Google Daydream View – Page 5 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

January 4, 2017

NextVR Now Available on Google Daydream

For fans of virtual reality (VR) and sport, the NextVR app has been the go to source for immersive entertainment, featuring Basketball, horse racing, football (soccer), American football, boxing and loads more. There’s always been one overriding problem, the app is has only ever been made available for Samsung Gear VR. That’s now all changed as NextVR expands support to one other head-mounted display (HMD) Google Daydream View.

As with Gear VR, the Daydream version of NextVR is free to download, giving access to various sporting events, such as NBA games, ICC soccer matches, the Kentucky Derby, the US Open, the Daytona 500 and concerts from the band Coldplay. The app supports Google Daydream users in the US, Canada, UK, Germany and Australia currently.

NextVR - ICC

For viewers into the NBA there’s also some premium content to unlock if you’ve got the spare cash. Back in October VRFocus reported on NextVR announcing it would be live-streaming at least one NBA League Pass game per week during the 2016-17 season. 25-games are scheduled to be live streamed in VR, but fans will need to pay $200 USD for the pass. NBA League Pass can only be used by US consumers, no other territory – including Canada – is supported at this time. Features such as “Best Dunks” and “Best Plays” are more widely available.

As and when NextVR plans to expand support for other VR headsets, VRFocus will keep you updated.

December 22, 2016

Resolution Games Launches Update for Daydream View Title Wonderglade

When Google first announced the Daydream View headset at its Google I/O conference in May one of the earliest virtual reality (VR0 titles confirmed for the headset was Wonderglade by Resolution Games. When Daydream View launched in November Wonderglade was a day one title for the headset, and today the studio releases a new update for the experience.

Wonderglade is a carnival-themed mini-game collection that previously featured four challenges. The update today now adds a fifth game and several other additions. Alongside Wonderglade’s initial attractions – Tinder Town, Magic Mayhem, Tip N Tilt Racing and Tiny Tee Golf – users can now play a new mini-game called Hamster Hoops. Here players become an interstellar basketball champion by shooting hoops in space surrounded by cute hamsters. The more high-value hoops a player hits the higher their score and more tickets they will earn.

Wonderglade screenshot 1

For the festive season Resolution Games has enabled a ‘pass and play’ feature, where users can play their favourite mini-games with up to six friends for a local competition. There are new items to purchase including a royal crown for avatars, an alien gun hose or guitar hose for Tinder Town, a cookie wand or fly swatter for Magic Mayhem, new characters for Tip N Tilt and more. Wonderglade has also been localized to include German, UK English, Latin American Spanish and Canadian French.

“We’re excited to see Wonderglade become a breakout success with a 4.7 rating in the Google Play Store. We’re also getting some great feedback and comments from users – much of which drove these new updates,” said Tommy Palm, CEO and co-founder of Resolution Games. “And, just in time for the holidays players can now engage with their families and friends in a whole new way with the added pass and play tournament mode. It’s truly the perfect way to introduce those who haven’t experienced VR to the platform.”

Wonderglade is free to download for Google Daydream View, and for any further updates from Resolution Games, keep reading VRFocus.

December 19, 2016

nDreams Bring Some Festive Cheer to Danger Goat on Daydream View

If you’re still not into the Christmas spirit with less than a week to go than how about some festive cheer courtesy of British virtual reality (VR) studio nDreams. Today the team announced an Xmas update for their puzzle adventure title Danger Goat for Google’s new head-mounted display (HMD), Daydream View.

The Christmas update doesn’t add any new features or improvements to Danger Goat, it’s simply a festive redressing of the videogame with the titular character sporting a Santa hat and red nose, while the environment becomes gently covered in a light smattering of snow. If that wasn’t enough, the main menu comes decked out with presents and a Christmas tree, there’s some festive tunes playing, and the helpbot is in a seasonal mood.

Danger Goat Festive Update_1

Danger Goat is a comedic take on the puzzle genre, with a bold art style and inspiration taken from old school spy capers. It features 28 levels to master, covering a wide range of environments. From wild forests and snowy mountains to the farthest reaches of outer space, players will need to grasp the unique features of the Daydream controller to knock down monoliths and sabotage traps to create that route through.

