Category: Hammerhead VR

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The VR Job Hub: Love A New Job?

We’re already mid-way through February and Valentine’s Day has been and gone, but are you still in love with your current role or are you open to looking at potential pastures new? There’s all manor or roles out there relating to virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) available for you to apply for and in countries all around the world as well. Here’s a selection of current roles that you may want to check out

Location Company Role Link
Newcastle, UK Hammerhead VR Senior Developer Click here to apply
London, UK Oliver Bernard JavaScript Developer – Virtual Reality – React & Node Click here to apply
Mountain View, CA, US Udacity Content Developer, Blockchain (Contract) Click here to apply
Sydney, Australia Breaking Fourth Unity Environmental Artist for Futuristic VR Piece Click here to apply
Amsterdam/Eindhoven, Netherlands Accenture Internship Virtual/Augmented Reality Click here to apply
Groton, CT, US Automation Associates Limited Developer w/ VR experience Click here to apply
Los Angeles, CA, US Vulcan Inc Immersive Reality Intern Click here to apply
Redmond, WA, US Oculus VR Digital Design Engineer Click here to apply
Redmond, WA, US Oculus VR Graphics Engineer, Oculus Home Click here to apply
Redmond, WA, US Oculus VR Research Scientist, Physiology (PhD University Grad) Click here to apply
Redmond, WA, US Oculus VR Computer Vision Engineer Click here to apply
Menlo Park, CA, US Facebook Associate General Counsel, Oculus Sales & Marketing Click here to apply
Taipei City, Taiwan HTC Vive HR Business Partner, VR Click here to apply

 

Don’t forget, if there was nothing in this week’s feature that was a good fit for you, you can always double back and look at the previous edition of The VR Job Hub. Last week’s listings took in roles across the UK – and even a role working with us!

As always, 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 to be send to myself at keva@vrfocus.com and also pgraham@vrfocus.com.

Check back with VRFocus next Sunday at the usual time of 3PM (GMT) for another selection of jobs from around the industry

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Hammerhead VR’s Next VR Title is a Crime Thriller Called STEIN

Immersive content studio Hammerhead VR has been creating virtual reality (VR) for the past three years, rolling out experiences like Abe and horror series Syren. This week the team has released a few details about their new VR project, a crime thriller called STEIN.

Syren Episode 2

Just like Paw Print Games earlier today with Border Patrol, Hammerhead VR took to Twitter to unveil STEIN, where players have to investigate cold cases that remain unsolved through British history. Could this mean there’s time travel involved? Or maybe it’s just recent history?

If you look really closely at the only image Hammerhead VR has supplied (below), some of the newspaper cuttings are definitely from WW2, with one of the notes showing ‘Oct 1940’, while other portions refer to old black and white photos. There certainly looks to be an overarching storyline involving someone called ‘STEIN’, linking all the cases together – like some mysterious Sherlock Holmes plot involving Professor Moriarty by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

Expect something interesting by any means as Hammerhead VR will be using the talents of sister company Dimension, which specialises in advanced volumetric and 3D capture, being the first Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture studio partner.

Few other details are available at the moment, hopefully Hammerhead VR will release some more screenshots, or reveal which headsets it plans to support.

Check out Syren to see Hammerhead VR’s immersive skills in action. The first title launched in February 2017 which VRFocus gave a four-star review saying: “Despite some of its flaws on the whole Syren works very well, but because of this there’s not enough. Most players will find the experience too short, easily completed within a couple of hours depending on restarts.” The studio then rectified that by releasing Syren 2, switching the gameplay from survival horror to an action horror experience with plenty of guns.

As further details on STEIN are released VRFocus will keep you updated.

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RYOT’s new app for Windows Mixed Reality Contains More Than 50 Original Titles

Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality headsets launch tomorrow, and in preparation for the event RYOT has created an all new app for the platform which contains more than 50 of its original experiences.

