Miru Studio develops and publishes innovative video games based in San Sebastián. Its first product is the "Finger Gun", based on virtual and augmented reality, where the user turns his hands into a gun using Hand Tracking technology. This technology is hand-tracking and Miru Studio wants to specialize in that company. In this interview, Manex will talk about Miru Studio, Hand Tracking technology, video games, and entrepreneurship, among other topics.

What is Miru Studio?
In short, it is an innovative video game studio. We play virtual reality and augmented reality games with a little twist. This tour involves the use of hand tracking technology, or Hand Tracking technology. What this technology does is allow you to interact with the virtual world in which you are immersed in virtual reality or augmented reality, with your own hands, without having to use external controls.

We create experiences through video games for these technologies, and we try to make these experiences as accessible as possible to attract the general public and help them experience virtual reality, augmented reality and hands-on technology in the most natural way possible. We develop and publish video games.

How did you come up with the idea?
The idea came to us 2 years ago, before the state of emergency was declared, and it came naturally. We identified some very interesting opportunities in this particular virtual reality market, and one of them was Hand Tracking technology. There are many possibilities within virtual reality and augmented reality, including gaming with this technology, and we are focusing on this technology of Hand Tracking, because we see that it has many possibilities. The idea arose from the discovery and development of this opportunity.

What kind of video games do you develop and publish?
It is best to explain it with an example. The first video game we're developing and releasing is called "Finger Gun." "Finger Gun" is a very simple video game and at the same time very special, in a way that allows me to live this experience that we all wanted to live from childhood, that is, to shoot, putting your hands like a gun, pointing your finger forward looking up and thumbs up.

What we do through hands-tracking technology and virtual and augmented reality is immerse you in a virtual world in which you can interact with that virtual world by gesturing your hands in this way.

How to play "Finger Gun" and similar games? What equipment is needed?
Through virtual reality or augmented reality glasses. People are wearing virtual reality goggles and are already immersed in this virtual world. We make this distinction with other video games that are now on the market because Hand Tracking is one of the first studios to develop this technology, which puts the user on glasses, immerses them in the world, and needed some control to interact with that immersed virtual world. Now, with this technology, you don't need a driver. You can simply interact with your hands.

What should a person interested in playing "Finger Gun" do? How can this be achieved?
You need to buy some Meta Quest 1 or 2 glasses, which are the best quality glasses and which are revolutionizing the market. To get a quick idea, 5 years ago you needed an investment of 3,000 euros to have virtual reality glasses at home with a computer, cables, and now with Meta Quest you have your glasses without any cables, with all the computing power in the glasses for 300 euros.

So you need to buy these glasses and then our game. The glasses themselves have their own platform, as if it were an Apple Store, where you can buy the game.

What are casual video games?
It’s a way of driving our own experience that we develop. One studio may develop a video game with a very clear orientation for a very lively experience that requires full concentration of the player or user, and another studio may focus its work on developing a much more casual video game. For example, mobile games are called hypercasual because they give you a few minutes of playability. We could call old arcade video games much more casual, like Mario ... These types of games that don't require immersion in the game are called casual.

And you have chosen this line, right?
Yes. We try to develop games that are accessible to everyone, that offer a unique experience, that we do with Hand Tracking technology, and that are aimed at very informal experiences.

What is the current state of the video game market?
It’s a complicated world. There are many myths about working in this industry. It is a very pure, pure industry, it requires a lot of work, the production periods are long and the people in general work a lot. In addition, the industry tends to be highly competitive, especially in traditional video games.

What happens is that in augmented reality and virtual reality there are many opportunities to get into it now, and in our case, to embark on it. In this sense and from that point of view, opportunities exist. In any case, the industry is very open and very different. In the video game industry in general, people are very open, very diverse, both the people who work in the industry and the industry itself. And I think that also adds value to make people feel comfortable and more comfortable, despite the great work that it requires.

What can you tell us about the world of virtual reality and augmented reality?
Both industries, in my opinion, have suffered the misfortune of being announced as “The Next Big Thing” in recent years, the next technological revolution, which I believe has done more harm than good to the industry. People in general are very skeptical about these technologies, as the beginnings of this technology transmitted something that is not really. Virtual reality began in the 80's, but people have very bad memories of that time.

Technology is advancing, and right now, what these glasses can do is awesome compared to what they could have done 5 years ago. And in that sense, I believe that even if it can have bad publicity, it goes to a point where more and more people want to enter the market, which will be able to remove the prejudices that more people may have about virtual and augmented. I think what people can do is give their grain of sand and give them another chance to move forward with this technology, and remove any prejudices they may have about this technology if they have ever tried it, and tried it, because it is truly a unique and unique thing.

Before you change the subject, would you like to say something about your work?
In short, the virtual and augmented reality market is growing exponentially now and is expanding very fast. Many opportunities are emerging and one of them is Hand Tracking technology as an interaction in the virtual world, which is an opportunity that Miru Studio is taking advantage of to structure its business.

What is the best and worst of entrepreneurship?
For me, like Eneko and I, if you’re a person who wants to start a business, but you don’t know that you want to start a business, the best thing you can do is talk to people who have started a business. What I mean by this is that Eneko and I wanted to carry out our ideas, our projects, and we never knew what entrepreneurship was, until we had a chance and got to know some of the people who guided us.

My recommendation is that if you are a person who enjoys doing your projects, moving your ideas forward can be a way for you to become an entrepreneur. It’s not an easy path, not everyone can do it, and that’s true. Eneko and I have been lucky enough to be here, among many other things, including hard work, of course, but luck is key to getting to where we are. "If you want, you can" is a myth I would like to dispel.

With this, I wouldn’t want to de-sanitize anyone who wants to take action, nothing could be further from the truth. For me, embarking on this is an incredible and precious thing, and I can’t thank life any more for choosing this path. I encourage everyone who wants to do it to try it, if they can.

So what advice would you give to young entrepreneurs?
If you are already in this world, meet as many people as possible, whether they belong to you or not. Knowing the different experiences is essential for you to make good decisions about what to do, because in the end, many of the things you will face are things that other people with more experience than you already know. So talking to them is almost like cheating on video games (laughs).

Do you think that a business today needs to be in the digital world to be successful?
One way or another, indirectly, yes. If you are a person who loves wood carving and want to start a craft business around wood carving, of course you need to be in the digital world if you want to reach more people. If you want to reach your target audience, you need to be digital. This does not mean that you have to build your business around digital, but that you need to exist in that world if you want to incorporate multiple people.

What are your plans for the future?
In the short term, we are preparing for the release of "Finger Gun" right now and hope to be successful. In the short to medium term, we are preparing for the next game, and I can't say much about it, but we will continue in the line I mentioned, and in order to develop and launch this video game, "Finger Gun" and "Finger Gun" In order to consolidate the know-how we have created by developing, we have opened an investment round of two million euros, which we hope to close in September.

Finally, how would you encourage people to play Finger Gun?
If you have virtual reality glasses and are reading this in May or June, please send an e-mail to our website (www.mirustudio.eu) or info@mirostudio.eu, and we will try to access the Betatester channel. If you are reading later, you can also buy them in any virtual reality or possibly augmented reality stores.
www.mirustudio.eu