Developed exclusively for Daydream View, it launched the same day as the headset. The videogame is available for $5.99 USD / € 5.49 EUR / £4.99 GBP on the Google Play store. Checkout the VRFocus review of Danger Goat, and check back for any further updates.

December 12, 2016

Need for Speed No Limits VR on Daydream Gets Release Date

At Google I/O earlier this year Electronics Arts (EA) revealed it would be supporting Google Daydream with one of its most successful franchises, Need for Speed. Little was heard about the project until October when Google officially announced Daydream View, showcasing Need for Speed: No Limits VR. The title was given a late 2016 launch window, but now EA has dated its arrival for this week.

Developed by the team at EA’s Firemonkeys studio in Melbourne, Australia, Need for Speed: No Limits VR will bring the visceral racing experience into virtual reality (VR) for the first time. Players will head deep into the world of underground street racing as they battle for dominance on the streets of Blackridge, with a selection of over 30 of the most exotic cars on the planet, featuring manufacturers such as Lamborghini, Ford, Mazda, McLaren, Subaru and Dodge.

Need for Speed No Limits VR

It’ll include 60 events across 12 tracks set in four realistic environments, including regions such as Central, The Cape, Los Verdes and Blackridge. Players will have 5 event types to choose from: Hit List, Special Delivery, Street Race, Speed Run and Checkpoint, whilst competing with players from across the world via event leaderboards.

“We’re always looking for ways to make our games more intense, more immersive, and more fun – and we are excited to bring Need for Speed No Limits VR to Daydream,” said Tony Lay, General Manager, Firemonkeys. “We think players will love this all-new way to experience the world of Need for Speed No Limits.”

“EA and Firemonkeys create some of the best games in the world, and we’re thrilled that they’re developing for Daydream,” said Mike Jazayeri, Director of Product Management for Daydream. “Need for Speed No Limits VR leverages Daydream’s powerful performance and controller in an immersive racing game for any Daydream-ready phone.”

Need for Speed No Limits VR will be available this Thursday, 15th December 2016 via Google Play. To celebrate the launch EA has released a brand new 360-degree trailer (seen below). For further updates on Google Daydream, keep reading VRFocus.

December 9, 2016

Unleash Your Inner Magician with Wands on Google Daydream

Since the launch of Google’s new mobile virtual reality (VR) head-mounted display (HMD) Daydream View, announcements on new content arriving hasn’t exactly been overwhelming. Jaunt released its app showcasing the latest 360-degree videos, and Big Red Button Entertainment launched The Arcslinger. Now indie developer NUX Studios has unveiled its online magical combat title Wands for the headset.

Originally released on Samsung Gear VR in August, Wands takes place in an alternate 19th Century London. A purely player verses player (PvP) title, Wands combines magic with a steampunk Victorian era design. Players take control of a sorcerer or ‘Wielder’ who must train and learn ancient spells to use against other players in combat. The Daydream version been optimized for the new headset and its motion controller with more magic than ever.

Wands - image 1

“We developed Wands out of pure passion, driven by our team’s creativity and enthusiasm, and have created an exceptional, fully immersive VR game. We focused on quality, balance, and stunning visual effects to excite both our passionate community and those new to the VR experience,” said Lisa Le Gresley, CEO, Multivrses AB.

Wands is available now on Google Play for $5.99 USD/ £4.79 GBP. For all the latest news on Daydream View, keep reading VRFocus.

December 2, 2016

Watch All of Jaunt’s Cinematic Experiences on Google Daydream View

Jaunt’s virtual reality (VR) app for headsets like Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, has been one of the front runners, showcasing some of the latest immersive experiences. Today owners of Google Daydream View can enjoy all the content Jaunt has to offer as the app is now available for the platform.

The Jaunt app has over 150 immersive experiences available spanning film, travel, music, sports and more. While Daydream View launched with a reasonable amount of content, for the platform to succeed against rivals like Gear VR, it needs a constant influx of content and Jaunt’s announcement today obviously helps.

