Peter Graham – Page 2 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

June 14, 2022

ByteDance Expanding Pico Interactive’s VR Plans Into the US

May saw Pico Interactive finally take its first steps out of the consumer market in Asia with a limited release of the Neo3 Link headset in Europe. Up until this point, Pico had only focused on enterprise customers globally. Now the company is looking towards the US market as job listings on ByteDance’s website show a range of positions available across the West Coast.

Pico Neo 3 Link — Image credit: Pico Interactive

First spotted by Protocol, there are more than 40 vacancies ByteDance is looking to fill for Pico Interactive’s expansion. With the website saying ByteDance has: ““tons of money” for VR games and experiences”, the listings mainly focus on the San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle and San Diego.

Looking to fund lots of new content through Pico Studios, positions available include Head of Pico Studios, Head of VR Game Strategy, Head of Consumer Sales, Head of Overseas Content Ecosystem and an Operation Manager. There are also plenty of engineering roles across systems, optics, and other disciplines.

While nothing official has been announced regarding a consumer launch in the US, Pico Interactive is certainly looking to increase its presence there to compete with Meta. The Pico Neo3 Link is seen as one of the very few competitors to the Meta Quest 2, sporting a very similar specification list and videogame library. Titles such as SUPERHOT VR, Puzzling Places, After the Fall, Walkabout Mini Golf, Elven Table Tennis, and Demeo are all natively supported by the device which is also compatible with StereamVR.

Nothing is likely to happen in the US until Pico has completed its European role out. Pico has continually said that the European release of Neo3 Link is a “beta Launch”, where only one headset can be purchased per customer. The headset is available in Germany (where the Quest 2 isn’t available), France, Spain, The Netherlands and now the UK for £399 GBP.

Whether ByteDance and Pico can compete with Meta is another question entirely, with the latest IDC figures putting Meta Quest 2 sales at nearly 15 million. Attracting more developers, as well as funding original content, might help Pico but the Neo3 Link’s biggest draw could be not having to connect it to a social network.

As Pico Interactive reveal further details, gmw3 will keep you informed.

June 14, 2022

Meta’s Metaverse Horizon Worlds Lands on UK Shores

Facebook might have changed its name to Meta as company CEO Mark Zuckerberg continues to push his metaverse vision, but its actual metaverse Horizon Worlds hasn’t been that accessible globally. Previously only available for North American Meta Quest owners, this week finally sees Horizon Worlds coming to UK headsets.

Just as with any of Meta’s bigger software updates Horizon Worlds will gradually roll out to UK Meta Quest owners over the coming week, so if you can’t access it now keep checking back. Initially released in beta in 2021, Meta’s metaverse aims to be a one-stop-shop for all your online social needs, whether that’s just hanging out with friends or playing a game together. As reported in May, Meta is adding more content by integrating apps like Venues, where you can watch concerts or enjoy film shorts from the Tribeca Festival.

As the name indicates, Horizon Worlds is made up of individual worlds for users to explore, or they can make their own. Hence why Meta has been encouraging creators onto the platform to build worlds for new users to venture into. Starting with a $10 million USD fund to help support the initiative, the company then began testing monetization features allowing builders to make money from their creations.

The roll-out of Horizon Worlds to the UK is just the start of a wider expansion to more European countries during the course of the summer. Meta hasn’t said which will be next on the list. The UK launch announcement also includes several platform updates to improve the user experience.

All new Horizon Worlds users go through an onboarding process to teach them about the Safe Zone tools that can block, mute, or report anyone engaging in unwanted behaviour. Adding to that list is Voice Mode, giving you the option to choose how you hear people who aren’t friends. The default setting is as you’d expect, you can hear everyone at the same volume. Or you can select Garbled Voices where strangers’ voices are unintelligible, yet friendly sounds. They’ll see an indicator so they know you’re not ignoring them and if you do want to un-garble their voice simply bring the controller next to your ear.

Voice Mode will be rolling out to Horizon Worlds in the next few weeks.

The Horizon Worlds metaverse is free to download for Quest owners who are 18+. For continued updates keep reading gmw3.

June 13, 2022

Brand New Half-Life Alyx: Levitation Trailer Appears on the PC Gaming Show

During the week that’s definitely not E3 there have been a number of companies sticking to tradition, hosting events with lots of new videogames to announce. Amongst them was the PC Gaming Show yesterday which just so happened to have a tasty virtual reality (VR) update, a brand new gameplay trailer for Half-Life: Alyx mod Levitation.

The work of modders FMPONE and Corey Laddo – and a few others behind the scenes – Levitation has been gaining plenty of attention ever since it was unveiled earlier this year. While we’d all love an official update from Valve, thanks to the Steam Workshop Half-Life: Alyx is highly moddable with dozens of excellent community additions, and Levitation is gearing up to be one of the best.

