Crowe: The Drowned Armory – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

January 16, 2018

Nina Takes On An Alien Invasion In Crowe: The Drowned Armory

Rogue Initiative’s Crowe: The Drowned Armory has impressed since its debut last year, so VRFocus‘ Nina decided to dive in and see what she’d been missing. Available now for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, Crowe: The Drowned Armory is an action-adventure videogame designed specifically for VR, and Nina lets us know what she thinks in the video below.

Crowe: The Drowned Armory takes place as aliens invade a once-peaceful society, and the protagonist, Crowe, a young village boy, must solve puzzles and uncover the mysteries of an ancient temple in order to save his race and his culture.

Pete Blumel, Crowe: The Drowned Armory’s Creative Director and studio co-founder, wants players to know this is something different; “This is not a game, ‘Crowe‘ is a cinematic interactive experience that combines puzzle solving, character interaction and combat with an epic ending built in a virtual reality world.”

Originally launched in May 2017, Crowe: The Drowned Armory has since benefitted from numerous updates. The lastest, in October 2017, saw the addition of a brand new gameplay mode: Survival Arena.

“We listened to the community feedback. Now continue the fight against a slew of updated enemy types in Crowe: Survival Arena features new environments and new enemy types! Fighting high above the valley floor, you must defend your lofty platform or teleport to another before it’s destroyed beneath your feet. In “Survival Arena”, switch between weapon types and teleport between platforms strategically while battling various enemy types,” reads the description of the update on the official Steam Store page for Crowe: The Drowned Armory.

Crowe: The Drowned Armory is available now on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, with PlayStation VR support planned for the future. To see what Nina thinks watch the video below, and for all of the latest VR news, stay on VRFocus.

November 24, 2017

The Rogue Initiative’s Nghia Lam & Pete Blumel Discuss Crowe: The Drowned Armory

Founded in 2015, The Rogue Initiative has built a team of award-winning industry veterans from the likes of Amblin Entertainment, Disney, Dreamworks Animation, Pixar, Warner Bros., Sony Pictures Entertainment, Activision, Epic Games and Microsoft. It comes as no surprise then that they’re delving into the in-between world of gaming and filming through virtual reality (VR). VRFocus spoke to Pete Blumel, CEO and Creative Director as well as Nghia Lam Design Director at The Rogue Initiative.

The Rogue Initiative announced they were working their first VR videogame Crowe: The Drowned Armory in 2016. Released on Steam for HTC Vive on the 30th May 2017, Crowe tells a story of a tribal boy discovering ancient forgotten technology abandoned by his ancestors as he tries to defend his village from alien invaders. A fairy guides you, and you will be asked to solve puzzles that incorporate head-tracking and parallax. In Survival Mode, you can take down enemies with various weapons such dual plasma pistols.

Crowe: The Drowned Armory is currently available on Steam for the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift on the 5th October, 2017 and for PlayStation VR later this year. Watch the video below to see what the Rogue Initiative want to do and how they are working with established filmmakers on VR projects.

November 20, 2017

The Rogue Initiative are Working on Several Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality Projects

When VRFocus visited AR and VR on the Lot it was to find out what the creators were working on and see which companies wanted to showcase to Hollywood. However, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) companies also use the event to find new partners, new investors, as well as share tips and tricks on ways of creating original content for new platforms. This is exactly what Pete Blumel, CEO and head of studio The Rogue Initiative was doing on a panel at the event.

Blumel has had a very successful career in both feature films for Dreamworks SKG, animation and videogames. A career which has included work on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Shrek, Transformers, Prince of Egypt and The Island to name but a few. His experience across multiple mediums led him to leading the team at the Rogue Initiative on the studio’s slate of film, television, interactive and VR & AR projects. When VRFocus sat down to talk to Blumel, it seemed that while they were on various projects each of them had an aspect of VR or AR to them.

It’s been a busy year for the studio bringing Crowe: The Drowned Armory to the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. They’ve added a survival mode as well as a meditative mode where players can view potential future maps without interacting with them.

