzles. You place the two portals (one blue and one orange) anywhere in the game environment, and no matter where they're placed, one is connected to the other.

Only now, Kenny Wang can place those portals in his real-world surroundings, merging the real and the virtual. His virtual Companion Cube rolls down real stairs. It shoots out a virtual portal and lands on his real dining room table.

It's not the only cool thing Wang has built with the HoloLens, either: Check out this augmented reality Pokemon demo, complete with voice commands:


Wang, a recent college graduate still looking for a job, tells me the demo took a few weeks "on and off" to make. He says he's already been approached by a few people from Microsoft about his recent creations.

Watch this: We spent 90 minutes with the HoloLens


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