Novelist Neal Stephenson joins Magic Leap to figure out future of games

Magic Leap, the stealth-mode start-up behind the mysterious wearable computing / VR technology called Cinematic Reality, has hired best-selling author Neal Stephenson as its chief futurist.

Stephenson's novels have generally dabbled in technological change, even while detailing the past. He wrote Reamde, a thriller about an MMO game and the company that created it. More recently, he was involved in a failed project to launch a game called Clang, pitched as a realistic sword-fighting simulation.

"Magic Leap is bringing physics, biology, code, and design together to build a system that is going to blow doors open for people who create things," said Stephenson. "Anyone who reads, watches, studies, or plays on screens today is going to enjoy and benefit from the results. I've never seen or heard of a company that brings scientists, engineers, and artists together in the way that Magic Leap is doing and I'm excited to be part of it."

Earlier this year, Magic Leap hired Graeme Devine, best known as the creator of The 7th Guest, as its head of games.