Hawaii-Five-0 and Heroes actor Masi Oka chats with ETonline at E3 about creating video game apps of his own.
ETonline stopped by the video game industry's biggest trade show to see the latest in interactive entertainment and talk with Hawaii-Five-O actor Masi Oka as he plans to create new games and mobile apps of his own. Check out the video above.
For three days each year, the ever-growing video game industry descends upon the Los Angeles Convention Center for E3, The Electronic Entertainment Expo, where developers unveil their latest products months before they're available to consumers. This year's show, which ran from June 10-12, attracted not only video game fans from around the world, but also Hollywood gamers who were eager to sample some new titles.
39-year-old Masi Oka, who plays Dr. Max Bergman in the hit CBS show Hawaii-Five-0, and before that was teleporting in NBC's Heroes from 2006-2010, hopes the new apps he's creating can put a fun spin on gaming. He got the VIP treatment at Nintendo's E3 booth, where new games like Super Smash Bros. 4 and Splatoon were being revealed. In the midst of thespoke with ETonline about his latest project.
"I’m starting and indie game company myself, so I’m talking about that and just seeing what else is out there. I’m a gamer at heart so it’s great to see what’s new. I had a lot of game ideas and with casual gaming, it’s hard to pitch ideas. So I said 'you know what, I know some great graduates from USC, I have some friends there, so let me just start up an app company."
Masi's app company, Mobius, already has a few gaming concepts waiting to be picked up by various tech companies, including Apple.
"We have a casual game called Our Superhero. You create a superhero together and it’s a very simple concept, but it’s a lot of fun to play with your friends."
No stranger to games and the technical side of entertainment, Masi received a BS degree from Brown University and prior to breaking into acting and getting cast in Heroes, he worked at George Lucas' Industrial Light & Magic in San Francisco, where he did visual effects on films like The Perfect Storm and the Star Wars prequels.
"I did a lot of digital water, I created effects for that and then I decided I wanted to go into acting. I loved what I was doing at ILM, I could have been a lifer there, so I just to try something before I committed my life there. I just tried acting and I loved it and I was very fortunate to land where I am now."
Watch the video for more of our interview with Masi and catch Hawaii-Five-0 on Fridays at 9/8 c. on CBS.