Half-Life Alyx: Levitation is going to be a 4-5 hour adventure in City17, set in an area called Sector X which houses a mysterious floating building. G-Man is set to make a return alongside your mate and inventive engineer Russell. Even with the new trailer, little else has been revealed regarding the narrative. At least it’ll serve as a nice (unofficial) side-mission for fans eager for more Half-Life in VR.

From the looks of the gameplay trailer Half-Life Alyx: Levitation is going to be heavily action-oriented, once again pitting Alyx against Combine soldiers and the ever-reliable headcrabs.

Two years after its release Half-Life: Alyx is still regarded as the pinnacle of VR gaming, offering just the right mix of action, immersive interaction and puzzling that the franchise is known for. “A stunningly rich experience from start to finish, Half-Life: Alyx is one of the best VR titles available, a perfect showcase for what VR gaming is capable of,” gmw3 said in its review.

Currently, Half-Life Alyx: Levitation is expected to arrive later this year. While you’re waiting other Half-Life: Alyx mods include Return to Rapture, a two-episode addition set within the Bioshock universe. Or how about VR mods for non-VR titles? Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, Quake 3 Arena, Resident Evil 2 and 3, and more have all been given the unofficial VR mod treatment.

For continued updates, keep reading gmw3.

June 13, 2022

StepVR Launches VR Gates Into the Metaverse

Whether on a flat-screen or in virtual reality (VR), the idea of a metaverse is an all-encompassing digital world. And if films like The Lawnmower Man or Ready Player One have taught us anything you’ll need a big rig to strap into to truly appreciate the experience. So Chinese technology company StepVR has done just that, unveiling its Gates01 omnidirectional motion system.

Gates01 - STEPVR — Gates01, image credit: STEPVR

Better known in China for its free-roam VR esports brand, Future Battle, StepVR has designed the Gates01 device to effectively be a gate into any VR metaverse. Covering an area of approximately 3m² – so not exactly suitable for home VR – the Gates01 system comprises a harness, custom VR headset and an omnidirectional treadmill allowing players to walk and run as naturally as possible.

The company says that the Gate01 will: “restore the sense of vision, hearing, touch, smell, and vestibular balance in the virtual world,” so players will be able to experience haptic feedback as well as other “hyper-reality” functionality previously seen in venues like The VOID.

Actual tech specifics have yet to be detailed, such as the omnidirectional floor. From the demonstration video, it looks like users will have to wear specialised shoes (or shoe covers) to walk on the active floor. Whether players will be able to jump and crouch is another matter entirely – you might be able to hang by the looks of that frame.

StepVR Gates01 gun — Gates01. Image credit: StepVR

Founded in 2013, StepVR’s Future Battle franchise comprises 140 location-based entertainment (LBE) venues across China, each one facilitating up to 10-player free roam sessions. The company states that 60 partner stores are still to be opened and that 22% of its partners have opened a second store.

StepVR expects to release Gates01 for entertainment venues in Korea, Japan, Singapore, the Middle East, North America, and Europe during October. A consumer version which will be lighter and 50% smaller is slated to arrive sometime in 2023. Currently, StepVR hasn’t revealed a price or supported content.

For an omnidirectional treadmill alternative without all the extra sensory effects, there’s always Kat Walk C2 which held a successful Kickstarter.

For continued updates on all things metaverse related, keep reading gmw3.

June 10, 2022

Meta Quest’s Home Will Finally be Social in v41 Update

You’d expect social experiences to be at the forefront of Meta’s virtual reality (VR) drive but one thing that’s always been missing is the ability to directly hang out in the home environment. During Connect in 2021 Meta announced Horizon Home – rather than Oculus Home – which would eventually add that social aspect. That’s going to arrive in the Quest’s v41 update which CEO Mark Zuckerberg demonstrated today.

With Horizon Home, the whole premise is that rather than having to use a separate app to convene with friends in VR or just use voice through the party feature Quest users will be able to gather in one environment and see each other’s avatar. From there they’ll be able to jump into a game or app, making the whole experience far more seamless.

To showcase the update today Zuckerberg invited climber Alex Honnold where they watched his 360-degree film The Soloist. This is a heart-pounding, death-defying ascent up the Dolomite mountains, free climbing up sheer rock faces.

“Met up with legendary climber Alex Honnold in the new Horizon Home — launching with Quest v41 update to bring social presence into your virtual home as soon as you put on your headset,” Zuckerberg said in a Facebook post. “Invite friends to hang out, watch videos together, or jump into apps right from your virtual home. More options to customize your home space currently in development. Also, check out Alex’s 360 film The Soloist VR where he takes you 1000 ft up free climbing the Dolomites!”

The announcement hasn’t specified when v41 will arrive but considering Meta rolls these out monthly and v40 landed almost a month ago, Quest users will likely see the feature arrive in the next week or so. As always it’ll be gradual, so you might need to wait until the end of June to test the new social feature out.