RYOT has teamed up with Microsoft to be a launch partner for the Windows Mixed Reality Platform, working with Hammerhead VR to create an all-new virtual reality (VR) app. The app marks RYOT’s first-ever native app on a headset, with the 50+ titles ranging from 60 seconds to 10 minutes in runtime.

RYOT Windows Mixed Reality app

Content will range from trekking into the northernmost part of the planet in Inside the Arctic to following the journey of a 14-year-old Syrian refugee in Jordan during Bashir’s Dream. All of RYOT’s experiences aim to introduce viewers to new perspectives, regions, cultures and people.

“As the headset platform is a relatively new frontier for us, we wanted to work with a partner that would allow us to develop the RYOT app in a creatively fluid manner,” said Frazer Hurrell, Creative Technologist for RYOT in a statement. “The Hammerhead team blew us away with its approach to creative feedback. Our collaboration is a reflection of our commitment to increasing the availability of creative, high quality VR content to viewers around the world.”

The RYOT app is free to download now through the Windows Store. To see it in action check out the new trailer below. For further RYOT updates, keep reading VRFocus.

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The Best HTC Vive Games of 2017 so far – Cosmic Trip & Syren

So Owlchemy Labs’ Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality making this roundup isn’t that surprising but it’s not all big name titles that VRFocus has chosen to include. The next two on the list are aimed at different ends of the virtual reality (VR) spectrum. Indie developer Funktronic Labs released Cosmic Trip a colourful real-time strategy (RTS) title, while Hammerhead VR’s Syren is a far more intense horror experience that has been split into two episodes.

Cosmic Trip

Cosmic Trip got its full release in May after spending time in Steam Early Access. Designed purely to make the best use of VR, the videogame is an intergalactic adventure where you’ll find yourself stranded on a hostile alien world. To survive you must mine resources and build up an contingent of robots to defend yourself as well as venturing out across the planet.

As with any RTS you’re given a few basic options to begin building with. With a simple to pickup gameplay mechanic and menu options, Cosmic Trip doesn’t over burden you with a dizzying selection of choices, rather a finely tuned selection of base units and robots to build.

But its not just about managing a robot force and resources, you can also get stuck into the action. Gun emplacements can be built that have to be manually manned, while you’re also armed with a shield and a couple of interesting weapons, a bubble gun that traps enemies and a disc that can be charged up to kill them.

If you want to know more checkout VRFocus’ review where Cosmic Trip earned five stars, in which we said: “Cosmic Trip is one of those rare little VR treats you come across that suits VR players no matter their skill level. It’s a solidly put together single-player experience that will challenge you to almost controller throwing levels of frustration, but you’ll want to dive back in just to have ‘one more go’.”

Cosmic-Trip-Screenshot-4

Syren

For those that like their VR experiences a lot more atmospheric and spine tingling then there’s Hammerhead VR’s underwater horror Syren. The videogame launched back in February as a stealthy survival experience that places you in an underwater laboratory where some very nasty experiments have gotten lose and run amok.

For the most part these ‘Syrens’ can’t be attacked directly, if they hear or see you they’ll immediately charge and kill you, which you won’t be able to stop. So if you try and charge through levels you’ll find yourself restarting from the last checkpoint until you get it right. It’s one of the reasons VRFocus gave the title four stars in our review.

So why has Syren been included? Well, Hammerhead VR released Episode 2 in May which completely turns the first episodes gameplay on its head going for a far more action orientated experience. It takes place in the same lab but this time you work backwards through the levels, but this time you have guns, lots of them. You’ll need to explore to find weapons, ammo and cash, which can then be spent on more powerful armaments.

It’s because of this – and the fact that the episode 2 DLC is free – that Syren is definitely worth your time.

