Category: bigbox vr

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Population: ONE Dev BigBox VR Completes $5 Million Seed Round

One of the highlights for VRFocus at Gamescom 2018 was BigBox VR’s debut of battle royale title Population: ONE. The studio recently revealed that it has secured $5 million USD in a seed funding round towards development.

Population ONE - GIF

The round was led by Shasta Ventures, with additional funding secured from GSR Ventures and Pioneer Square Labs Ventures. Jacob Mullins, a partner at Shasta Ventures, joined the board of directors. This brings BigBox VR’s total funding to $6.45 million.

“We’re excited to team up with partners who believe in accelerating VR online games and esports,” said Chia Chin Lee, BigBox VR’s CEO and co-founder in a statement. “It takes boldness to build products and communities that define emerging platforms, and we have the perfect team and investors to bring that vision to life.”

Currently in private beta, Population: ONE aims to build upon the success of Bigbox VR’s first virtual reality (VR) videogame, Smashbox Arena. You’ll be able to climb, fly and build with up to 24 other players in a match, with cross-play compatibility for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality headsets.

Population One - ScreenshotVRFocus noted in its preview: “At present any VR fans who find themselves torn away from their headsets to play  Fortnite but long for some immersive battle royale action should now pay attention to Population: ONE.”

“It was an easy choice to back the BigBox VR team, who have a history of success in key technology platform shifts,” said Jacob Mullins, partner at Shasta Ventures. “They are taking a true, native VR approach to product and user interaction for their upcoming game, POPULATION: ONE, which epitomizes the future of social engagement in virtual digital worlds. More than just a game in the broadest sense, it can evolve into a community that exists beyond the game environment.”

Population: ONE is scheduled for launch in 2019. For those that want to join the beta head to the official website for details. As further announcements are made VRFocus will keep you updated.

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BigBox VR: Investments in Höhe von fünf Millionen US-Dollar gesichert

Entwicklerstudio BigBox VR (bekannt für Smashbox Arena) arbeitet derzeit an dem neuen VR-Battle-Royale Population: One, das besonders mit seinem ambitionierten Gameplay-Mechaniken in die Fußstapfen von Fortnite und PUBG treten möchte. Nun konnten sich die Verantwortlichen in einer Finanzierungsrunde über fünf Millionen US-Dollar sichern, was das Gesamtkapital des Studios auf ungefähr 6,45 Millionen US-Dollar erhöht.

BigBox VR – Weitere fünf Millionen US-Dollar in Finanzierungsrunde erhalten

BigBox VR wurde im Jahr 2016 durch die beiden Unternehmer Chia Chin Lee und Gabe Brown mitbegründet, welche bereits bei Valve, Disney, Sony und Microsoft reichlich Erfahrung in der Entwicklung und dem Verkauf von Produkten in der Videospielindustrie sammeln konnten. Mit Jacob Mullins, Partner bei Shasta Ventures, tritt nun ein neues Mitglied in den Vorstand ein. Shasta Ventures leitete die neue Finanzierungsrunde, in der über fünf Millionen US-Dollar Kapital für BigBox VR sichergestellt wurden. Die Risikokapitalgeber GSR Ventures sowie Pioneer Square Labs Ventures sorgten für die neuen Finanzspritzen.

Population:One-Oculus-Rift-HTC-Vive-Windows-MR-Battle-Royale

Das Entwicklerstudio konnte sich besonders mit Smashbox Arena einen Namen machen. Die neuen Finanzierungsgelder sollen in die Entwicklung von Population: One fließen, um das VR-Multiplayer-Genre auf das nächste Level zu befördern. So schreiben die Verantwortlichen in einem Presse-Statement:

“Wir freuen uns sehr darüber, mit Partnern zusammenzuarbeiten, die an die erfolgreiche Weiterentwicklung von VR-Online-Spielen und den eSports glauben. Es erfordert einiges an Mut, um solche Produkte mitsamt den dazugehörigen Communities aufzubauen, welche in der Lage sind, neue Plattformen zu definieren. Wir haben das perfekte Team und die perfekten Investoren dafür, um diese Vision zum Leben zu erwecken.”

BigBox VR – Investments zur Entwicklung von Population: One

Das neue VR-Battle-Royale soll besonders mit seinem einzigartigen Gameplay sowie einer neuen freien Fortbewegungsmethode punkten. Entsprechend können die Spieler und Spielerinnen an Gebäuden hochklettern, mit Jetpacks fliegen und Deckungen und Brücken errichten. Mehr als 24 Kontrahenten sollen darin zeitgleich Platz finden, um sich die Kugeln um die Ohren zu feuern. Zusätzlich soll es Crossplay zwischen diversen VR-Brillen ermöglichen, um eine stets hohe Spieleranzahl zu gewährleisten.

