Futuristic Hulu Series Will Get Its Own Google Glass Game

Hulu inked a distribution deal for four short-form series from Toronto-based video production shop Smokebomb Entertainment.

The Legends of the Hidden Temple-themed Unlikely Heroes, tween-oriented receptionist-turned-popstar story Totally Amp’d, coming of age scripted drama Long Story, Short, and sci-fi whodunnit State of Syn. That last one is the most interesting of the four and not just because it’s the only series of the bunch aimed at my demo (of older than adolescent and early twentysomething). It’s coming complete with a Google Glass companion game.

Smokebomb is partnering with San Francisco-based Mind Pirate and the Canadian Film Centre’s IdeaBOOST to create a State of Syn game for Google Glass that’s planned to “extend the digital series’ story into the Google Glass wearable technology realm.” Variety reports Smokebomb and partners will utilize Google Glass’s gyroscopic head gesture control to let users play the game by using their eyes and looking at objects on screen. In the game, the player will take on the “role of a ‘white hat’ hacker who must reclaim the identities of active operatives compromised in a cyberattack perpetrated by an unknown superpower.”

The full eight-episode season of State of Syn

is set to drop on Hulu January 18, 2014, while the companion game will come a month or two later. With the limited number of Google Glass owners (Variety puts the number of beta testers in the ballpark of 40,000), State of Syn creators certainly aren’t planning for the app to be a mainstream hit. Instead, Smokebomb, Mind Pirate, and IdeaBOOST are creating a usable proof of concept and publicity stunt (similar to the other Glass apps we’ve seen in the online video space).

Current Google Glass owners are a select group of influential early adopters eager to try out new things, especially on a platform where there are currently limited apps and options. A companion game to a sci-fi web series in which influential players must use a decidedly futuristic device should be a great way to generate some buzz.

If you want a peek at the possible future of entertainment, the first two episodes of State of Syn are currently available on YouTube (but you’ll have to wait until the Hulu release to watch the whole first season).