Bonfire

June 11, 2020

Bonfire & Paper Beast Selected for Games For Change 2020 Awards

The 17th annual Games For Change (G4C) festival takes place next month and like many others, it’ll be a digital-only event. Today, the 22 finalists for the Games For Change Awards have been announced with virtual reality (VR) titles including Bonfire and Paper Beast selected for the XR category.

The Games For Change festival as well as the awards advocate the power of videogames as drivers to impact society in meaningful ways. This year’s awards were highly competitive, seeing over 200 game submissions across the six categories.

Nominated in the Best XR for Change category are:

Bonfire from Baobab Studios (Oculus Rift, Oculus Rift S, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR)
Escape to the Future from Open Lab, Newcastle University (Digital Immersive Escape Game, 360 Projection)
Paper Beast from Pixel Reef (PlayStation VR)
The Holy City from Nimrod Shanit (Oculus Rift, Oculus Rift S, HTC Vive)

Paper Beast is probably the best known out of all those selected and the only videogame. Currently available for PlayStation VR – with a PC version on the way – its a puzzle-adventure set in a surreal world of paper creatures which can manipulate the landscape.

Bonfire, on the other hand, is more of an interactive experience, where you’re tasked with finding humanity a new home, landing on a planet filled with strange but friendly creatures.

As for the other categories they look like this:

Best Gameplay

Arise: A Simple Story from Piccolo Studio (PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4)
Dear Reader from Local No. 12 (iOS, Mac, Apple TV)
Mosaic from Krillbite Studio (PC, Mac, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, iOS)
Sky: Children of the Light from thatgamecompany (iOS)

Most Innovative

Concrete Genie from Pixelopus (PlayStation 4)
Dreams from Media Molecule (PlayStation 4)
Sea of Solitude from Jo-Mei (PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4)
Sky: Children of the Light from thatgamecompany (iOS)

Most Significant Impact

Eliza from Zachtronics (PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch)
Life is Strange 2 from DONTNOD Entertainment (PC, Mac, Xbox One, PlayStation 4)
Sea of Solitude from Jo-Mei (PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4)
SweetXheart from Catt Small (Web/Online)

Best Learning Game

Funexpected Math from Funexpected LTD (iOS)
Mightier from Mightier (Android, iOS)
Rabbids Coding from Ubisoft (PC)
Sci-Ops: Global Defense from Plasma Games (Web/Online)

Best Student Game

Apollo from Team Apollo, University of Southern California (PC, Mac, Live Action)
Gamer Girl from RIT’s School of Interactive Games and Media (Web/Online)
Plasticity from Plasticity Games, University of Southern California (PC)
Resilience from Sungrazer Studio, Drexel University (PC, Mac, Linux)

The Best Gameplay, Most Innovative, Most Significant Impact and Best Learning Game are all eligible for the “G4C People’s Choice” award which you can vote here for. Plus, all the finalists are eligible for the Game of the Year award.

The Games For Change Festival takes place between 14th – 16th July, with the Games For Change Awards streamed at 7:30 pm EDT on 14th. For further updates, keep reading VRFocus.

October 18, 2019

The VR Game Launch Roundup: Marbles, Mountains & Mayhem

VRFocus brings you another roundup of exciting new virtual reality (VR) titles. Make sure to check out our accompanying video roundup at the bottom of the article, freshly made for YouTube. Make sure to also check out VRFocus’ coverage of the Augmented World Expo (AWE) EU 2019 happening this week. We will be posting a series of interviews and exclusive insights into VR & AR announcements taking place over the event.

Borderlands 2 VR – Gearbox Software

First released in 2012, immerse yourself in this VR updating of an iconic modern shooter as you once again take on the role of a Vault Hunter. Your mission and run, climb and teleport through this stylish world to rescue Pandora from the evil Handsome Jack.

Supported platform(s): Oculus Rift & HTC Vive
Launch date: 22^nd October

Bonfire – Baobab Studios

In Bonfire, you take on the role of Space Scout 817 who is exploring the universe on a mission to find a new home for the human race. You soon find yourself crash landed three-hundred lightyears from Earth on an unknown planet. Along with your robot sidekick, Debbie, your only source of light is a the flickering makeshift bonfire light. What dangers lurks around you? Find out in this new VR experience from Baobab Studios and from the director of Madagascar and Antz.

