“Magic: The Gathering (Hereafter MTG)” is the world’s first trading card game released in the United States of America in 1993. It is manufactured and sold by “Wizards of the Coast LLC (Headquarters: Renton, WA. CEO: Chris Cocks. Hereafter “Wizards”)”, the world-famous creative game company. Now, many MTG sets are translated into 11 languages and attract more than 40 million fans and players in over 70 countries and territories worldwide.

“Magic: The Gathering Virtual Art Exhibition” was held from February 18th, 2022 in the virtual reality space based on the world of Kamigawa in commemoration of the release of the latest set “Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty”. It is centered around the card illustrations designed by 83 talented artists, which include Tetsuo Hara (manga artist for “Fist of the North Star”), Yoji Shinkawa (art director of Kojima Productions), and Katsuya Terada (the character designer of the “Kamen Rider W).

In addition, it also exhibits about 200 items, including behind-the-scenes material from the Wizards of the Coast Development Studio World Guide and original animation from Japan.

ambr was in charge of planning and developing this exhibition. In this project, we designed the concept of the virtual art exhibition and aimed to create a new way of artistic experience in virtual reality. Talking about the development process, we built a unique app customized exclusively for this exhibition using xambr, our metaverse development product.

In addition, we collaborated with Wizards’ US headquarters team for the planning and development and targeted the Asia Pacific region (*excluding some areas), which made this the first global project of ambr.

■Features of the Exhibition

<Getting Inside the Art of Magic: The Gathering>
This is Neo Kamigawa, where Japanese mythology and technology has merged. 1200 years have passed since we last visited this plane. You can step into the concept art of “Towashi” and “Boseiju”, and enjoy the art exhibition that encompasses the city.

< Grab & Play: New Genre of Art Experience though Virtual Reality>
By grabbing the artwork, it will be enlarged in front of you, surrounded by behind-the-scenes rough sketches, against the background of the Kamigawa world. The actual card design also appears in the lower right and artists’ comments in the lower left. In Virtual Reality mode, you can also hold and see a card in your hand and look at it from various angles. Unlike most exhibitions, it enables an immersive and complex experience that stimulates your senses.

<Interactive Experience that Brings Life to the Artwork>
Summoning the legendary “Dragon Spirit” from the card and seeing it in your very eyes is speechless. This is not just a 3D animation, but makes the world and story of Kamigawa into something compelling and powerful when combined with the power of your imagination.

<Communication>
“Octagonal Pavilion” is an information center and a community space for people to get interested in “MTG” and for fans to interact with each other. Players can choose to display their MTG proficiency level, mana preference, and ARENA ID all on their nameplate. It helps everyone to find a topic to start a conversation even when they meet for the first time.