Syren Episode 2


Best HTC Vive Games of 2017 So Far

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The VR Job Hub: Felix & Paul Studios, Hammerhead VR, Oculus & More

We’re now long past half-way through the year and we are, in fact, about to roll over into August. Time moves fast, especially when you’re detailing with a technology such as virtual reality (VR). In but a handful of weeks we’ll be off to Cologne in Germany for another Gamescom where no doubt we’ll be seeing many updates to various videogames and hear news of new titles in the works. We may also find out more about some of the hardware in development and see some recent additions, such as the Vive Knuckles controller, in action.

But before we even get to that we’ve SIGGRAPH which takes place next week.

If you’re excited by what you’ve been reading on VRFocus and are interested in taking the plunge into this industry and one of the companies working on VR, augmented reality (AR) or mixed reality (MR), or you’re already engaged in any of the three and are looking to switch roles we as usual have a selection from around the world below. Why not see if there’s anything that takes your fancy? A new career could be just a few clicks away.

View the new listings below for more information:

Location Company Role Link
New York, NY, USA YouVisit Unity Virtual Reality Developer Click here to apply
Yorktown Heights, NY, USA IBM Research Staff Member Click here to apply
Montreal, Canada Felix & Paul Studios Application Developer Click here to apply
Montreal, Canada Felix & Paul Studios 3D (Graphic) Developer Click here to apply
Montreal, Canada Felix & Paul Studios Computer Vision Developer Click here to apply
Newcastle, UK Hammerhead VR Lead Animator Click here to apply
Newcastle, UK Hammerhead VR Systems Administrator Click here to apply
London, UK Oculus Product Manager, Social VR Click here to apply
Cork, Ireland Oculus LED Research Scientist, Modeling Click here to apply
Seattle, WA, USA Oculus Developer Relations Engineer, Oculus Platform Click here to apply
Menlo Park, CA, USA Oculus Developer Relations Engineer, Rift Click here to apply
Menlo Park, CA, USA Oculus Manager, Display Engineering Click here to apply
Palo Alto, CA, USA Tesla Simulation Engineer Click here to apply

As always don’t forget that you can also view the roles in last week’s edition of The VR Job Hub. Also if you are an employer and are looking for someone to fill a role in a VR, AR or other related areas in the industry and want that position to be featured on next week’s feature, please send details to either myself (keva@vrfocus.com) or pgraham@vrfocus.com 

We’ll be back next Sunday, as usual at 3PM BST with more roles in the VR industry as part of The VR Job Hub.

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Hammerhead Teams With MLB, HTC & More For Cannes Lions Innovation Festival Presentation

A seminar is usually one of two things.  It is either very engaging or it is boring. There’s very little in the way of middle ground between the two, and if it turns out to be the latter boy is it goign to be difficult to listen to.  Fortunately this doesn’t appear to be the case at the Cannes Lions Innovation Festival where yesterday an unusual five-way partnership of Imagination, Hammerhead VR, Major League Baseball (MLB), HTC Vive, and Dell hosted what they are calling “the world’s first free movement mixed reality (MR) presentation.”

Discussions in the interactive seminar focused on two business areas: brand experience and consumer behaviour and how technology such as virtual reality (VR) could potentially utilise such information. However this was before volunteers were invited to take part in a series of tests involving playing ‘catch’ with a ball.  Being successful would then trigger changes in the world around them.

“The idea of catching a ball is simple.” Explained Steve Jelley, joint Managing Director of Hammerhead VR. “However, if you take this action into mixed reality, it can become a catalyst for creativity that can blend the physical and virtual worlds into a completely new experience. The possibilities of the Vive Tracker are powerful, and very exciting for us as immersive content creators”

The ball was not a regular sort you’d get at the store however. It was instead a 3D printed soft rubber ball that incased an HTC Vive Tracker.  No easy design task as the ball had to be light enough to throw around, soft enough to be safe to actually throw, be something you could physicaly catch, and be able to not just house the Tracker but be open enough for it to be still picked up by the Vive’s lighthouses whilst it’s being tossed around. If the ball suddenly disappeared mid throw you’re going to end up with confusion – and potentially a ball to the face.

