The VR Job Hub: RiVR, Video Games Deluxe, Gunfire Games & Harmonix

VR Job Hub

Every weekend VRFocus gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industry, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.

LocationCompanyRoleLink
Southam, UKRiVRSenior Unity VR/AR DeveloperApply at jobs@rivr.uk
Sydney, AustraliaVideo Games DeluxeSenior Gameplay ProgrammerClick Here to Apply
Sydney, AustraliaVideo Games DeluxeSenior AnimatorClick Here to Apply
Sydney, AustraliaVideo Games DeluxeGame DesignerClick Here to Apply
Austin, TXGunfire GamesSenior Level DesignerClick Here to Apply
Austin, TXGunfire GamesSenior Combat DesignerClick Here to Apply
Austin, TXGunfire GamesCombat DesignerClick Here to Apply
Austin, TXGunfire GamesTechnical DesignerClick Here to Apply
Boston, MAHarmonixUI ArtistClick Here to Apply
Boston, MAHarmonixAssociate Product ManagerClick Here to Apply

Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hub to check as well.

If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).

We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.

Dead And Buried II: Reloaded Brings New Modes And Maps To The Western VR Shooter

Dead and Buried II: Reloaded is a big, free update to the Oculus Rift and Quest-exclusive VR shooter that introduces a series of new game modes, maps, and more to the Western-themed VR shooter.

Dead and Buried II released in 2019 for both Rift and Quest and quickly fizzled out in terms of popularity. Now, almost a year later, it’s getting a big update that adds a host of new features to try and draw people back in.

This update will add three brand new game modes: Survival, Horde, and Quickdraw. In Survival, you and three other players have to try and survive as you collect energy orbs to progress through large maps. For this mode there are three new maps as well: Fort, Canyon, and Alpine. The destruction sounds similar to the popular zombies game mode found in many Call of Duty games.

The other two game modes, Quickdraw and Horde, are “back by popular demand” according a prepared statement as carryovers from the original Dead and Buried that launched with Oculus Touch back in late 2016.

Quickdraw is exactly what it sounds like: this is a 1v1 stand-off against another player in the middle of the Old West-themed main town area. Horde on the other hand is similar to the new Survival mode, as it is another co-op mode across a series of maps.

Developers are also adding four new maps to Shootout, making it seven total for this multi-team mode, as well as two new maps to the Deathmatch mode, also equaling seven total for this mode.

Finally, there is now a character select screen, two new characters, five new weapons, and character customization for added variety.

The Dead and Buried II: Reloaded update launches for free today on both Oculus Rift and Oculus Quest. You can get the game now, if you don’t own it already for $19.99 with full crossplay and cross-buy support across both headsets. You can read more about the update over on the Oculus blog.

The post Dead And Buried II: Reloaded Brings New Modes And Maps To The Western VR Shooter appeared first on UploadVR.

Oculus Rift Exclusive Chronos Rated For PS4, Switch And Xbox

It looks like Oculus Rift launch exclusive Chronos is no longer an Oculus Rift launch exclusive.

The title, developed by Gunfire Games, has been rated for PS4, Xbox One, PC and Nintendo Switch by the ESRB. We’ve reached out to Gunfire to ask if there’s any truth to the listing. We’ve also asked if the PS4 version of the game could support PSVR. It may be that Oculus still has some sort of exclusivity deal surrounding the VR support but fingers crossed. We would assume the mention of PC means it’s coming to flat-screen monitors too. Perhaps HTC Vive and Valve Index support is also possible?

We wouldn’t be surprised to see this happen, though. Gunfire was acquired by THQ Nordic last month so it looks like THQ is utilizing its existing assets. Chronos was a third-person action RPG a little like a Zelda game that launched alongside Rift in 2016. It was controlled with a standard Xbox One gamepad, so there’s no reason why it couldn’t work in VR.

Notably, Gunfire just launched Remnant: From the Ashes, a flat-screen shooter set in the same world as Chronos. It makes sense that fans of the game would want to play another title set in that world.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen one of Rift’s launch exclusives jump ship for other consoles. Last year Playful took its well-liked VR platformer, Lucky’s Tale, and brought it to Xbox. That’s due for release on Switch soon, too. If those games can find their way off of Rift, then perhaps titles like Insomniac’s Edge of Nowhere will, too.

The post Oculus Rift Exclusive Chronos Rated For PS4, Switch And Xbox appeared first on UploadVR.

The VR Job Hub: Random42, Squanch Games, First Contact Entertainment and More

2019 is moving along quite nicely but that may not be the case for those of you who are disillusioned with your current job, or worst still have recently lost a job due to actions beyond your control. If that’s the case then maybe the following companies and vacancies will offer a chance to start afresh.

