Game Developers Conference 2019 – Page 2 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

March 18, 2019

VR to Dominate Korean Pavilion at GDC 2019

It’s finally the week of the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2019, with the main event due to open this Wednesday. It’s set to be an exciting week for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) news, both on the hardware and software side. And it looks as though the Korean Pavilion will be highly focused on immersive tech, with six out of the ten companies attending focused on VR or AR.

The pavilion has been set up by the Korea Creative Content Agency(KOCCA) to showcase the latest Korean game technologies. KOCCA General Director Hyun Hoon Cho commented in a statement: “GDC2019 is a significant opportunity to showcase Korea’s next-generation Game Technologies and Solutions to the global market. I will use it as a stepping stone to revitalize the production of next-generation game contents in Korea through understanding the latest trend of global game technology.”

Attending GDC 2019 will be bHaptics with its wearable haptic suit, the Tactsuit. The device is able to relay sensations from over 70 individually controlled actuators, helping players feel every punch, shot and knock to their bodies. Staying with haptics, VR Carver is a specialist in haptic devices for VR sports videogames. By using what the company calls a ‘trek belt system’, it’s currently in the process of developing a simulator for racing titles.

Moving into the field of hand input is Feel the Same, focusing purely on hand and finger gestures. Feel the Same manufactures soft sensors which can be used inside data or VR gloves, and will be demonstrating the Mollisen VR glove at GDC 2019.

Reality MagiQ Infinite Fire On the software side, there’s Reality MagiQ, a VR developer that specialises in e-sports experiences for VR arcades. With plans to release new titles online later this year, the company is looking for more arcades and theme parks to deploy its technology.

Working within the VR and AR fields is Neorama, which is currently developing a robot-based tournament title called Robot Taekwon V-Reality, which is in co-production with Korea Telecom. And lastly, there’s Smarthan which creates educational content using AR.

As GDC 2019 ramps up speed, VRFocus will bring you all the latest announcements from the event.

March 12, 2019

Become the Controller as Vicon Debut Shadow Shifter at GDC 2019

The Game Developer Conference (GDC) 2019 is only a week away and it’s set to be an exciting year for virtual reality (VR). Today, motion capture specialist Vicon has announced it’ll be at the event in San Francisco to showcase two new updates, one for its location-based VR (LBVR) system Origin, and the other for its upcoming motion capture technology Shōgun 1.3.

Vicon Origin

Vicon launched the Origin system last summer during SIGGRAPH, offering a complete tracking solution for VR enterprises, employed by companies like Dreamscape Immersive and VR Arcade. To showcase the latest refinements to the system, at GDC 2019 Vicon will challenge guests to play Shadow Shifter, an experience developed specifically for the event.

Players will become the controller in the physical videogame where two attendees at a time must work together to collect coins. Participants are equipped with six Pulsar active clusters and tracked by 20 Vicon Viper cameras, players then need to match there body shape with what’s displayed in front of them, with the best gaining a place on the leaderboards.

“Although Origin is less than a year old, we have only begun to scratch the surface of its vast capabilities,” said Vicon CEO, Imogen Moorhouse in a statement. “For GDC, we want to give showgoers a practical demonstration of how Vicon is developing its leading LBVR system while having a little fun at the same time.”

Shadow Shifter will also take advantage or Origin’s recent improvements, like those to the Evoke software, tracking and the introduction of “Nova,” an active strand kit containing a set of sensors that can turn any real-world object into an in-game prop.

In addition to Origin, attendees will gain a first-look at the upcoming Shōgun 1.3 update, scheduled to launch later this year. Daily demonstrations will highlight the new features, including retargeting and high-fidelity finger capture in real-time. To help with the demonstrations veteran motion capture artist Gina Williamson will star as Ciri from CD Projekt Red’s The Witcher videogame series.

As Vicon continues to improve Origin and more establishments employ the technology, VRFocus will be there to keep you updated.

February 28, 2019

Angry Birds VR Dev Resolution Games Confirms Work on Several Oculus Quest Titles

The next couple of months should be fairly exciting for virtual reality (VR) fans, with the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2019 only a few weeks away, and then F8 2019 the month after with possible Oculus Quest launch details. Resolution Games has been involved in both the VR and augmented reality (AR) industries for some time now, having seen great success with fishing title Bait! It’s most recent videogame was Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs in collaboration with Rovio Entertainment. Now the studio has revealed a few new plans.

bait vr screenshot2

Resolution Games will be attending GDC 2019 to announce information regarding several new titles the studio is working on for Oculus Quest. It’s not discussing any further details at this time but the likelihood of a few ports is definitely high.