Und auch für zukünftige eSports-Zwecke wurde bereits vorgesorgt. So enthält der VR-Titel einen Zuschauermodus mit diversen Zoom- und Verfolgungsoptionen. Das Studio möchte zukünftig außerdem in Kooperation mit verschiedenen Partnern eigene Turniere und Events veranstalten.

(Quellen: Road to VR | Upload VR | Video: BigBox VR YouTube)

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Smashbox Arena Developer BigBox VR Raises $5 Million Investment

Smashbox Arena Developer BigBox VR Raises $5 Million Investment

Shasta Ventures is leading a round of investment in Seattle-based BigBox VR, the makers of Smashbox Arena and the upcoming battle royale game POPULATION: ONE.

The $5 million round includes additional funding from GSR Ventures and Pioneer Square Labs Ventures, with Shasta’s Jacob Mullins taking a seat on BigBox VR’s board of directors. BigBox VR co-founders Chia Chin Lee and Gabe Brown say they’ve raised a total of $6.45 million in funding to date.

We haven’t tried POPULATION: ONE yet but the title is an ambitious one with what BigBox is calling “FreeMotion.”

“We love all the VR multiplayer games out there. Being both VR fans and developers gives us a chance to create a super polished game that takes in everything that we’ve learned so far. With our next game, we want to double down on the sense of freedom and social experience that only VR can deliver,” Chia Chin Lee wrote in an email. “POPULATION: ONE will be the first FreeMotion game. What this means is players can go anywhere in a giant map, climb anything they see, and fly into battle to surprise enemies. On top of this, players can build walls for quick cover in the middle of a firefight. Players can choose their own play-style within a large, open world.”

We have yet to climb a tree and build a tree house to snipe someone in POPULATION: ONE but that certainly sounds like an interesting mashup of features compared with some of the battle royale efforts we’ve seen. The company plans to release tools eventually so that users can create content and sell it in a marketplace, and Lee wrote “we have a clear roadmap for consistent content releases, events, and tournaments that will build a strong community.”

Smashbox Arena is currently available for around $20 while POPULATION: One is in private beta.

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The post Smashbox Arena Developer BigBox VR Raises $5 Million Investment appeared first on UploadVR.

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BigBox VR Secures $5M Financing to Further Develop VR Battle Royale ‘POPULATION: ONE’

BigBox VR, the VR studio behind the critically-acclaimed multiplayer shooter Smashbox Arena (2016), today announced that it has secured $5 million in a seed funding round led by Shasta Ventures, with additional funding from GSR Ventures and Pioneer Square Labs Ventures.

This brings BigBox VR’s total funding to $6.45 million since its founding in 2016.

BigBox VR was co-founded by game industry entrepreneurs Chia Chin Lee and Gabe Brown, who led successful exits and launched top-grossing products at Valve, Disney, Sony, and Microsoft. With its latest funding round, Jacob Mullins, a partner at Shasta Ventures, joined the board of directors.

Best known for their hit VR multiplayer shooter Smashbox Arena, which currently boasts a 95% positive rating on Steam, BigBox VR says in a press statement they plan to “refine the VR multiplayer experience” with its upcoming battle royale shooter POPULATION: ONE; the company is couching the game as a budding eSport.

Image courtesy BigBox VR

“We’re excited to team up with partners who believe in accelerating VR online games and esports,” said BigBox VR CEO and co-founder Chia Chin Lee. “It takes boldness to build products and communities that define emerging platforms, and we have the perfect team and investors to bring that vision to life.”

POPULATION: ONE is currently in closed beta, although we had a chance to go hands-on with the debut build at Gamescom this year. While it’s still early in development, it’s clear the team has hit upon some key fundamentals, including a robust locomotion scheme (dubbed ‘FreeMotion’) that lets you fly, climb, run, and quickly build structures to defend yourself in a map with 24 max players.

Maintaining healthy multiplayer is also notoriously difficult in VR currently, but the studio plans to combat this by launching with cross-play compatibility on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows VR headsets, and things like ongoing events and new content updates.

Fitting in the eSports angle: you’ll be able to spectate in a number of ways, be it growing to the size of Godzilla to watch the game play out in miniature, or following the top player at 1:1 size. The studio says players will be able to wave to each other, high five after a great kill, and use body language in a way that makes social interactions come to life. Post launch, players will contribute user generated content (UGC) available in a live marketplace.

BigBox VR says announcements surrounding competitive events and future partners will drop soon.

The post BigBox VR Secures $5M Financing to Further Develop VR Battle Royale ‘POPULATION: ONE’ appeared first on Road to VR.