Another step towards Meta’s metaverse vision, as further updates are announced gmw3 will let you know.

June 10, 2022

Team17’s First VR Game is Original IP Killer Frequency

Of all the new virtual reality (VR) titles announced this week probably the most surprising was Killer Frequency. Coming from the same studio behind the Worms franchise, this is the first VR project from Team17 and it’s a comedy-horror of all things.

Killer Frequency centres around a local radio station set in a 1980s mid-American town where a serial killer is on the loose. You work the night shift night and have to help listeners as they’re stalked by the mysterious masked killer who’s looking to up their kill count.

As the evening DJ, you’ll be playing tunes and answering calls from listeners, engaging in conversations to carefully uncover clues and useful information. Killer Frequency will feature branching dialogue so you’ll have a variety of conversation options to interact with callers. You’ll be able to decide whether to help them or not, with multiple unlockable endings available depending on those choices.

When not making life or death decisions you’ll still have puzzles to solve, potential suspects to investigate and a charismatic producer to chat to, all while enjoying a jukebox of 1980s-inspired tunes.

But you’re not stuck in a DJ booth 24/7, you can get up and explore over 1 km² of an authentically detailed 1980s radio station featuring plenty of physics-based objects. That includes era-specific tech like a working turntable and a cassette player.

While Killer Frequency is Team17’s own in-house VR game, the studio has dipped its toes in the technology before. It helped publish Lethal VR by Three Fields Entertainment, and then there was the promising horror Allison Road that was cancelled.

Killer Frequency will be coming to Meta Quest 2 as well as Steam – non-VR, only flat screen – later this year. As Team17 release further details on its first original VR IP, gmw3 will keep you updated.

June 10, 2022

The VR Drop: An Action-Packed VR Summer

Even with the absence of E3 this year, virtual reality (VR) developers haven’t shied away from announcing plenty of exciting new projects and updates that are on the horizon. For now, though, let’s look at some of the videogames coming to VR headsets over the course of next week.

Groove Fit Island!! – Ima Create Co.

Having previously released Groove Fit Kingdom! a couple of years ago for SteamVR headsets, Ima Create returns next week with a follow-up, Groove Fit Island!! Just like before, Groove Fit Island!! is all about mashing together fitness with rhythm action gameplay. It’ll feature sports such as tennis, boxing, and baseball as well as more unusual options like pizza delivery, fishing, and kendama.

Supported platform(s): Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index and Windows Mixed Reality
Launch date: 14th June

MotherGunship: Forge – Terrible Posture Games

If you’re looking for some all-out action with big guns and an even bigger array of customisation options then Mothergunship: Forge is the place to be. Originally a PC and consol roguelite, Mothergunship: Forge gets the VR treatment, offering an endlessly replayable experience firmly geared around mixing and matching an assortment of components to make all manner of weaponry. And you don’t need to go it alone, there’s a co-op mode so a friend can join in the carnage.

Supported platform(s): Meta Quest 2, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Valve Index
Launch date: 16th

Monster Showdown: Prologue – Virtual Uppercut Studios

This initial release of Monster Showdown aims to give players a taste of this action-packed VR shooter. The prologue provides the first three maps – the final version will have 10 – where you can slaughter monstrous enemies with over 60 weapons for a randomised dispenser. You’ll then be able to upgrade them with Perk donuts or cash collected from fallen enemies.

Supported platform(s): Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Valve Index
Launch date: 16th

Bocce Time! – Deep Dive Interactive

For something a little more chilled there’s Bocce Time! Here, you and up to three friends can play the ancient game of Bocce in tranquil surroundings. With half a dozen different bocce courts, each will provide its own unique challenge for players, or when no one is around practice against a bot or go 1v1 a random opponent online.

Supported platform(s): Meta Quest 1 & 2 (App Lab), Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Valve Index
Launch date: 17th June

Shadowgate VR: The Mines of Mythrok – Azure Drop Studios

Originally released for Meta Quest last year, now it’s the turn of PC VR players to step into Shadowgate VR: The Mines of Mythrok. A dungeon explorer able about fighting giant monsters, players will have to wield elemental magic, solve devious puzzles and unlock ancient secrets as they delve ever deeper into the mountain and its cavernous locations filled with trap-laden corridors.

Supported platform(s): Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Valve Index
Launch date: 17th June

June 10, 2022

Always Sunny Star Rob McElhenney Unveils Web3 Writers Initiative Adim

When comedians launch a project that’s very different to their usual stuff it’s hard not to wonder where the expected joke might lay. But that doesn’t seem to be the case with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia star Rob McElhenney’s latest endeavour, a new Web3 entertainment-tech company called Adim.