Crowe_The_Drowned_Armory_2-hi It’s also gotten busier with them working in China on a project that is VR based; a science-fiction television show that has VR components in it, as well as a companion piece to go along with it, a science educational franchise that is going to be both VR and AR on various platforms and an AR project Blumel can’t talk about any further. Blumel explains that they want to incorporate VR and AR in any way they can. VRFocus will be covering these as they come out.

Blumel seemed very pleased with the way VR and AR were moving forward. The standalone headsets which are appearing in both the West and East are needed to replace the cardboard and mobile VR headsets. The Rogue Initiative believe there’s a place for both the standalone headsets as well as the untethered, warehouse VR experiences such as The VOID and Nomadic VR. They’re looking at their own content and trying to experiment with how their content can cater to both. People are starting to pay attention, studios are looking at original properties and publishers are starting to take notice. This is clearly evident with AAA titles coming to VR such as Fallout 4 VR. The technology is still new and people are learning that putting the camera into people’s hands is not a bad thing, you need interactivity, need real-time engines and more to tell a beautiful story in VR. Film producers started to see the trend in producers asking how to make their product more interactive when Blumel was working on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

At events such as AR and VR on the Lot, Blumel said that a lot of people have come to them to ask how to tell stories in VR and they have been able to make new partners when newcomers were able to get over the hurdles of the new ‘technology wall’. Blumel explains that they’re looking for talent and want to foster that talent for the future of immersive technology. The Rogue Initiative are working with famous filmmakers and are currently working on a VR project with Michael Bay. The Rogue Initiative and Bay will produce and develop original content in cinematic-style VR. The experience will offer the “gritty, danger, close action coupled with Michael Bay’s signature style and storytelling that fans all over the world have come to expect from his blockbuster action films.”

Follow and subscribe to VRFocus for further news and watch the video below to get some advice from Blumel on the VR industry.

October 3, 2017

Crowe: The Drowned Armory Gets Oculus Rift Version

Many Oculus Rift users have been eagerly awaiting news that cinematic virtual reality (VR) title Crowe: The Drowned Armory would make it over to their preferred platform. The wait is almost over for those users, as developers The Rogue Initiative have announced a release date for the Oculus Rift version.

The Oculus Rift version will include chapter one of the story mode, which introduces players to the mysterious world of Jayde, where the players takes on the role of a young warrior who is trying to find a way to defend his people against and alien invasion and comes across a long-forgotten armoury of high-tech weaponry.

Oculus Rift owners will also get access to the Survival Arena, a high-speed action mode that features new weapons, environments and a new soundtrack. Leaderboards are available so users can track their progress and compete to get high scores. A Passive mode is also available, which allows users to explore the world with no danger, to discover the beauty of the environment and discover the six ‘meditative spaces’ scattered in the environment.

HTC Vive users shouldn’t fret, however, as all the updates and improvements introduced for the Oculus Rift version will also be made available to HTC Vive users for free as part of an update.

Crowe: The Drowned Armory will launch on Oculus Rift on 5th October, 2017, priced at $8.99 (USD), complete with all new updates and DLC. Further information and updates can be found on the Steam store page, or official Crowe: The Drowned Armory website.

VRFocus will bring you further information on Crowe: The Drowned Armory as it becomes available.

June 2, 2017

Crowe: The Drowned Armory Gets Survival Mode

Released only a few days ago for HTC Vive, adventure-shooter Crowe: The Drowned Armory is already getting and update to introduce a new play mode to the title in the from of a Survival Mode.

Released on Steam for HTC Vive on 30^th May 2017, Crowe: The Drowned Armory is the first virtual reality (VR) experience to come out of development studio Rogue Initiative. Telling the story of a young tribal warrior who finds his village invaded by alien conquerors. To protect his village, the boy discovers a long-forgotten armory of high-tech weaponry which he must learn to use in order to drive back the invaders and protect his home.

With the help of ‘techno fairy’ AMI, the player needs to learn how to use weapons such as a shield and plasma energy bow and solve puzzles in order to reach the bottom of a flooded, abandoned temple and face the giant dragon that lurks within.