The end result took, according to Hammerhead VR, four weeks to develop and 89 hours to 3D print and allowed the team the chance to experiment with people’s expectations as well as alter the environment around them – and even the ball itself.

“The Vive Tracker is an incredibly exciting tool for developers and marketers alike. The technology enables virtually any object to be tracked in the virtual space, from sports equipment to car steering wheels to furniture – there are endless possibilities.” Added Herve Fontaine, HTC Vive’s VP of Business Development. “With the Vive Tracker, it creates an innovative platform for key parts of your brand story to be tracked and represented within VR.”

You can see a short trailer for the session below which shows some of the development that took place. How these developments continue in the future remains to be seen. But should their be any further news we will be sure to cover it on VRFocus.

 

 

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Hammerhead VR’s Horror Title Syren 2 Returns for a Gameplay Video

Earlier this month Hammerhead VR released the second episode for its virtual reality (VR) horror experience Syren 2,  for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. So VRFocus thought it would be a good idea to return to the ocean depths and see what the new release entails.

The first episode arrived back in February for both headsets, with VRFocus giving it a respectable four stars, saying: “Hammerhead VR has shown it can really do VR horror some justice, but Syren needs some more polish to be a standout experience.”

That first outing was all about stealth, hiding in the shadows and behind pillars to ensure you were never spotted as most of the time you’re unarmed. For this new release the tables have been turned, and instead you can now take the fight to the syrens. This is a far more action-horror experience, where you’ll start off with a pistol then find cash to spend at a gun store, purchasing more ammo and greater firepower.

Checkout the gameplay video below, and come back to VRFocus everyday for another slice of VR goodness.

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Hammerhead VR releases Episode 2 of Horror Experience Syren

In February, Hammerhead VR launched virtual reality (VR) horror title Syren for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. Today the studio has announced the first DLC for the videogame, continuing the story from the first release with Syren Episode 2.

In this second installment of Syren players take on the role of a CIA agent sent into the underwater station to find out why there has been loss of contact with the secondary science team and Navy Seals, who were previously sent in to investigate. The DLC moves away from the stealth and survival gameplay of the first, becoming a more action packed free-roaming shooter, with players now exploring the structure with an array of weapons at their disposal as they learn the CIA is less interested in the experiments but more the mysterious ‘Anomaly’ that sits at the heart of the ruins.

Syren Episode 2

Syren tells the story of a scientist obsessed with eugenics who builds an underwater research facility named Darwin Station, investigating an ancient lost city beneath the ocean. This lab has been conducting horrific experiments in an attempt to recreate the lost species of ‘Syrens’ – the legendary inhabitants of the civilisation that once existed in the ruins below. But now, the experiments have gotten loose.

The Syren Episode 2 DLC is free to download for anyone who purchased the original. Syren retails on Steam for £14.99 GBP and on Oculus Store for £14.99.

VRFocus reviewed the original title, giving it 4-stars, saying: “Despite some of its flaws on the whole Syren works very well, but because of this there’s not enough. Most players will find the experience too short, easily completed within a couple of hours.” With this additional DLC release Hammerhead VR is likely addressing some of the issues relating to the first release.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Hammerhead VR and Syren, reporting back with any further updates.

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HTC Vive Celebrates its First Anniversary, VR Studios Give Their Reactions

Another week and another anniversary, this time its HTC Vive’s. To celebrate its first birthday the company has rolled out several promotions, giving away Arcade Saga for free, dropping the price of the headset, and launching the Viveport Subscription Service. But what has this first year meant for developers and where do they see the next 12 months heading? VRFocus caught up with some studio’s to get their reactions.