Characters wanted. Welcome to https://t.co/QX6wlLkSfz.@RMcElhenney pic.twitter.com/xUHSd32ET7

— Adim (@Adimverse) June 7, 2022

Co-founded by McElhenney, Chase Rosenblatt, Melissa Kaspers, Spencer Marell, and Richard Rosenblatt, Adim wants to make it easier for writers to connect and collaborate whilst owning a greater share of the output. So the team are utilising a Web3 model to build a community of storytellers that anyone can join. All aided by a $5 million USD seed round led by Chris Dixon, general partner at a16z crypto.

You simply head to the Adim website and apply to become a member. If accepted you’ll have the chance to join Creator Rooms to participate in workshops that’ll create stories, characters, and narrative universes under the mentorship of established writers like McElhenney and Keyonna Taylor.

100 applicants will be chosen initially and once a Creator Room has concluded, all participants will receive a Core Character NFT that details their ownership of what was created. The NFTs will be non-transferable as they will also grant the owner rights to royalties or revenue shares when projects use the characters.

“Every beloved character throughout TV, movie and gaming history has been imagined and brought to life through collaboration,” said McElhenney, who also serves as Co-Chairman, in a statement. “Adim is building for the next evolution of these groups – communities of creators, writers, artists, designers, developers, fans and friends working together to create and own a new generation of content.”

“By combining traditional creative development practices with web3 technology, we are building a new model and value network for creators and collaborators, giving people ownership of the characters and content they create,” Rosenblatt adds.

This is another innovative use of Web3 technology and principles, adding a new level of utility to the NFT concept. For further updates on the Adimverse project, keep reading gmw3.

June 9, 2022

Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate Drops New Gameplay Trailer

MyDearest Inc is known for its virtual reality (VR) visual novels but its next title Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate slightly steps away from this genre. Due for release soon and like a lot of developers like to do this time of year the team has dropped a new trailer.

A mixture of gameplay and cinematics, this is the best look yet at Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate’s upcoming sci-fi adventure, providing a closer look at the game’s mechanics, controls and its characters.

Set within the same Chronos universe as MyDearest’s other VR projects Tokyo Chronos and ALTDEUS: Beyond Chronos, Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate won’t, however, be a direct sequel. Revealing the first narrative snippets, a synopsis explains: “Players take on the role of Hal, a Special Supervisor in Astrum Close City. A futuristic marine location, Astrum Close City is a place where crime has been eradicated. When the founder of the city is suddenly murdered, Hal must step in and bring the suspect to justice.”

To do this Hal has an ability called Memory Dive which can access the memories of those around him and alter the past. Players then need to back the information up from those memories with evidence and theories to convince others.

Players will have full control over Hal to freely explore the environments and search for clues. They’ll also have to deal with Astrum Close City’s Integrated AI, winning over the AI as well as the city’s citizen’s to help uncover the mystery.

After initial expectations from the studio put Dyschronia: Chronos Alternate’s launch this past spring, MyDearest Inc. moved the release to this summer for Meta Quest 2. A Nintendo Switch version is still slated for the end of 2022. It’ll be episodic, split into three with all of them currently expected to arrive before the year-end.

For continued updates, keep reading gmw3.

June 9, 2022

August is Game Time for NERF Ultimate Championship

Having revealed NERF Ultimate Championship, a multiplayer shooter using the iconic toys, almost exactly a year ago developer Secret Location has now released a new gameplay trailer and a release date. And there isn’t long to wait, coming to Meta Quest 2 in a couple of months.

While the first gameplay trailer back in December offered just a teasing taster of NERF Ultimate Championship’s action the new trailer gives fans an even better look at what’s to come this summer. Players will start in a social lobby before honing their skills on the parkour course, getting a feel for the freedom the arenas will offer, thanks to double jumps and wall running mechanics.

After that, why not step into the shooting range a test all the guns out, from the single-shot weapons to the motorised blasters that need to be revved up first. The trailer then showcases some of the arenas like the Colusseum with a central point that needs to be captured.

Even though NERF Ultimate Championship is action-packed, to keep players coming back for more Secret Location will be releasing multiple seasons of free content. There will be unlockable skins, avatars, blasters, new maps, new game modes, and much more.

“We want NERF Ultimate Championship to be a game that players keep coming back to over time,” said Josh Manricks, Studio Director at Secret Location. “There is a lot of exciting content planned for after release. We’ve captured the social and physical essence of NERF, with intense battles powered by dynamic, fluid movement, as well as some epic NERF blasters made exclusively for the game. All these elements, combined with maps that encourage fast-paced gameplay and constant updates of free content, will offer fans plenty of reasons to keep jumping back in with friends.”

NERF Ultimate Championship is scheduled to launch on 25th August 2022 for Quest 2. From today, eager fans can join the community Discord or head on over to Secret Location’s Dev Blog to learn more about its development. For continued VR updates, keep reading gmw3.