Titles such as Moss, Robo Recall and The Climb have already been confirmed for the launch of the standalone headset, and Bait! for example, would make for an excellent Oculus Quest experience, being able to fish wherever you chose. Having originally debuted on Samsung Gear VR before coming to Oculus Rift why should Oculus Quest miss out.

And the same goes for Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs. It’s not too graphically intensive, plus the new 6DoF controllers are perfectly suited to flinging all those birds at those unsuspecting green pigs. VRFocus would certainly like to see that happen, giving the videogame a solid 4-star review, saying: “While there aren’t really any major surprises when it comes to content and gameplay the adaption to VR has worked superbly well, with the studios retaining the high production values they’re known for. Angry Birds VR: Isle of Pigs is Angry Birds just in VR, and that’s no bad thing, equally fun and frustrating as it ever was.”

Angry Birds VR

GDC 2019 should be a big event for Oculus Quest as it’s most likely the last one before the standalone headset launches. A new title from Face Your Fears developer Turtle Rock Studios will be on display, and hopefully so will Sanzaru Games’ latest Asgard’s Wrath. VRFocus will be at GDC 2019 to bring you all the latest news and announcements.

February 11, 2019

Demo Oculus Quest at GDC 2019, Oculus to Return to E3

Oculus is planning quite the bumper year if the next few tech events are anything to go by. Today, the Facebook-owned company announced that upcoming standalone headset Oculus Quest would be on demonstration at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2019 and PAX East, as well as confirming a return to the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) this year.

Oculus Quest doesn’t have an official release date just yet, simply a ‘Spring 2019’ window – VRFocus expects the announcement will happen during F8 2019, just like Oculus Go the year before. In the run-up to launch Oculus is building that anticipation for the headset by taking it to GDC 2019 in San Francisco next month and PAX East in Boston shortly after.

While no specific videogames have been mentioned for either event, expect some surprises in-store. In a blog post, Oculus’ Head of VR, Nate Mitchell teased a new title from Face Your Fears developer Turtle Rock Studios, saying: “With Oculus Quest and much more on the horizon, expect more of that same magic we all felt in the beginning. I’ve been getting some time in with the games we’re bringing to GDC and PAX East, like the latest from Turtle Rock Studios. It reminds me of playing Zelda back when I was a kid—that sense of awe and wonder and larger-than-life adventure.”

As for E3 2019, this marks a serious return for Oculus – which hasn’t had a booth there since 2016. The company has confirmed that newly announced Asgard’s Wrath by Sanzaru Games and Oculus Studios will be playable there. More detailed specifics have yet to be released.

Asgard's Wrath

Oculus being at E3 2019 will be a massive boost for VR at the event. As VRFocus has previously discussed, there was going to be a massive VR hole left thanks to the departure of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) for the first time in the event’s history. With the launch of Oculus Quest likely to have occurred by the time of E3 2019 in June, the company will have three head-mounted displays (HMDs) to demo and available at retail. Hopefully, it’ll have an impressive stand to match.

As Oculus release further details, VRFocus will keep you updated.

February 4, 2019

Get Voting for the 2019 Game Developers Choice Awards Audience Award

Last month the 2019 Game Developers Conference (GDC) announced that its annual Game Developers Choice Awards (GDCA) would be taking place, with five virtual reality (VR) titles chosen for the ‘Best VR/AR Game’. While that particular category winner is selected by judges, you the public also get your say in the Audience Award. Online voting has now begun, with some of the best VR titles going up against some of the best console and PC videogames.

Tetris Effect

There are 22 videogames up for nomination in the GDCA, with the five VR titles being Tetris Effect, Moss, Budget Cuts, Astro Bot Rescue Mission and Beat Saber.

Additionally, there are the Independent Games Festival Awards (IGF Awards) which take place at the same time. Alas, when it comes to VR content the IGF Awards don’t have a lot to offer, with Polyarc’s Moss the only VR candidate.

To place your vote for the 19th Annual Game Developers Choice Awards Audience Award simply follow this link to the official GDCA form or here for the IGF Awards. There’s plenty of time with voting set to close next week on 11th February 2019. The winners will be announced live during the ceremonies on Wednesday, 20th March 2019 as part of the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, livestreamed on the official GDC Twitch channel.

