DALLAS _ George Carter III, the Dallas inventor who brought the world laser tag 32 years ago, wants to bring the still-popular game into the 21st century.
The 71-year-old entrepreneur has developed an app that allows combatants to play virtual shoot-em-up anytime, anywhere using iPhones and earbuds as the gun, map, scoring system and communication tool.
"You don't need to go to a paintball or laser tag center," said Carter, founder of Tactical Entertainment. "You can quickly gather a group of friends through social media and play. We're also going to find ways for meet-ups to happen."
Carter has named his laser-tag sequel Tzuum _ pronounced zoom _ as a tribute to Sun Tzu, the ancient Chinese general, philosopher and author of "The Art of War."
"We're trying to make this game very tactical and strategic," Carter said. "He's the guy universally known for that."
Krasamo, an app-development company based in the Dallas area, has been working on the project for two years. These days, it's churning out slightly modified versions twice a week. With each adaptation, Carter and a small band of field testers have endured 100 degree temps to suggest further refinements.
Beta testing was, as of press time, slated to begin soon.
