Lego toys are synonymous with innovation. Obviously, that’s by virtue of their explicitly constructive design. They haven’t let the connection escape them as evidenced by their constant reinvention, though to varying success. Released in summer of 2019, the Hidden Side series promised to combine the themes of ghost hunting with augmented reality, aka AR, gameplay. Ironic that a series about the living-dead was discontinued in only a year. Let this be its autopsy.
Right off the bat, there's the basic state of AR technology. Lego wasn’t about to include a smartphone with each set, so immediately it met a narrowed market. Even still, given that they were oriented for the ‘ages 7+’ demographic, there’s no guarantee the user is always allowed to use their phone, or borrow a parent’s, or have enough storage available to even download the necessary app. Similar concerns can even be made for adult markets. Sure, Legos have always been able to be played without the need of a phone, but it’s still obvious the experience is only partially activated. Nothing would hold this product back if this was a perfect world where VR technology was seamless. But technology just isn't quite there yet.
So, good for Lego. Good on Lego for accepting the potential for rapid obsolescence. Good on Lego for trying to figure it out before any Joe Schmo can do it just as easily. But what’s there to learn for the next go around? What wisdom does Hidden Side have to impart on future AR toys?
Well, one way to triage the potential absence of smartphone access is to include themes of AR in the product build itself. It’s not uncommon for Lego sets to include ‘light bricks’ which look like the typical block but contain pressure sensitive LED lights. Perhaps the color of the light projected could illuminate footsteps to follow, or shown through tinted, translucent panels to reveal a map. The set itself could be aligned in various ways so the beam can bounce off reflective surfaces. Or even just some holographic stickers as if painted portraits have come to life.
Credit where credit is due- the sets did have some AR themes built in. As a series about ghost hunting, the focus of revealing other-wordly energies was ingenious. Furthermore, because the camera requires ‘registration marks’ to recognize where to populate the AR content, those registration marks cleverly require turning dials and flipping tiles to reveal them. That approach makes the a-typical color of the marks hideable, yet consistent with the ‘hidden’ themes.
Adult Lego enthusiasts were originally excited for Hidden Side’s release. It’s rare for Lego to launch a series based on original intellectual property, as opposed to yet another Star Wars set. New series’ promise rare, original pieces. It also comes with the added pressure of succeeding in order to merit more original series’ being produced. Lego can't be faulted for lack of promotion. The series came along with two ‘seasons’ of web shorts and a Hallowen special. These animated videos fleshed out the personalities and plot of Hidden Side overall, making sure to distinguish itself from the Scooby Doo gang. The most valuable context they added was that the minifigures themselves used their own smartphones to reveal spirits, made possible by the ‘mad science’ technology of Dr J.B. Watt (named for Muder She Wrote’s J.B. Fletcher?). The idea that the figures themselves use smartphones helps to complete the illusion of VR- that the figures are seeing the same animations as the player, and that ghost-enabled tech is considered feasible at all.
The good news is that while Hidden Side sputtered, AR is far from gone at Lego. Series like Vidiyo and even Harry Potter have featured the technology. There have also been retail rollouts of in-store AR displays, such as an interactive aquarium. Lego has also approached digital gameplay from another angle through the Super Mario Bros series. Instead of VR, the Mario figures have built in screens that display points, timers, and other gameplay features- completely circumventing the need of a smartphone. Because it’s inspired by a video game, imbuing video games into the Lego versions makes total sense. But will Mario and Harry Potter’s comparable success tell management that only pre-established intellectual properties are worth a digital risk?
Hidden Side had an unanticipated feature. Or rather, its significance was unanticipated. The VR gameplay made it possible to play Legos with friends, remotely. That was obviously significant during quarantine. And yet, Lego video games (like Lego Batman or Lego Indiana Jones) have featured remote groups for years. Are those products any less Lego? Perhaps that’s where Hidden Side could try again. Perhaps if it started with a video game, and then real world sets could be made and scanned into the video game, the AR might feel more natural in translation.
So is Hidden Side dead? From a production standpoint, definitely. But the intellectual property simply remains undead, dormant. It could be resurrected at any time should there be a need for a Halloween special or major progress is AR. Perhaps it should grow with its audience. Lego could age the main characters to young adulthood and then target a more mature audience with readier access to gaming systems. And if they don’t then, then Hidden Side will live on in its rarity of pieces for collectors, haunted by a partial experience.
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