Rebecca Hills-Duty – Page 273 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

February 28, 2017

Ubisoft Reveal More Information & Announcement Trailer For Virtual Rabbids

As VRFocus reported earlier, Ubisoft have announced that they will be bringing the Rabbids to virtual reality (VR) once again with Virtual Rabbids: The Big Plan on Google Daydream. Further information has now been revealed by the publisher.

The gameplay for Virtual Rabbids involves trying to collect the digits for a code to a nuclear safety password that the Rabbids have stolen and scrambled. Each level will feature a range of collectable items such as toys as well as what Ubisoft describe as “An arsenal of tools and nutty gadgets”.

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Dominique Tardieu, Vice President Sales and Marketing, Ubisoft’s mobile business, had this to say; “Ubisoft is committed to exploring new technologies and platforms that deliver more immersive and interactive gaming experiences. We’re happy to bring Rabbids to Daydream as it enables us to offer players a high fidelity game in a mobile VR environment and we’re looking forward to explore the gameplay ideas and interactive opportunities on this new device for developers.”

Virtual Rabbids: The Big Plan is being developed by Ubisoft Montpellier in collaboration with Bucharest and is expected to be released on Google Daydream in the spring. Further information can be found at the official Rabbids website. You can also watch the announcement trailer below.

VRFocus will keep you updated with further information on Virtual Rabbids as we get it.

February 28, 2017

Adobe Developing VR Advertising Systems

Adobe is showing off a project at Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona this week concerning advertising in virtual reality (VR). At the moment it is only a prototype from Adobe’s research labs and involves watching 2-D videos theatre-style.

Presently the adverts work thus: If you are watching a video through a virtual theatre such as the ones provided by Netflix and Hulu, the system will interrupt viewings of the video, similar to traditional TV adverts, but can also show additional information to either side or above the user, such as further information on the product, access to coupons or even the opportunity to tweet from within the VR world.

Adobe Primetime Director of Product Management Campbell Foster said in an interview with Variety; “With 360, it’s not clear what content is going to look like beyond gaming. For entertainment, VR is a lot more promising than AR.”

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Since the product is still in early stages, it’s currently focused on the theatre-style viewing, and is optimised for use with mobile VR platforms. Mr. Foster also said that it was possible that VR adverts could eventually take advantage of the features currently used in Adobe’s traditional advertising, such as detailed analytics and consumer targeting.

Mr. Foster also suggested that when the ad unit was developed further, it might be possible to ‘beam’ the user out of the theatre setting and place them somewhere else for the duration of the advert, and then return them when the advert was complete.

For further news on Adobe’s VR projects, it will be on VRFocus.

February 27, 2017

MWC 2017: DisplayLink Talk To VRFocus About Their New VR Headset Add-On

Many a VR user has found themselves caught or tripped by the cables required for virtual reality (VR), however one company, DisplayLink, are aiming to show you a future where those wires are not needed.

DisplayLink were in the Spanish city of Barcelona today, showing off the add-on at Mobile World Congress 2017 (MWC) today and its potential for truly and fully realising wireless VR headsets. At least for the HTC Vive, which the DisplayLink kit is compatible with. VRFocus reporter Nina spoke to Graham O’Keeffe, Chairman and CEO of the company who describes just how the technology works.

VRFocus will continue to bring you all the latest from MWC and GDC throughout the week.

February 27, 2017

HTC Representative Comments On LG VR Headset Announcement

VRFocus spoke to Vice President HTC Vive, Europe, Peter Frølund regarding the LG virtual reality (VR) headset and LG’s entry into the VR industry.

Mr. Graylin had the following to say; “We will continue to work with Valve, our relationship won’t change. We welcome new companies to the VR landscape. We want to be a thought leader. What you’ve seen today and at CES demonstrates that – and there’s more coming – but VR needs more companies in the market.”

HTC Vive mixed image This of course follows the announcement that LG are demonstrating their own new head mounted display (HMD) unit in collaboration with Valve which is being displayed at the Valve booth at GDC this week.