Jaunt-VR-Yellowstone-Park-cropped-flex

“Developing for Daydream was a no-brainer – we’re big fans of Google’s efforts to improve the mobile VR experience,” said Neal Poeppelmeier, product manager at Jaunt. “Jaunt’s app takes full advantage of the Daydream controller which tackles one of mobile VR’s more significant issues: cumbersome gaze-based controls. Now, with the controller, you can relax, minimize excessive movement, and navigating in VR becomes as familiar and easy as navigating menus on TV. We’ve been looking forward to this launch and are eager to continue developing new, fun ways for Daydream users to further interact with Jaunt’s cinematic VR content.”

While Jaunt is synonymous with its app and supporting content it also has the Jaunt ONE, a professional grade 360-degree camera which has recently expanded its rental programme in the US. For those that don’t own a head-mounted display (HMD), Jaunt has been working on improving its web-based experience with Compass, an automatic navigation tool that steers viewers to points of interest in a 360-degree video.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Jaunt and Daydream View, reporting back with any further announcements.

November 24, 2016

GOODFest Music Festival Coming to Google Daydream

Companies such as NextVR, Jaunt and SLIVER.tv are providing more and more live-streamed 360-degree content has demand for virtual reality (VR) headsets grows. This week, GOOD, a global media brand and social impact company, has announced GOODFest, in partnership with Google. The festival will be a modern, live-streamed event taking place over the next few weeks with a VR experience filmed specifically for distribution on Daydream View.

Presented by GOOD and Google Pixel, GOODFest is a collaboration between major artists and innovative nonprofits to highlight signs of progress around the globe. Beginning this month through to December there will be five show in five cities supporting five causes. Each show will rally support for a nonprofit organization through a combination of ticket sales as well as online and text donations. In addition, GOOD will raise mass awareness for the causes via its editorial platform, sponsored content, and media partnerships.

Three GOODFest events have so far been detailed and dated. These are:

Generosity: Glass Animals, Preservation Hall, taking place on 29th November in New York. Preservation Hall and guest vocalist Shilpa Ray will open followed by an intimate performance by Glass Animals at BAMcafé. The evening will be emceed by Madame Ghandi. 100 percent of proceeds from ticket sales will benefit public school classrooms via DonorsChoose.org, with a special focus on projects addressing mental health.
Humanity: Gogol Bordello, taking place on 9th December in New Orleans. Gogol Bordello will play with Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs creating a one-off orchestration at The Music Box Village. 100 percent of proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the Equality Justice Initiative which is committed to racial and economic justice.
Earth: D.R.A.M., taking place on 12th December in Seattle. D.R.A.M. will play Neumo’s. The evening will be emceed by Hollis Wong-Wear.

Two further events will be held in San Francisco and Los Angeles, details still to come.

“We’re thrilled to develop innovative programs like this with GOOD that continue to blur the lines between creative, media and technology,” said Eddie Revis, NA Director of Partnerships + Emerging Media, Essence. With the launch of GOODFest, we’re continuing to redefine what content and captivating experiences mean for tomorrow through the use of digital festivals and virtual reality today. Our work with GOOD, their platform and their audience is integral to the success of the program.”

Every GOODFest show will be live-streamed on YouTube Live and Facebook Live with limited capacity for in-person attendees. For further details and to get tickets head to www.goodfest.live. Google hasn’t yet stated when the GOODFest VR experience will be available for Daydream View, so keep reading VRFocus for the latest updates.

November 24, 2016

Daydream Gets the Black Friday Treatment as The Arcslinger Goes on Sale

It’s the time of year when retailers go discount crazy, reducing swathes of products in price to make consumers spend their money in the run up to Christmas. The virtual reality (VR) industry in no different with HTC Vive getting a $100 USD/£100 GBP discount along with several Viveport titles. Whilst it’s unlikely you’ll see any discounts off Google’s newly launched Daydream View head-mounted display (HMD), Big Red Button Entertainment has confirmed its shooter The Arcslinger will be on sale.

