Ex-Mass Effect Director Joins Microsoft For HoloLens

Ex-BioWare veteran Casey Hudson has joined Microsoft as a creative director to work on "HoloLens, Xbox, and other awesome projects."

Hudson, who was project director on the Mass Effect series and worked on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, will be reporting directly to Kudo Tsunoda.

He will also be relocating from Edmonton, Canada to Redmond, Washington.

According to Hudson, he will be primarily working on HoloLense, Microsoft's augmented reality technology, which he is "particularly excited about."

"As Creative Director at Microsoft Studios, my primary focus will be the creative direction of HoloLens Experiences," he said.

"I was fortunate to try an early prototype of HoloLens before it was announced, and I was blown away by the technology and what it was already capable of.

"Walking on Mars while sipping coffee in an office setting, Skyping with a friend who can draw on the walls of my environment, sculpting an object in 3D modeling software while a hologram of it sits on a table next to me... These first experiences cemented my belief that holographic computing was where I needed to be," he added.

"I was blown away by the [HoloLens] and what it was already capable of."

Casey Hudson

"There’s no end to the potential of this technology, and I look forward to being able to influence the full-spectrum experience on HoloLens, from hardware to OS, to applications and games."

Hudson announced his departure from EA-owned BioWare in August 2014, calling it "without a doubt the most difficult decision of [his] career."

HoloLens was first announced in January 2015 and is an augmented reality experience for both PC and console, and it is achieved through wearing headset with a built-in GPU and CPU. According to Microsoft HoloLens is the "most advanced holographic computer the world has ever seen."

HoloLens features see-through HD holographics, spatial sound that allows users to hear sounds all around them, and has advanced sensors that can capture environment information.

Microsoft distinguishes itself from other similar head-sets such as Sony's Morpheus and Oculus Rift by "delivering a mixed reality of both [the] digital world and [the] real world."

"We are integrating holograms into the world around you--transforming the ways you create, connect, and explore. We hope holographic experiences on Windows 10 will help drive continued innovation in this category."