Magly transforms a hotel into a fully interactive game world. Players can choose one of four different characters to play and move around the hotel to discover multiple objects and riddles. Their task is to solve the main puzzle and find the lost treasure.

More than augmented reality

“The technology we have developed is one step ahead of augmented reality (AR) solutions,” explains Michał Sawicki, one of the Magly founders. “We use moving, living objects, gestures and audiovisual effects. No glasses or mobile devices are necessary.

They are replaced by a smart controller which orients itself in space and is coupled with integrated cloud infrastructure to enable live synchronization of the game on different selected platforms, as well as back-up, progress tracking and player-to-player interactions.

“Our platform has been designed for scalability,” observes Michał Sawicki.

The developers wanted it to be universal and flexible, so that Magly could be effectively used as an educational game for children and adolescents, while at the same time being an attractive highlight for company training events. 

To explain easily how Magly works, it is best to resort to Harry Potter. Once they enter the game, players feel like at Hogwarts, a place full of moving, talking, magical objects.

Why hotels of all places? They are large, often with plenty of ambience and unique character, with lots of underused space, such as corridors or galleries. This creates the perfect conditions for the right space design.

Magly has been designed as entertainment for the whole family, photo: Magly

A boost to attractiveness and revenues

“Both researchers analyzing the tourism industry and hotel owners have emphasized the principal role of attractions as a criterion for the selection of a hotel by the tourist,” says Michał Sawicki. “Our model, created in consultation with hospitality experts, shows that hotels which implement Magly will increase their average annual occupancy rates by up to 6%, thus also increasing revenues.

Marketing will play an important role. Magly is more than a technical novelty created to attract visitors in the same way swimming pools and spas used to do. The students acknowledge the social potential of the project. “The hotel will offer an adventure for children and free time for parents, thus creating a loyal customer base,” expects Michał Sawicki.

Thanks to the service, the hotel will also increase its revenue potential, as it will be able to sell new merchandise and game time itself.

The road to success

Magly is being developed by five students: Filip Budny, Łukasz Kawka and Mateusz Korona of the Warsaw University of Technology, Michał Sawicki of the Warsaw School of Economics, and Piotr Juszkiewicz of the Warsaw University of Life Sciences.

They have been friends for a long time. Michał, Filip, and Łukasz were in the same class at the 3rd General Secondary School in Gdynia and met Mateusz and Piotr in their freshman year at university through mutual friends.

Magly has already achieved some initial business success. The project has completed the pre-incubation stage at the Warsaw University of Technology Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer Management and has recently qualified for the Unicorn Hub incubator program, which will accelerate its market launch and facilitate sales. Magly has also received the main prize in the “Generacja P – Herosi na Starcie” [“The P Generation, Heroes at the Start Line”] competition.

“We will complete the incubation program in January and we will ultimately apply for a grant in the amount of PLN 1 million,” says Michał Sawicki. “Then, with funding secured, we will finish developing the first game, which we are planning to launch on the market in early 2022.”

To find out more about Magly visit its website and Facebook page