There had already been some speculation as to if this meant HTC departure from it’s partnership with Valve or at least the end of HTC’s exclusivity.

VRFocus will continue to bring you further information on this topic as we get it.

February 27, 2017

New Rabbids VR Game Being Developed by Ubisoft

During the Google Developer Day at GDC in San Francisco, Loic Gounon and Fred Mizac of Ubisoft announced they would be bringing the Rabbids to Google virtual reality (VR) platform, Google Daydream.

The videogame is currently titled Virtual Rabbids: The Big Plan. The player takes on the role of a government agent required to travel through various different locations to recover missing digits stolen by the Rabbids. As revealed by Polygon, some of the gameplay was demonstrated at the reveak including one level where players are required to take items off grocery store shelves whilst the Rabbids get in the way. Another level is in an operating theatre, where the Rabbids will hand you surgical tools, and you must nod to signify that it is the correct tool.

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The Raving Rabbids series is a spin-off of the Rayman series. The Rabbids themselves originally appeared in Rayman 4, but were subsequently spun off into their own sub-series in 2006, losing the Rayman name in 2009. They’re mostly known for appearing in wacky party games such as Raving Rabbids and Rabbids Go Home.

As of yet Ubisoft does not have a specific release date, but has estimated that it should be available in the Spring for Google Daydream.

VRFocus will bring you further information on the Rabbids when we get it.

February 27, 2017

Raw Data Adding Oculus Rift and Touch to List of Supported Platforms

Los Angeles-based developer Survios today announced that their flagship title Raw Data will be heading to the Oculus platform. This will allow users of the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift and Touch to play Raw Data together for the first time.

Raw Data was the first virtual reality (VR) title to top the Steam Sales Charts and break the $1 million USD mark in the space of a month. Survios have optimised and re-engineered the game to work with the tracking and controls of the Oculus Touch for a complete experience.

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James Iliff, Survios Chief Creative Officer and co-founder, had this to say; “We’re thrilled to welcome the Oculus player community to Raw Data. With VR still a young, niche industry, it’s crucial right now for the entire community to be united regardless of platform. We believe VR is ultimately going to be a platform-agnostic medium, and we’re showing our support for that shift with Raw Data’s new, cross-platform compatibility—and that’s just the beginning. We’re going to do everything we can to create content for the entire VR community.

Survios have also announced that alongside the Oculus compatibility, there will also be a significant amount of new content in it’s forthcoming update. Two of the hero characters, Saija and Boss, will receive substantial overhauls, which is largely a result of user feedback with regards to game balance. There will also be a now mission called ‘Cataclysm’ which Survios describe as being “very challenging”.

Survios will be demonstrating co-operative cross-platform gameplay from their latest build at their GDC booth, South Hall Booth 944.

VRFocus will provide further information on Raw Data and Survios when we have it.

February 27, 2017

LG Preparing VR Headset, Valve Releases Statement

LG Electronics has unveiled it’s first virtual reality (VR) prototype headset at GDC in San Francisco. It is being shown at Valve’s GDC booth. The LG prototype is described as being ‘Designed to deliver a high fidelity, next generation VR experience’.

During the show, LG said they “will meet with developers to gather feedback on the device as part of its move towards the building of commercial units.” Pricing, launch dates and territories have not yet been announced, but LG said they will “be available at the later date”.

It is currently unconfirmed if this means that HTC’s exclusivity period for producing the Vive headsets is now over. Valve did release a press release on the matter confirming that, amongst other things, we can expect the headset to be featured at GDC 2017:

“LG Electronics will unveil its first VR HMD prototype at this year’s GDC in San Francisco, CA. Being shown in Valve’s GDC booth, the LG HMD prototype is designed to deliver a high fidelity, next generation VR experience.

During the show, LG will be meeting with developers to collect feedback and impressions as part of its effort to define the first commercial units. Pricing, launch dates, and territories will be announced at a later date.”

It was also noted on Twitter by Valve VR developer Chet Faliszek that “We are expanding the world of @SteamVR with our friends at LG.”

VRFocus will give you further information on this once Valve, HTC or LG release a statement.