Location Company Role Link
London, UK Random42 3D Generalist Click Here to Apply
London, UK Random42 3D Animator Click Here to Apply
Santa Monica, CA First Contact Entertainment Senior Gameplay Programmer Click Here to Apply
Santa Monica, CA First Contact Entertainment Senior Game Server Engineer Click Here to Apply
Santa Monica, CA First Contact Entertainment Lighting Artist Click Here to Apply
Santa Monica, CA First Contact Entertainment IT Systems Administrator Click Here to Apply
Santa Monica, CA First Contact Entertainment Senior Full Stack Engineer Click Here to Apply
Austin, TX Gunfire Games Gameplay Programmer Click Here to Apply
Austin, TX Gunfire Games Senior Concept Artist Click Here to Apply
Austin, TX Gunfire Games Character Artist Click Here to Apply
Austin, TX Gunfire Games Senior Environment Artist Click Here to Apply
Austin, TX Gunfire Games Environment Artist Click Here to Apply
Boston, MA Harmonix Community Manager Click Here to Apply
Austin, TX Phaser Lock Interactive Social Media/Marketing Manager Click Here to Apply
Burbank, CA or Raleigh, NC Squanch Games Senior Designer Click Here to Apply
Raleigh, NC Squanch Games Game Producer Click Here to Apply
Burbank, CA or Raleigh, NC Squanch Games Social Media Manager Click Here to Apply
Burbank, CA or Raleigh, NC Squanch Games Lead Programmer Click Here to Apply
Burbank, CA or Raleigh, NC Squanch Games Systems Programmer Click Here to Apply
Burbank, CA or Raleigh, NC Squanch Games Gameplay Programmer Click Here to Apply

Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hub to check as well.

If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).

We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.

From Other Suns Livestream: Co-Op Looting And Shooting

From Other Suns Livestream: Co-Op Looting And Shooting

For the full list of all of our livestreams scheduled for this week, as well as archived footage after the stream has happened, check out the schedule right here.

There are so many good VR games out there these days that it’s incredibly easy for things to go under the radar. Sometimes a great game will come out at the wrong time or alongside a bevvy of other new releases and it just doesn’t get the attention that it deserves. That seems to be what happened to From Other Suns, the procedurally generated co-op shooter from Gunfire Games that’s all about embarking on space faring missions with your buddies to find powerful new guns on a journey back to Earth. It’s a fun title with a lot of variety and it doesn’t seem to have gotten the love that it deserved at launch.

If you’re new to the game, we put together this list of tips to help you get started.

We’ll be playing From Other Suns on Rift using a two Touch controllers. We’re starting right around 1:00 PM PT and we’ll aim to last for about an hour or so. We’ll be livestreaming to the UploadVR Twitch page where you can interact with us directly and chat among yourselves. Now that we’re affiliates on Twitch you can subscribe to our channel, cheer us on with bits, and earn nifty loyalty badges. Soon, we’ll have custom emotes too. You can see the full stream once it’s live right here:

Watch live video from UploadVR on www.twitch.tv

You can see our most recent past archived streams over on the UploadVR Twitch archive right here. There’s lots of good stuff there! And don’t forget to check out our coverage of ElectronautsRave RunnerBeat Saber, and more here on the website.

Let us know which games or discussions you want us to livestream next and don’t forget to follow the Twitch channel and sign up for notifications.

Tagged with: , ,

The post From Other Suns Livestream: Co-Op Looting And Shooting appeared first on UploadVR.

Preview: Dead & Buried Arena – Oculus Take a Shot at Warehouse Scale VR

Oculus has been notoriously hard-nosed about the location-based entertainment (LBE) market for virtual reality (VR). Prohibitive clauses in the use of their hardware and a reluctance to offer a more rugged version or a ‘business edition’, has seen the company responsible for the modern rebirth of VR seems almost ignorant towards one of its most rapidly growing sectors. There’s always an opportunity to change however, and the Oculus Quest could well be the device to do it.

Oculus Quest - FrontDuring the Oculus Connect 5 keynote, wherein the Oculus Quest was officially announced as a product evolved off of the Santa Cruz prototype, Mark Zuckerberg spoke openly about the device’s large area capabilities. This is a stark change for a company that insisted just two years ago that modern VR should be led by seated experiences, but undoubtedly a welcome one. There’s room for all types of experience in VR, from seated to standing to moving several feet very quickly.

Dead & Buried Arena is Oculus’ first attempt at the latter. Built on the Oculus Touch launch title developed by Gunfire Games (it’s not yet been confirmed whether or not the studio worked on this follow-up, but is more than likely) Dead & Buried Arena is a fantasy wild west shooting experience for six players. Forming two teams of three, players took to the arena using cover to avoid one another’s fire.