Supported platform(s): PlayStation VR
Launch date: 22^nd October

A Dragon’s Tale VR – Spillage Games

Set on a fantasy volcanic island, you play as a dragon and explore this volcanic island. You will encounter a host of both dangerous and friendly mystical creatures as you perfect your flying abilities in this high-paced VR experience. Featuring three minigames, known as: Cow Drop, Burning Spree & Time Trials. Developer & publisher Spillage games say they want the user to “feel like a force of nature, to rain destruction on the landscape around you as you see fit.”

Supported platform(s): HTC Vive
Release Date: 22^ndOctober

Pirates of the Asteroid Belt VR – Garden Horse Studio

The year is 2273, as captain of a small cargo ship, your mission takes an unexpected turn. You find yourself encountering a mixture of friendly inhabitants and scheming enemies in this in this space-themed VR shooting adventure. Interact with objects such as airlocks and consoles while utilising a series of upgradable weapons and tools. The outcome of the whole story is down to your own decisions made over the course of the game.

Headset: HTC Vive, Oculus Rift & Windows Mixed Reality
Release date: 24^thOctober

Gadgeteer – Metanaut

Set in the apartment of a mad scientist, you must work to complete a series of puzzles and challenges that involve building a series of Rube Goldberg-type chain reaction machines. Previously available on other main headsets in April 2019, Gadgeteer is now coming to Oculus Quest. Featuring both a 60-stage campaign and sandbox modes, this physics-based indie VR puzzler has 50+ gadgets to build with.

Supported platform(s): Oculus Quest
Release date: 24^thOctober

October 8, 2019

PlayStation VR Marks Third Anniversary With Game Sale & Updates

Next week will be the third anniversary of PlayStation VR’s launch and Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) wasn’t going to let that pass by without some sort of celebration. To mark the occasion, SIE has announced a special PlayStation VR Anniversary Sale, updates on some of the titles coming to the headset, as well as the most popular experience in Europe and North America.

To start with, players can look forward to some interesting new videogames while some others have been given launch dates/windows:

Bonfire – Baobob Studios – 22nd October
Audica – Harmonix – 5th November
Paper Beast – Pixel Reef – Early 2020
Pixel Ripped 1995 – ARVORE – Spring 2020
The Room VR: A Dark Matter – Fireproof Games – Spring 2020

As for the top ten PlayStation VR experiences from each region, they are:

North America	Europe
The Playroom VR	The Playroom VR
PlayStation VR Worlds	PlayStation VR Worlds
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood	Resident Evil 7 Biohazard
Resident Evil 7 biohazard	Until Dawn: Rush of Blood
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR	Gran Turismo Sport
Beat Saber	Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Jackal Assault VR Experience
Job Simulator	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR
Batman: Arkham VR	Astro Bot Rescue Mission
Superhot VR	Farpoint
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Jackal Assault VR Experience	Driveclub VR

Last but not least is the PlayStation VR Anniversary Sale. For Europe the sale starts tomorrow 9th – 23rd October, while in North America the sale has already begun, ending 22nd October: With savings up to 60 percent off, here are the EU titles on sale:

PlayStation VR’s actual anniversary is on 13th October, so there could be some other surprises in store this weekend. For further updates, keep reading VRFocus.

July 17, 2019

The best save points in video games

Video games have used a variety of different methods to have you save your progress, and some have made the act of saving a fundamental part of the game design. These are the best save points in video games.

June 21, 2019

Competition: Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR & Bonfire for Oculus Quest

Would you believe it, VRFocus is just too good to our readers and we’ve gone and secured some more videogame codes for another Friday competition. A few weeks back we held a giveaway to win codes for Moss and Shadow Point for Oculus Quest. Well today, VRFocus has more codes available for Oculus Quest owners, this time for Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR and Bonfire.

Racket Fury VR Oculus Quest

If you like to be active in virtual reality (VR) and you’re somehow bored of Beat Saber or punching people in the face with Creed: Rise to Glory then how about delving into the competitive world of table tennis – albeit a futuristic one with robots. Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR encompasses the fast-paced sport of ping pong into a single-player experience.

Originally released in 2017 for HTC Vive before expanding support to include Oculus Rift, Oculus Go and PlayStation VR, Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR features 16 opponents to face across several challenging cups. Retailing for £14.99 GBP on the Oculus Store, the title also features multiplayer with cross-play and cross-buy support. So if you win a code it’ll also unlock the Oculus Rift version.

The second title VRFocus has codes for is Baobab Studios’ latest narrative experience Bonfire. The VR content developer is well known for a slew of awesome animated titles including Invasion!, Asteroids! and Crow: The Legend. Bonfire is a sci-fi story with interactive elements. You’re looking for a new home for humanity within the cosmos but unfortunately, your piloting skills aren’t too great and you crash-land on an unknown planet. Huddled around a makeshift bonfire for warmth strange noises suddenly appear from the forest.

