Google’s ATAP division, short for Advanced Technology and Projects, usually handles the kinds of projects that are a little out of the wheelhouse, even for Google. For that reason, the division tends to dedicate to something and push hard to make it a reality, or determine quickly that it should be dropped. Responsible for the genesis of things like Project Jacquard and Tango and still a bit raw from seeing former lead Regina Dugan leave for Facebook and former partner Niantic strike gold after separating from the company, it seems that the division is now looking to get into gaming. Job listings indicate that ATAP is looking to create an online multiplayer game of some sort, seemingly a cross-platform one.
Since the project has not yet been formally announced, to say that exact details are sparse would be an understatement. There are, however, a number of things that can be gleaned from the job listings that Google has up for the project. They’re essentially looking to fill a whole team to work on this game, which could indicate little input from the current ATAP leads, aside from direction and whatever special features would qualify this game to be called “the future of mobile gaming”.
The project will need the help of a designer, who will be responsible for most, if not all of the design direction, from producing storyboards to working with the engineers to make sure everything fits together nicely. Backend engineers will also be needed, and they will be creating and maintaining solutions that will handle large volumes of player data to support a large multiplayer environment. Naturally, traditional game developers are welcome on the project. With the nature of the project being as misty as it is, it’s hard to say if we will be seeing a more traditional MMORPG, another augmented reality game like Ingress, a virtual reality game, or something entirely new and different that’s unlike anything seen before in the mobile space. Google has thus far kept their lips tight in regards to the project, so all anybody can do at this point is wait to see if more details emerge or more specific job postings show up.