The Arcslinger only launched latest week, putting players into a sci-fi western universe. A gallery style shooter where players have to defend themselves from waves of enemies, The Arcslinger challenges them to become master gun slingers across 15 rogue-like levels.

Through the campaign are helped along the way through the collection of Arcs, which in turn are used to upgrade the main weapon Angleheart, an all powerful pistol. Arcs allow new features which include the explosive Pyro Blast, the time changing Time Warp, the Lightning Rod to add that extra spark to your bullets, as well as defensive abilities such as the Shield Wall.

While some Black Friday sales start tomorrow and go all the way through to Cyber Monday, The Arcslinger looks to be a one day only deal. So tomorrow the price will drop from $7.99, down to $4.99.

Big Red Button Entertainment has also updated the VR title adding a continue feature due to strong demand from fans. VRFocus will continue its coverage of The Arcslinger and Big Red Button Entertainment, reporting back with any new updates.

November 18, 2016

Pistols at the Ready as The Arcslinger Blasts onto Daydream View

When Google revealed Daydream View in October, 30 videogames were confirmed to be in development for the mobile head-mounted display (HMD), one of them being The Arcslinger from Big Red Button Entertainment. Today the virtual reality (VR) first-person shooter (FPS) has arrived.

Set in a cyber western universe, The Arcslinger is essentially a gallery style shooter – popular on VR headset at the moment – set across 15 rogue-like levels. Players take control of the videogame’s unlikely hero, Valiant, and his trusty wise-cracking gun, Angelheart. Players must become a master gunslinger and unleash powerful abilities to take down The Arcslinger’s villain Gold Smoke and his gang before he can take the power of the magical Arc for himself.

As players progress through the levels they’ll need to collect Arcs to customise Angelheart, making it more powerful whilst adding unique features to it, giving that edge in shootouts. These powerups include the explosive Pyro Blast, the time changing Time Warp, the Lightning Rod to add that extra spark to your bullets, as well as defensive abilities such as the Shield Wall.

To go with the launch announcement Big Red Button Entertainment has released a new trailer showcasing more gameplay elements and the mayhem that waits. The Arcslinger can be downloaded now exclusively through Google Play for $7.99 USD/£7.49 GBP. For all the latest Daydream View news, keep reading VRFocus.

November 17, 2016

YouVisit Brings Interactive VR Experiences to Daydream

YouVisit, a virtual reality (VR) content provider that originally began by offering virtual campus tours and then 360-degree content for real life locations, has launched a new app today for Google’s Daydream View headset.

For the initial launch today, the YouVisit app will feature 27 VR experiences that contain an additional 84 pieces of interactive content for users to explore. The content will range from documentary-style experiences that highlight interesting stories in everyday life, interactive travel content that lets the user lead the exploration, to all-access looks at events such as Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia and the TomorrowWorld EDM Festival.

“We have set out to create content that not only excites consumers, but enables them to experience, learn and understand more about the world around them,” said Abi Mandelbaum, CEO of YouVisit. “As we continue to make more experiences available, we seek to offer more opportunities for people to come away with not only enjoyment, but also with a new perspective.”

As Daydream View comes supplied with its own specific controller, YouVisit’s experiences feature a new interactive spherical navigation system, giving users intuitive control over how they explore content. The experiences are spherical ‘worlds’, and users can preview each one before engaging with it fully.

“We use a series of innovative technologies to make each VR experience a personally interactive path of choice for each user,” said Mandelbaum. “We believe in giving viewers the power to go deeper into areas of the experience that they’re most interested in, and we’re excited to bring this standout content to Daydream.”

“Our goal at YouVisit is to expand the way consumers think about virtual reality,” adds Mandelbaum. “By enabling viewers to choose how they interact with an experience and what they get out of it, we are moving past the idea of passive viewing and better engaging the true potential of this medium. This type of interaction is what will help consumers to not only feel more familiar with the technology, but more empowered to leverage it for their own daily needs.”

YouVisit can be downloaded now for Daydream View, and in the future the company plans to make user-generated content from its Experience Builder platform available on the platform, giving users the ability to share their own VR experiences.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of YouVisit, reporting back with any further updates.