Bonfire

For this competition, VRFocus is giving away several codes for Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR and Bonfire on Oculus Quest standalone headset. There are multiple ways to enter the giveaway with standard prize draw entry rules applying: Follow us (or already be following us) on Twitter or alternatively, visit our Facebook page or YouTube channel to get an entry for each. Only one code is available per person, each drawn randomly. The competition will be open a week. Beginning today and ending at midnight UK time on 28th June 2019. The draw will be made shortly thereafter. Best of luck.

Racket Fury: Table Tennis VR & Bonfire Oculus Quest Game Code Competition

May 24, 2019

Bonfire Review: Baobab’s Latest Charms To No End

You have to admire Baobab at least for its persistence if nothing else. Its ever-growing catalog of endearing VR animations has a throughline of progression, each feeling more assured in immersive storytelling than the last. Its latest experience, Bonfire, makes similarly significant strides in promising new directions.

Interaction is at the heart of Bonfire, and it yields potent results. You embody a scout sent to a distant alien planet to investigate potential colonization. After a rough landing, you’re forced to take shelter around a fire with your AI companion, Debbie (joyfully played by Ali Wong). There, dimly lit in the gentle flames, you’re treated to a close encounter with one of the planet’s inhabitants.

Fans of Baobab’s past work will find themselves right at home amongst the tongue-in-cheek tone, fantastical score and splendid visuals. But Bonfire has its roots in work beyond the studio, harkening back to early introductory VR like Oculus’ Farlands demo. In some senses, this too feels like a technical showcase, laying the groundwork for further adventures to come. There are sparks of invention all the same; playing a game of fetch with your new alien friend brings a few minutes of virtual delight, as does trying to tempt them into snatching a marshmallow from your hands.

It’s the narrative’s sharpness, both in scripting and pacing, that keeps a smile on the face. Bonfire has wit in both speech and action. You’ll find it in Wong’s lines, delivered with an enthusiastic naivety as she serves you cricket-flavored rations. But it’s also in the punchy animation, that stops and starts at an erratic tempo, giving the piece an unpredictable edge. It helps, too, that audience participation is an essential ingredient in the narrative.

There’s more work to be done, though. Interactions here are charming to no end but also feel somewhat limited in scope. Bonfire is brilliant but brief, and I wanted to explore more of the world around me and spend more time with the friends I’d made.

Bonfire exposes Baobab to a world of deeper storytelling possibilities, then. With that comes huge technical challenge, the kind we’re only just starting to see overcome in other experiences. For Boabab, it’s a promising start in a new era. Where it goes from here will be the real story.

Final Say: Recommended

Bonfire is available now on Oculus Quest for $9.99. For more information on how we review experiences and games, check out our Review Guidelines.

Tagged with: Bonfire, vr animation

The post Bonfire Review: Baobab’s Latest Charms To No End appeared first on UploadVR.

April 28, 2019

Inside The Making Of Baobab’s Latest VR Short, Bonfire

Baobab Studios took the wraps off its next original virtual reality creation yesterday, debuting a trailer for the short VR film Bonfire. The full episode will debut at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York this week. I was able to play the episode on the Oculus Rift headset, and I talked with its creators about how this cute and interactive story came together.

Baobab’s VR tales stand out as masterful storytelling, which has enabled the company to win two Emmy awards and lots of kudos for its previous VR creations — Invasion!, Asteroids!, Jack, and Crow: The Legend. I’ve come to expect good things from the creative team that includes Eric Darnell, cofounder of Baobab and the creator of the animated Madagascar films. Headed by CEO Maureen Fan, the company raised $25 million in 2016, largely on the promise of what these film properties could become.

Above: Character designs for Baobab’s Bonfire.

Image Credit: Dean Takahashi

I met with Darnell, Fan, chief technology officer Larry Cutler, and others at the company’s headquarters in Redwood City, California. Except for the animated creatures all over its walls, the place could have been any other software company in Silicon Valley. Baobab Studios was founded by Darnell, its chief creative officer, and Fan (a former vice president of games at Zynga) in 2015.

Darnell is best known for his director and screenwriter talents on all four films in the DreamWorks Madagascar franchise, which together have grossed more than $2.5 billion at the box office. He also held top roles for The Penguins of Madagascar and Antz, DreamWorks’ first animated film. Fan has held leadership roles in film, gaming, and most recently as vice president of games at Zynga, where she oversaw three studios, including the FarmVille sequels, which contributed 40 percent of the company’s revenues. Previously, she worked on Pixar’s Toy Story 3.