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New Screenshots And GIFs Show Population: ONE In Action

Recently a new battle royale videogame was revealed for virtual reality (VR) players in the foam of Population: ONE. Like other titles in the genre, players will find themselves dropping into an expansive, one square kilometer map in which they will need to fight, explore and look in order to be the last surviving player. Now, following its reveal a number of new screenshots and GIFs have been released showing off more of this immersive title.

Population: ONE features a range of different gameplay options for players to range war against eachother with, including a unique motion system titled FreeMotion. This has been described by the developers as a system that offers comfort while allowing players to run, climb, or even fly anywhere within VR without any discomfort.

Players will be able to climb structures within the environment to help get a better lay of the land and gain tactical advantages as the combat rages on. If players are looking to travel long distances then there are a number of options including jetpack-like devices and even build their own structures in the style of other titles. All of this is delivered in an realistic visual style that will immerse players within the thrill of the fight. Some of the newly released images and GIFs below will provide an idea of how the action within Population: ONE will play out.

Population One - Screenshot

On top of that, Population: ONE is aiming to deliver a unique first-person shooter (FPS) experience by offering cross-play between HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality device.

VRFocus’ Senior Staff Writer Peter Graham previewed Population: ONE at Gamescom 2018 saying: “At present any VR fans who find themselves torn away from their headsets to play Fortnite but long for some immersive battle royale action should now pay attention to Population: ONE. It didn’t seem like a videogame that was still in development, it felt solid, looked great, and could very well draw in the VR masses for some epic fire fights.”

Population: ONE is currently in development but VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest news and updates on the title in the future, so stay tuned for more. You can see the gallery of images below.

Population ONE - GIF
Population ONE - GIF
Population ONE - GIF
Population ONE - GIF

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The VR Job Hub: It’s all About the West Coast

Bored of your daily commute, fed up with that bloke from accounts who always finishes the milk before you’ve had your first work brew of the day? Maybe it’s time for a change, time to augment your life with something fresh and new, you’re virtually out the door anyway as you’re reading a job listing page. So keep reading, maybe click on a link or two and submit a CV, because a new reality awaits.

View the new listings below for more information:

Location Company Role Link
Los Angeles, CA Immersv Full Stack Engineer Click here to apply
Los Angeles, CA Immersv Mobile SDK Developer Click here to apply
Los Angeles, CA Immersv System Engineer: IT/Ops Click here to apply
Seattle, Washington BigBox VR VR Software Engineer
(Full Stack)		 Click here to apply
Seattle, Washington BigBox VR Growth Marketer Click here to apply
Foster City, CA Sanzaru Games Inc Gameplay/UI Scripter Click here to apply
Foster City, CA Sanzaru Games Inc Network Engineer Click here to apply
Foster City, CA Sanzaru Games Inc AI Engineer Click here to apply
Foster City, CA Sanzaru Games Inc VFX Artist Click here to apply
Foster City, CA Sanzaru Games Inc UI Artist Click here to apply
Foster City, CA Sanzaru Games Inc Gameplay Engineer Click here to apply
Foster City, CA Sanzaru Games Inc Character Artist Click here to apply
Foster City, CA Sanzaru Games Inc Prop Artist Click here to apply

As usual, you can check last week’s edition for further job listings. If you are an employer looking for someone to fill a role in a VR, AR or other related areas in the industry and want that position to be featured on next week’s VR Job Hub, please send details to either pgraham@vrfocus.com or keva@vrfocus.com.

Check back with VRFocus next Sunday at 3PM BST and every Sunday for the latest roles in the VR industry.

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Review: Smashbox Arena

As virtual reality (VR) matures and expands, several titles have been hopping over from other platforms. One such title is Smashbox Arena, a title that developer BigBox VR have created to be part of the tried-and-true arena shooter genre, and one that previously launched on Steam for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. How does its PlayStation VR version fare?

The first thing that strikes you is how bland everything looks. Though there are no serious graphical flaws, the flat, cartoonish style does little to distinguish Smashbox Arena, and even less to show off the power of the PlayStation 4, and some of the more detailed backgrounds and environments don’t quite seem to match the smooth, plastic-like appearance of the avatars.

Secondly, there are few options available to alter to comfort, preference or playstyle. There are no control options and no comfort options, not even a proper pause menu. The controls as they are work fine, though at times feel very stiff and awkward, and the teleportation movement seems to be very sluggish for such as fast-paced title.

Smashbox Arena Screenshot 2

The core gameplay itself is fun, amounting to what is essentially a game of hardcore dodgeball. There are strategic elements involving dodging, blocking, rebounds and power-ups as well as careful positioning which can provide plenty of entertainment if you manage to get a full group of humans together. Which unless you have a lot of friends who all have a PlayStation VR and a copy of Smashbox Arena, you probably won’t, since the servers seem to be very sparsely populated. This is partially compensated for with the addition of AI bots, but half the time, the bots are as dumb as rocks and cause more problems than they solve.