The basic mechanics include destructible scenery (boxes that exist in the real world and fade out to blue when shot in-game), a 10 second respawn to allow players to find a new cover position when killed and collectible weaponry. It’s nothing revolutionary on the surface, but in the minutiae Dead & Buried Arena makes some interesting design decisions for a robust LBE title.

Dead & Buried Arena - The Arena
The design of the arena itself.

In order to keep the players apart and prevent collisions, the centre of the arena has a train which passes through. This is automatic on occasion, but it also can be manually triggered whenever a player steps upon it, this results in instant death and no respawns until you’re back on your side of the map. The destructible scenery doesn’t send particle effects flying it alter the polygons presented at all in order to allow for accurate real-time mapping for all players – VRFocus was informed that the map and the player’s location within were networked via wi-fi even in a local environment – and the weapon variety (although plentiful for this short demonstration) was far more limited than the original title.

Dead & Buried Arena is a strange beast: at once presenting an argument for Oculus to join the push for the LBE agenda yet at the same time feeling less complete than the year-old original. It may well be that Dead & Buried Arena was purely a technical demonstration designed specifically to showcase the capabilities of Oculus Quest, but it’s definitely not a huge leap to see a market for this kind of experience.

Play ‘From Other Suns’ Co-op Sci-fi Adventure Game for Free This Weekend

Gunfire Games’ most recent release, the space adventure game From Other Suns (2017), is playable for free this weekend. The game is exclusive to the Oculus platform and designed “from the ground up” for the Touch controllers, coming from the studio behind Chronos (2016) and Dead & Buried (2017).

The free weekend lasts from Jan 19th at 7:00 PM CET (local time) until Jan 22nd at 9:00 AM CET (local time). Reverting back to its normal $40 price tag after the weekend, it might just give you the opportunity you need to see if the game is right for you.

With similarities to the roguelite FTL: Faster Than Light (2012) and the Borderlands series, From Other Suns is a compelling space adventure game that works best as a co-op experience, combining action FPS gameplay and spaceship management. The procedural technology makes for randomised locations and encounters, and the vast array of weapons allow for “over 2000 possible variations”.

In our full review, we noted the challenging resource management could prove frustrating for some players. But the premise should appeal to many sci-fi fans and fans of FTL in particular, and its gameplay is backed up by rich visuals and audio.

The post Play ‘From Other Suns’ Co-op Sci-fi Adventure Game for Free This Weekend appeared first on Road to VR.

Explore Space, Maintain Your Ship and do it all With Friends in From Other Suns

Gunfire Games have been extremely active on the Oculus Rift, first-person space based co-operative shooter From Other Suns is the fourth title to be released on the Oculus platform. The Beta for From Other Suns ran for a few days between September and October, and upon release the full videogame allowed player to combine elements of crew management with first-person shooting and loot gathering. VRFocus spoke to John Pearl, Design Director at Gunfire Games about From Other Suns at Oculus Connect 4. 

When VRFocus spoke to Pearl at Oculus Connect 4, he describes the title as a combination between FTL: Faster Than Light‘s ship management and a Borderlands run-and-gun type of shooter. After creating Chronos and working on Dead & Buried, Gunfire Games wanted to do something bigger that was co-operative focused. Inspired by their favourite science-fiction series from Star Trek, Firefly to Star Wars, the team wanted to re-create that sense of adventure, ‘just one more jump, just a little more money and just one more day’. As long as you have fuel in your ship, you can keep going.

Exclusive to the Oculus Rift, From Other Suns can have up to three players playing in co-op together. However you can play solo, as long as you have organic crew members alive on your ship. The map, missions and universe are randomised, so when you start playing you never know what your missions will be, who you will meet or where you are. You may be asked to fight pirates, stop a pirate ship from getting away, fight enemy robots, roll back firmware or fight merchants and pirates that are travelling between stars. Or skip the mission altogether, as long as you have enough fuel and can afford to.

The weapons are interchangeable and you may need to swap out various guns for a specific mission type. The largest frigate ship can sustain 12 A.I. Crew members which three people can switch in-between and the rest is up to the player. You are your own boss in space, but in order to keep travelling you have to collect resources to upgrade your ship – and with a large ship you’ll need to hire more crew members. Upgrade through salvaging in missions and hire crew at space ports, acquire more during missions, or just get your friends to join in with your adventures.

from-other-suns-combat-shield-1024x486

After running the Beta, Gunfire Games have also added more options for movement modes. From Other Suns integrates Oculus Touch support and four different modes of movement. This will allow players who don’t have their VR feet yet to play with more advanced players. To find out more watch the video below, and stay right here at VRFocus for all the latest from Gunfire Games.