Budget Cuts - Combat

Last month GDC released its annual Game Industry Report, which survey’s nearly 4,000 developers from across the globe, revealing some highly interesting stats when it came to VR development and how popular certain headsets are.

This will be the 19th annual Game Developers Choice Awards and will be hosted once again by Tim Schafer, LucasArts industry veteran and founder of Double Fine Productions (Psychonauts 2). Just like any major event featuring VR or AR tech, VRFocus will be at GDC 2019 to bring you all the very latest news and announcements relating to the XR industry as they happen.

January 25, 2019

GDC’s Annual Game Industry Report Reveals HTC Vive is Still Most Popular

The annual Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2019 is set to take place in March and as in previous years, the event has released its traditional State of the Game Industry Survey, having surveyed nearly 4,000 developers. The report has once again brought up some interesting stats regarding virtual reality (VR), highlighting HTC Vive as the most popular among developers still.

GDC State of the Industry 2019 image1

Out of the respondents to the survey, 52 percent said they had never been involved with developing VR or augmented reality (AR) videogames. So the rest of the results came from the other 48 percent, with 33 percent of them currently developing for HTC Vive. Overall, however, 51 percent of VR developers were working on content for Oculus headsets, split 30 percent for Oculus Rift and 21 percent for upcoming standalone device Oculus Quest, which is due to launch this Spring.

When it comes to PlayStation VR on the other hand, only 13 percent said they were working on titles for Sony Interactive Entertainment’s (SIE) headset. Which is slightly surprising considering PlayStation VR seems to have the biggest consumer base.

When the game industry professionals were asked about which headsets most interested them the stats stayed relatively similar for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Oculus Quest, with PlayStation VR, Magic Leap and Microsoft’s HoloLens all seeing spikes.

As for the future of immersive content development, it looks as though most of the pros think AR will be the more dominant tech in the next five years. A massive 34 percent went for AR whilst only 19 percent of respondents chose VR. 20 percent of those surveyed thought both VR and AR would be equally popular in five years.

GDC 2019 takes place in San Francisco, California from 18th – 22nd March. Also held at the same time is the Virtual Reality Developers Conference (VRDC) dedicated to the immersive tech industry. Alongside VR demonstrations there will be plenty of sessions taking place, for example, Amata K.K.’s Lead Animator Atsuko Fukuyama – currently working on Last Labyrinth – will be holding a talk titled “Animating Memorable Characters that Communicate Without Words.”

For further GDC 2019 updates ahead of the event, keep reading VRFocus.

January 15, 2019

Last Labyrinth Lead Animator to Hold Session During GDC Animation Bootcamp

Amata K.K. is a Japanese studio currently working on virtual reality (VR) escape room experience Last Labyrinth. The developer has recently announced that its Lead Animator Atsuko Fukuyama will be attending the Game Developers Conference (GDC) 2019 to give a talk as part of the events Animation Bootcamp.

Last Labyrinth

Fukuyama will be holding a session titled “Animating Memorable Characters that Communicate Without Words”, in collaboration with colleague Alexis Broadhead (3D Animator and Technical Artist). The session will focus on the techniques she uses to help players feel connected to characters that are unable to speak or unable to use words the player understands, with Fukuyama pulling examples from Last Labyrinth.

The Lead Animator is best known for being a key member of the ICO and Shadow of the Colossus teams, animating Yorda and Agro respectively. Again, these are two more characters that connect to players without speech or recognizable words.

Last Labyrinth is a VR escape room experience with a difference. Players awake in a strange mansion to find themselves strapped to a wheelchair. Rather than being able to explore by themselves, they find that they are unable to move this chair located in the middle of a dark, dilapidated room. From the darkness, a mysterious girl named Katia appears who speaks a strange language that’s incomprehensible, however, players need her help to unravel the puzzles and find a way out of the mansion.

Last Labyrinth

GDC 2019 takes place in San Francisco, California from 18th – 22nd March, playing host to some of the biggest (and smallest) videogame developers from across the globe. While CES 2019 last week handled all the hardware tech, GDC is purely about the games, featuring plenty of new announcements as well as lots of sessions for developers to learn more. As part of the conference, for the first couple of days, will be the Virtual Reality Developers Conference (VRDC), where studios can learn and share best practices to create augmented reality (AR) and VR experiences.

Last Labyrinth is expected to launch worldwide in Spring 2019, supporting HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR and Windows Mixed Reality headsets. As further details on the videogame are released VRFocus will keep you updated.