The single player Story Mode feels very tacked on, amounting to little more than an extended tutorial against AI bots, and for something called ‘story mode’ there is little to no story involved.

Smashbox Arena image 1

Smashbox Arena was blatantly built to be a multiplayer title, but the lack of cross-platform play and sparsely populated servers for the PlayStation VR hurts it a lot. The single-player mode is barely worth the time, and it lacks any sort of depth. If you have lots of friends to play with online, it might be worth a look, but otherwise, there are better titles available.

40%

Awesome

  • Verdict
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Smashbox Arena Launches Today for PlayStation VR

Previously a success on the HTC Vive, developers BigBox VR have launched multiplayer arena shooter Smashbox Arena on to the PlayStation VR today.

Smashbox Arena was designed specifically for virtual reality (VR). The project began as a way to explore VR and its capabilities and limitations, but once BigBox VR founders Gabe Brown and Chia Chin added guns and multiplayer, they discovered how much fun it was, and the genesis of Smashbox Arena began.

Originally launched on HTC vive on Oculus Rift, it became a highly-rate multiplayer VR title and its players logged over 43,000 of gameplay. The developers announced in May that there were plans to release the title on to PlayStation VR, and Smashbox Arena is now available on the PlayStation Store for $29.99 (USD).

Smashbox Arena Screenshot 1

Smashbox Arena is a physics-driven title. Players must rapidly learn the layout of the arena in order to dodge and seek cover from enemy fire before finding the best way to launch their own assault. The power-ups that are periodically made available are over-the-top items such as giant boulders.

“A team deathmatch-style, extreme dodgeball game gets as competitive, and high-spirited as you’d imagine” said Eric Hine, executive producer at Archiact, “Smashbox Arena shows how designing a VR game around competitive team play makes for an over-the-top entertaining experience with a surprisingly high skill ceiling and great re-playability. We’re thrilled to have partnered with the talented BigBox VR team to bring all this fun to PlayStation VR fans.”

You can watch the PlayStation VR launch trailer for Smashbox Arena below.

VRFocus will bring you further news on Smashbox Arena as it becomes available.

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‘Smashbox Arena’ Now Available on PSVR – Launch Trailer

Smashbox Arena, one of SteamVR’s best rated titles, today launches on Playstation VR. The game plays like a mashup of a first person shooter and a game of dodgeball.

Smashbox Arena originally launched for the HTC Vive in late 2016. On SteamVR the game has been well received, holding an impressive 97% positive rating among user reviews and has seen regular updates since launch (including official Rift & Touch support on SteamVR). The game has since found its way onto the Oculus store as well, and today a version comes specially made to PSVR priced at $30 ($10 more than the PC version; we’ve reached out to the developers to understand why).

With singleplayer and multiplayer modes, Smashbox Arena is a knockout style shooter where teams of 3 vs. 3 aim to eliminate each other by firing dodgeball-like projectiles. With just one life per round, the tension amps up as the match winds down to the final combatants. Powerups like shields, exploding balls, sniper balls, homing balls, and more, add strategy and diversity to the gameplay. Players get around the maps with teleportation, but there’s also an emphasis on physical movement to dodge incoming fire and to hide and & shoot behind cover.

Though the game is available on all three major VR platforms, unfortunately there’s no cross-play between headsets supported at this time. If you’re looking for great games to play across headsets, check out our list of the best cross-play multiplayer VR games.

The post ‘Smashbox Arena’ Now Available on PSVR – Launch Trailer appeared first on Road to VR.

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Smashbox Arena Developers Release PlayStation VR Gameplay Videos

Competitive multiplayer title Smashbox Arena has already delighted players on the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive with its simple, fast-paced combat, and back in May, developers BigBox VR announced that they were bringing the title to PlayStation VR, and have now released three videos showing what it will look like on Sony’s virtual reality (VR) platform.

Smashbox Arena is a team-based first-person shooter that offers fast-paced action and over-the-top physics driver power-ups to make the action within the arena maps even more ridiculous. The title has a single-player story mode in addition to the multiplayer which delivers three possible difficulty modes and character customisation options that can be unlocked.

Smashbox Arena image 1

The newly released videos cover three areas of Smashbox Arena, the first detailing the available characters, the second covering the different maps than can be battled through and the third focussing on the various power-ups that are on offer, such as Giant Boulders and Sniperballs.

Smashbox Arena will be launched on the PlayStation VR on Tuesday 25th July, which will be a worldwide launch with North America, Europe and Japan all getting access to the title at the same time. Sadly, while the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift versions offer cross-platform play, that feature will not be available on the PlayStation VR.

You can watch the three PlayStation VR trailer videos for Smashbox Arena below.

VRFocus will bring you further information on Smashbox Arena and other PlayStation VR titles as it becomes available.