HTC Vive was the first headset to allow users to physically walk around in a virtual world, which was a big draw for many studios including Waltz of the Wizard developer Aldin Dynamics. Hrafn Thorri Thorisson, Aldin’s CEO said : “At the time Vive debuted, no platform was able to deliver full freedom of movement and hand tracking. Those capabilities are vital in letting you move and act as in reality, paving the way towards mainstream adoption by making the user experience more powerful and intuitive. It were the system capabilities that we at Aldin had been waiting for since we got into VR in 2013.

“HTC and Valve have been a powerful force in pushing this industry forward and they play a large role in making us more excited than ever about where things are headed. Virtual reality is a medium that will be constantly evolving for decades to come and their approach to fostering collaboration and an open platform is driving the industry forward at a faster rate than otherwise possible. We fully expect motion controllers and roomscale to remain the most powerful form of VR, and we’re starting to see the rest of the industry align with that philosophy.”

While VRUnicorns Julie Heyde also spoke highly of HTC Vive’s roomscale capabilities: “Us VRUnicorns love how the Vive and roomscale set-up in general added so much more to VR than other devices. We are game jammers and want to push games to the fullest, interact with everything in our games and give our players the best VR experience possible without too many hardware constraints. Because in VR you want to be able to do whatever you want. And that freedom will grow as the future generations of VR become better on every front: more high fidelity tracking, more feedback, more interactivity, better graphics. And we think that this can be best supported through smart, ambitious choices, not compromise.”

Steve Bowler, President, CloudGate Studio, creators of Island 359 and avid Vive Tracker enthusiasts had this to say: “We at CloudGate obviously were blown away with the incredible potential of the Vive when we first put our hands on the developer kits; enough to quit our jobs and form our own company so we could pursue room scale VR full time. As we enter Year 2 of consumer VR, we’re incredibly excited that we get to work with an incredible partner like HTC. The Trackers are going to open up new horizons we didn’t even know were possible and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for VR! Happy Birthday, Vive!”

“Like many new content platforms, it starts with experimentation such as passion projects and short experiences. Once there is consumer adoption we begin to see growth and monetization. We’re already seeing an ancillary VR marketplace which includes accessories for shooter type games, wireless adapters for cordless play, skins for HMD’s etc. It’s exactly this kind of commitment that drives the innovation and brings VR mainstream,” Russell Naftal, Co-Managing Partner at VRWERX replied. “Regarding the HTC Vive team, they have been extremely active lately, from investments in third party developers to subscription gaming, and more recently, distribution with the launch of Viveport. One thing for sure, HTC Vive absolutely believes in the future of VR.”

HTC_VIVE_VR_Birthday_VIVE_DAY_eheader-LOGOCarsten Boserup, Community Manager at Racket: Nx developer One Hamsa sees the platform as the perfect way to enjoy sports, and wireless high-end VR is the next step. “My eyes have been widely open to the fact that VR Sport is here and it is growing fast. People who don’t have much spare time and who have to chose between going to the gym or play games, are now burning calories and getting their heart beating, in their own living room while playing VR sports games,” effused Boserup. “You can already enjoy VR Sport games in full 360 on the HTC Vive. Though, when the wireless HTC Vive arrives, it’ll change sports and how we exercise today, dramatically… in a good way!”

The consumer VR space is incredibly exciting right now,” said Simon Windsor, Joint MD, (Co-founder) Hammerhead VR. “As an immersive content studio producing consumer titles we’re feeling good about early market growth and have high expectations for the coming year. We’re looking forward to the release of more diverse, premium quality titles from indies and established studios alike, which we see further fuelling consumer interest and adoption. In particular the fast growing VR arcade market, which Vive is a huge proponent of, will unleash some very cool, ultra-quality experiences to excite consumers.

These early days of consumer VR have lead to a lot of experimentation within the community, but with some companies eager to get on board this has also meant quite a few similar titles. But this will expand and the quality will further improve expects Denny Unger, CEO and Creative Director, Cloudhead Games.