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The new Survival Mode will introduce some new elements. Players will need to defend a platform from enemies and teleport to a new platform before the current perch is destroyed from underneath them. The developers are also introducing a range of new enemy types to defeat and new weapons; dual plasma pistols. Players will also be able to compare their time and score with fellow players with the introduction of a Steam Leaderboard.

Crowe: The Drowned Armory is currently available on Steam for £11.24 (GBP), a 24% launch discount from the usual price of £14.99. Currently the title is only available for HTC Vive, but is planned to et a Oculus Rift version on 13^th June, with a PlayStation VR version following later in the year.

VRFocus will bring you further updates on Crowe: The Drowned Armory as they become available.

May 30, 2017

Rogue Initiative Launch Crowe: The Downed Armory on HTC Vive

Rogue Initiative have unveiled the studio’s first original interactive virtual reality (VR) experience, which will be made available as a timed exclusive for HTC Vive from 30^th May, 2017, followed by Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR later on the year.

Crowe: The Downed Armory tells the story of a tribal boy who must defend his village from alien invaders by discovering the secret of long-forgotten technology that was abandoned 1000 years ago by his ancestors. The story aims to blend sci-fi and fantasy into an epic, immersive story.

“This is not a game, ‘Crowe‘ is a cinematic interactive experience that combines puzzle solving, character interaction and combat with an epic ending built in a virtual reality world,” said Pete Blumel, Co-Founder, CEO and Creative Director, The Rogue Initiative.

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“At Rogue Initiative, we focus on world building, along with character driven storytelling. I think with ‘Crowe,’ we built out a beautiful world experience for our consumer which makes it perfect for our premiere release,” said Cathy Twigg, Co-Founder, Chief Content & Production Officer, The Rogue Initiative.

Players are guided through the experience by a techno-fairy referred to as AMI in order to fight off the first enemies and learn how to use weapons such as a plasma energy bow. Crowe: The Drowned Armory incorporates head-tracking and parallax into its puzzles, so users will need to get to grips with the control methods in order to progress into the dangerous temple.

The title will be exclusive to the HTC Vive until 13^th of June, when it will be made available for Oculus Rift. There are plans to bring the title to PlayStation VR, but a release date has not yet been confirmed.

A trailer is available to view below.

VRFocus will bring you further news on Crowe: The Drowned Armory and other VR titles when it becomes available.

March 12, 2017

New Screenshots And Teaser Trailer For Crowe: The Drowned Armory

Development studio The Rogue Initiative today announced a teaser trailer for upcoming virtual reality (VR) game Crowe: The Drowned Armory as well as several screenshots that show details of the action puzzle game.

The Rogue Initiative is a new studio that specialises in a large range of entertainment including film, television, videogames and virtual reality (VR). As well as Crowe: The Drowned Armory, the company has been working on an as-yet-unnamed collaboration with director Michael Bay on another upcoming franchise.

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Crowe: The Drowned Armory itself puts the player in the shoes of Crowe, a young village boy who must solve puzzles, fight an alien invasion and solve the mysteries of an ancient temple in order to save his society. The studio hope that this will be the first part in an ongoing Crowe franchise.

Pete Blumel, co-founder and CEO of The Rogue Initiative, said: “We’re all excited to start sharing some of what the talented team at The Rogue Initiative has been creating over the recent months. The first of several projects on our slate, Crowe: The Drowned Armory will introduce vibrant characters in an exotic, mysterious world where things are not always what they seem.”

Cathy Twigg, co-founder and Chief Production Officer of The Rogue Initiative, added: “The Rogue Initiative collaborates with highly established Hollywood talent leveraging proprietary technology to develop and produce original entertainment content for feature film, television, video games and virtual reality experiences. We are actively seeking global partnerships for location based entertainment and arcades as Crowe and other properties under development are ideally suited for these venues.”

You can see the screenshots and teaser trailer below.

VRFocus will bring you further updates on Crowe: The Drowned Armory and other Rogue Initiative prone once we get them.

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