LG Electronics USA. (PRNewsFoto/LG Electronics USA, Inc.)

February 27, 2017

Time Machine VR Motion Debut at GDC

VRFocus have covered Time Machine VR, the time-travelling virtual reality (VR) videogame, quite a few times, but now developers Minority Media have teamed up with the motion effect systems of D-Box Technologies Inc. to create a new version incorporating motion systems.

Minority Media hope that by combining VR with motion effects and haptic feedback, they can eliminate, or at least minimise, the motion sickness that is perennial problem for players of VR videogames.

Vander Caballero, Founder and CEO at Minority Media, is pleased with the results so far; “At Minority, we have been making VR happen since 2013,” said Mr. Caballero. “The only thing missing from our high-end VR titles, the one thing that fans kept asking about, was true-to-life, immersive motion systems. Now that D-BOX is on board, with its advanced technology, we can make our fans’ dreams of full immersion come true.”

Richard LaBerge, Vice President Business Development and Content acquisition at D-BOX adds; “The 2017 Game Developers Conference is a great opportunity to introduce our cutting-edge motion technology to a whole new audience. I can’t think of a better venue for us to show how our unparalleled motion effects really heighten the narrative.”

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D-Box themselves recently got much positive coverage for their contribution to The Martian VR Experience by 20^th Century Fox, while Minority Media have spent the last three years developing and refining Time Machine VR, their underwater exploration adventure through ancient history.

Time Machine VR Motion will be featured at booth PL4240 in the GDC Play Area Canada pavilion.

VRFocus will bring you further information on Time Machine VR Motion as it develops.

February 27, 2017

Ripstone Games Announces VR Chess Title Ultra Chess

British games developer Ripstone Games have announced that their latest release, Ultra Chess, will be made available on PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive as well as traditional consoles and PC.

Ripstone Games have previously seen success with Pure Pool, Stick it to the Man and Pure Hold ‘Em. Ultra Chess is a sequel to it’s previous chess title, Pure Chess, but they describe Ultra Chess as a ‘Massive improvement on the original in every way.’

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Ultra Chess is the first in-house 4k title from Ripstone Games and was built using Unreal Engine 4. It features a range of single-player and online gaming modes, including 10 different AI levels, all the way up to Grandmaster levels. Twitch integration is also being built-in, allowing live streaming and even the ability to play against Twitch chat, as chat members can enter their moves via the chat window.

Those looking to see this in action can check out the Ripstone Games Twitch channel where the development team will be taking questions and chess fans can even take on Grandmaster Simon Williams.

Ripstone Games say that Ultra Chess should be available across consoles and PC platforms later this spring. As always, VRFocus will bring you news on VR titles whatever the platforms as it becomes available.

February 27, 2017

SMI To Premiere Mobile Eye-Tracking Technology at GDC

Eye-tracking is a technology that has been around and available for a while on computer screens, tablets and mobile phones, but SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI) have improved the technology and made it available to be integrated into mobile virtual reality (VR) technology.

SMI will be demonstrating their technology using a Samsung Galaxy S7 to show off the benefits of their eye-tracking, including improved visual experience, and lessened power demand on the smartphone via Foveated Rendering. They believe it will address problems that mobile VR experience when it places high demand on the processors in smartphones.

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“Eye tracking technology will bring yet another level of sharpness and detail to untethered VR worlds,” said Pablo Fraile, director of ecosystems, mobile compute, ARM. “Our demonstration of SMI mobile eye tracking technology on ARM-based devices highlights how foveated rendering will increase the efficiency of mobile VR experiences without compromising frame rates or visual quality.”

SMI Director OEM Business Christian Villwock had this to say; “Given ARM’s global position as a mobile technology provider we are very pleased with the success of this collaboration, We have long believed that eye tracking is central to the future of all VR,including mobile, and having a company such as ARM align with this view is to us, a vindication of that long-held belief.”

SMI and ARM will be demonstrating their eye-tracking technology at GDC 2017, booth 1924.

For further information on SMI and eye-tracking technology, keep your eyes on VRFocus.