“At launch there was a push to establish best practices which gave everyone a base level to develop towards. Since then we’ve seen further experimentation, far too many wave shooters, late attempts at longer format AAA-like experiences, and Hollywood desperately trying to wrap its head around what it all means for their industry,” said Unger. “I think that the next wave of development will continue to be content focused but with a push towards polished games, tools/training, as well as Hollywood taking a much deeper dive. In Asia at least, the industry will likely attempt to balance out a slow growth home market with location based multiplayer experiences, while in North America we will be purely content fixated.

“Beyond the next year the market is going to slowly become a very competitive place and we may start seeing some homogony in terms of platform. Hardware will improve and prices will shift. That will signal a tipping point for the industry and that’s when things get really interesting.”

Do you agree with the devs? Or do you see HTC Vive and VR going in a different direction? What do you hope will happen in the next 12 months? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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Review: Syren

If you like a good scare virtual reality (VR) offers some of the best around, from short animations like Sisters and ABE VR, to proper interactive experiences like Resident Evil 7 or Albino Lullaby. If your horror collection isn’t yet full enough, Hammerhead VR’s latest project Syren should offer a tempting prospect, taking you into a dark and dangerous world where making the slightest noise can put you in jeopardy.

Coming from the studio that created ABE VR, Syren features a classic story of science gone too far, with a deep underwater lab experimenting with eugenics. Intern the scientists have created the Syren’s, creatures that have similarities with mythical mermaids who don’t like their creators and carnage has ensued. Waking up in the medbay you have just one mission, escape with your life, although that’s easier said than done.

Syren - Lab

Syren isn’t an action title, it’s about being calm, collected and above all silent. Stealth is your most valuable skill as you wander the corridors of the research facility. You’re completely alone as you search areas for a way out, until you hear that first scream. The richly detailed environments – although not as pin sharp as the screenshots would have you believe – allow you to pick up and interact with an assortment of items, but most will make some sort of noise that’ll alert the very creatures you’re trying to avoid.

The experience doesn’t feature any inventory options whatsoever, there’s no pocket or backpack to place useful items in, just what you can hold in your hands. For the most part this shouldn’t be too much of an issue as the videogame isn’t geared towards collecting things, but it can be somewhat tedious having to constantly hold the trigger down on both controllers as you’re teleporting through the labs. As mentioned Syren uses the often used teleport mechanic to move around, which has been well worn into multiple VR titles. While it works well enough, the distance the game allows you to move is relatively short, and from time to time becomes erratic requiring a couple of attempts to work.

What Syren does extremely well is atmosphere. From the design of the gloomy labs to the wailing Syren’s, the tense feeling the experience delivers is excellent, delivering a continual sense of foreboding. That being said, the atmosphere can become somewhat unstuck due to a couple of reasons. Firstly there’s being caught. Should a Syren see or hear you then its pretty much game over, shrieking then rushing towards you for certain death. If this happens you’ll restart the area no matter how far you might have managed to sneak, becoming somewhat repetitive in the process and far less scary. The other issue relates to sound. It plays a massive part in creating the horror experience and hearing the Syren’s screams makes it even more intense. What tends to happen though is if you’re in a room with one of them the positional audio works fine, but head to an adjoining corridor and the wails still sound as if they’re right next to you, which can be disconcerting or just plain annoying.

Syren - Medbay

In terms of actual gameplay it’s all about the sneaking, ducking behind tables or slowly peering around corners to get a glimpse of one is a nerve wracking experience. That’s the core and if you’re not one for stealth then there might not be enough here to entertain you. Every level requires a key card to be found unlocking the lift to the next area, so you do need to explore rather than just running to the exit.

Despite some of its flaws on the whole Syren works very well, but because of this there’s not enough. Most players will find the experience too short, easily completed within a couple of hours depending on restarts. Hammerhead VR has shown it can really do VR horror some justice, but Syren needs some more polish to be a standout experience.