Above: Left to right: Maureen Fan, Larry Cutler, Nathaniel Dirksen, and Eric Darnell.

Image Credit: Dean Takahashi

Bonfire features the main character, Debbie, voiced by comedian, writer and actress Ali Wong. Debbie is a robot who serves as your assistant as you fulfill your mission while searching for a new home for humans as Earth runs out of resources.

As one of many Space Force scouts (No. 817) sent into deep space to explore other planetary systems, you discover a planet that could be habitable. You crash-land on the planet and build yourself a bonfire.

Debbie is your assistant, but she is hobbled because she has lost a wheel and can only spin in circles. In the alien jungle, you are surrounded by a creature in the dark shadows of the landscape, which seems genuinely scary. Then you meet a character named Pork Bun.

Pork Bun is cute pink-and-yellow alien with a big green tongue and a penchant for manufactured food that comes out of your robot. Debbie chats with you and provides you with comic relief. You gain Pork Bun’s trust by tossing out little marshmallow-like treats.

Then you have to make a decision. I won’t spoil it. It’s a comedic VR experience, but you have to interact with the characters and make a decision that will determine which way the narrative will go. Darnell said the team wanted to deepen the fan’s engagement via interactivity, and take that farther with this film than previous pieces have gone. Your decisions matter, and you have to take action in order to get a good outcome for the story. You exercise your conscience.

While the characters are cartoonish, graphics are pretty impressive. There are shadows from the campfire, cast on to the face of Pork Bun. The movements are fluid, yet the character’s shape is quite simple. The team worked on the 12-minute film for around six months. I thought it turned out great, with a familiar emphasis on a self-contained story.

Above: Bonfire is the latest VR film from Baobab.

Image Credit: Dean Takahashi

You can see the progression of VR technology itself looking back in time over Baobab’s history. With the original Invasion! story, you were a bunny, but you had no hands or input devices in VR. Now you can pick up little marshmallows and feed Pork Bun, using touch controls. You can also take advantage of technologies like artificial intelligence.

Ambition

Above: Ali Wong plays Debbie.

Image Credit: Baobab

“This was supposed to be a short piece,” Fan said. “Because we’re very ambitious, this turned out to be much bigger than we expected.”

Fan said she was excited to work with voice actor Wong, who has had a good career as a standup comedian.

“We’re very focused on trying to put the viewer inside the story,” Darnell said.

“It’s powerful when characters make eye contact with your character,” he said. “The next thing is for you to build a relationship with the character. You have to make a decision under pressure. And the choice you make really matters. There are real stakes involved.”

Darnell said, “And through the choice that you make, you reveal something about who you are, at least to the characters in the story, if not, maybe even to yourself. The point is to really make the viewer feel invested in the characters in the story.”

Above: The characters of Baobab.

Image Credit: Dean Takahashi

Larry Cutler, chief technology officer, said the team went through a lot of iterations of characters to arrive at the final versions, as the posters on the office wall showed. The system also has to use AI to detect what you are doing in VR and how the simulation reacts.

Fan said the company will work hard to make sure that Bonfire runs across a wide variety of VR headsets. The future release platforms for the VR film are to be determined.

This post by Dean Takahashi originally appeared on VentureBeat.

Tagged with: baobab, Bonfire

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April 24, 2019

Bonfire: Baobab Studios präsentieren ersten Trailer für neuen VR-Film

Die Baobab Studios (unter anderem bekannt für Crow: The Legend) wurden kürzlich für das VR-Werk mit zwei Daytime Emmys ausgestattet. Nun folgt das nächste VR-Projekt Bonfire des preisgekrönten Studios, welches mit der US-amerikanische Schauspielerin und Stand-Up-Komikerin Ali Wong besetzt wird. Ein erster Trailer gibt nun Einblicke in den kommenden VR-Film.

Bonfire – Erster Trailer für neues VR-Projekt vorgestellt

Das mittlerweile fünfte VR-Projekt Bonfire von den preisgekrönten Baobab Studios führt die Zuschauer in den Weltraum. In einer dystopisch-angehauchten Zukunftsvision hat die Menschheit, die Erde zugrunde gerichtet, weshalb es neue Lebensräume zu erforschen gilt. In der Rolle des Space Scout 817 begibt man sich auf eine wichtige Mission zur Erschließung neuer Planeten, um diese langfristig zu besiedeln.

Leider verläuft bei der Rückkehr nicht alles wie geplant, denn anstatt zurück auf der Erde anzukommen, muss der waghalsige Pilot auf einem anderen Planeten notlanden. Der fremdartige Planet wirkt dabei nicht nur aufgrund der bedrohlichen Geräusche durch die alienartige Fauna abschreckend, auch lebensnotwendiges Licht ist hier Mangelware. So bleibt als einzige Möglichkeit ein Lagerfeuer zu errichten, um euch warm zu halten, Helligkeit zu verschaffen und Getier fernzuhalten.

Image courtesy: Baobab Studios

An eurer Seite befindet sich eure treue Robobegleiterin Debbie, welche durch die Schauspielerin Ali Wong vertont wird. Doch auch weitere Charaktere werden zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt enthüllt.

Die interaktive VR-Erfahrung ermöglicht es, eigene Entscheidungen zu treffen und dadurch die Story zu beeinflussen. Insgesamt 15 bis 20 Minuten Laufzeit soll der VR-Film besitzen.

Bonfire wird erstmals auf dem Tribeca Film Festival vom 24. April bis 5. Mai in New York vorgeführt und soll für diverse Oculus-Endgeräte erscheinen.

(Quellen: Upload VR | Variety | Video: Baobab Studios YouTube)

Der Beitrag Bonfire: Baobab Studios präsentieren ersten Trailer für neuen VR-Film zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

April 23, 2019

Baobab Reveals Trailer For Bonfire Starring Ali Wong

Baobab Studios revealed the trailer for its next VR project, Bonfire, starring Ali Wong.

The 5th animated VR project from Baobab Studios builds interaction into a strong narrative that places you as Space Scout 817 “on a mission to discover a new home for the human race after it has made a mess of Earth. The stakes are high. Too bad your piloting skills lack… precision. In fact, you crash-land at night in a mysterious clearing of an unknown planet three-hundred light-years from Earth. Your only source of light is your makeshift bonfire. Beyond its glow everything falls to darkness. And what are those strange noises coming from the alien jungle?”

Wong voices robot sidekick Debbie with “a signature wariness” as you encounter furry inhabitants of the alien planet. The project builds to the question “Will you follow your captain or your conscience?”

Baobab is doing groundbreaking work in VR with animated projects formed around strong narratives that put a single person in VR at the center of the story. The approach makes Baobab’s stories accessible to a wide range of viewers while still leaving visitors to their virtual worlds with indelible memories. In the studio’s last project, Crow: The Legend, interactivity was layered onto the experience in subtle ways — you could wave your arms to change the seasons, for instance. Bonfire continues Baobab’s journey of exploration in immersive storytelling with this tale about trust and friendship.

Bonfire is premiering at the Tribeca Film Festival and is expected to run around 15-20 minutes when it launches widely on “multiple Oculus devices.” The project is directed by Eric Darnell.

Tagged with: Ali Wong, Baobab Studios, Bonfire

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March 8, 2019

Doctor Who, Bonfire And More VR Movies Debut At Tribeca 2019

Tribeca Film Festival 2019 is coming up and the show is packing a host of VR premieres.

The Immersive lineup for this year’s show was revealed this week. It contains more than 30 experiences, many of which will be shown for the first time at the festival.

Highlights include the recently-announced Doctor Who: The Runaway. It’s a short VR adventure that will allow viewers to step inside the TARDIS for the first time. Current Doctor Jodie Whittaker lends her voice to the piece too.

We’ll also see the debut of Bonfire, the latest from Baobab Studios. Announced earlier this week, the experience sees viewers crash land on an alien planet and start to build relationships with its inhabitants. War Remains, meanwhile, will immerse viewers in the Western Front of World War 1. Podcasting legend Dan Carlin narrates an experience that promises to be both visceral and educational.

We’ve also seen a few of these pieces first-hand. We got an early look at VR City’s Common Grounds a few weeks ago, for example. It’s a striking piece following the demise of a housing estate in central London. There’s also another look at the Wolves in the Walls series we first saw last year.

But there’s plenty more to see that’s entirely new. Into the Light, the latest piece from Jessica Brillhart, promises more immersive musical heights. 2nd Civil War, meanwhile, puts you on the front lines of a fictitious conflict. It’s a voice-activated piece that has you interrogating an insurgency.

There’s a little AR in there too; Stealing Ur Feelings uses facial recognition AI to gauge your reactions to its content.

Quite an eclectic line-up, then. We’ll be looking forward to seeing how Tribeca pushes VR storytelling forward this year.

Tagged with: Bonfire, Doctor Who, Tribeca Film Festival, vr movies

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