Virtual reality (VR) walking peripheral Cybershoes held a successful Kickstarter campaign at the end of 2020 to update the product to support Oculus Quest. This week the team is back with another crowd-funding campaign – this time on Indiegogo – with an interesting announcement, the shoes are fully integrated with Doom3Quest.
Just like the Kickstarter campaign, over on Indiegogo you’ve got the choice of the full Cybershoes for Oculus Quest kit or just the ‘CyQuest’ receiver. The kit which is currently available as a limited Super Early Bird Reward for $279 USD (instead of $399), includes the Cybershoes, Cyberchair, “CyQuest” receiver, Cybercarpet and USB Charger + Cables. The full kit also supports PC VR headset as well as Oculus Quest.
If you’ve previously purchased the Cybershoes for a PC VR headset and simply want to make it compatible with the standalone headset then grab the receiver for $49 (regular price will be $79). And that’s all you need to walk in VR using these unique peripherals.
During these campaign Cybershoes has been building support for more and more videogames, some with native integration like Arizona Sunshine or The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinnerswhich has non-native support. The latest to see compatibility is DOOM 3 VR mod Doom3Quest.
Doom3Quest arrived last month from Simon Brown (Dr Beef) and Team Beef on SideQuest, allowing Oculus Quest/Quest 2 owners to play 2004’s Doom 3 in VR for the first time – the mod doesn’t support Doom 3: BFG Edition. All you need is a copy of the videogame which is available on Steam for £4.
“We can’t wait until you feel what it’s like to use their natural body movements to navigate a doomed research facility on Mars and experience Doom3Quest in VR,” said Cybershoes in a statement. “Thanks to Team Beef’s support of Cybershoes, slaying evil demons, pulverizing zombies, and squashing Hell’s attempt to take over the earth has never felt more immersive.”
Cybershoes for Oculus Quest is available now via Indiegogo with delivery to backers beginning in May 2021. For further updates, keep reading VRFocus.
Every week, Digital Trends combs through crowdfunding sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo to round up all the best gadgets, gizmos, and gear currently in preproduction.
When it comes to virtual reality (VR) and crowd-funding the pair have had a long history, you could almost say Kickstarter helped birth the current VR trend thanks to Oculus’ campaign in 2012. Since then that partnership has continued (for better or worse), with both hardware and software companies alike utilising this modern funding method to make projects a reality. While not all campaigns to raise money are successful, 2019 seems to have been a boon year with a significant amount of projects sailing past their targets.
Over the last nine months, VR teams have sought to fund various sized campaigns and for different reasons. It’s not all about raising enough capital to get an idea off the ground anymore, a campaign with a couple of paragraphs and someone’s zeal to secure £50,000 isn’t going to get very far. They need planning, lots of info, with the most successful generally having some sort of history which proves its not a fly by night venture.
So VRFocus is taking a look at some of the projects which have really caught our eye this year, especially noting the influx of campaign over the summer.
Last Labyrinth – January 2019
A VR videogame by Japanese developer Amata K.K., Last Labyrinth is an escape room experience for multiple VR headsets. This was one of those projects that wasn’t looking for funding development – it had begun in 2016 – using both the money raised and the Kickstarter itself as promotion for the videogame.
Successfully hitting its ¥2,000,000 (£13,965 GBP) target, Last Labyrinth has had a couple of delays in 2019, moving from a Spring to Summer then Fall launch window. That seems to be the last of the hiccups as a worldwide launch will take place on 13th November 2019 for Oculus Rift/ Rift S, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive/Vive Pro, Windows Mixed Reality and PlayStation VR devices.
Last Labyrinth – Oculus Quest Screenshot
Cybershoes – February 2019
A VR locomotion system designed to mimic a natural walking motion whilst seated, Cybershoes launched its first crowd-funding campaign via Kickstarter in 2018. On the back of that success, the company headed over to Indiegogo for another chance to raise more money.
Beginning in February, the campaign hit $156,763 USD (£126,790) for its $30,000 target, and now you can easily buy the system from its official website.
Firmament – March 2019
The biggest VR crowd-funding campaign of the year so far on Kickstarter was Cyan’s Firmament. The developer famous for videogames like Myst, Riven and most recently Obduction, this next project was a big endeavour.
A story-driven experience with steampunk aesthetics, Firmament needed to raise a rather substantial $1.3 million in 30 days. Proving that even big figures are achievable when correctly approached, the campaign managed to secure $1,433,161, with a delivery date still expected around July 2020.
A device which attaches to VR headsets, the Feelreal Mask is capable of generating various scents, water mist, cool/warm wind, vibration and punches. Shipments to backers were supposed to start in August but there has been a delay. Let’s just hope it not the sort of delay which has plagued previous hardware stories.
Zenith – August 2019
The first of the summer slew of Kickstarter campaigns, Zenith is the brainchild of indie studio Ramen VR, a cyberpunk MMORPG inspired by anime and JRPG classics. A title which has some very big ideas for a new studio, the videogame promises players a world where they will be able to fight, craft, and explore to their heart’s content.
Only looking to raise $25,000 for such an expansive undertaking, the campaign managed to hit that in under four hours and it’s actually still ongoing. With another 15 days to go, Zenith currently sits on a funding pot of just over $211,000 (£171,000). Thanks to this success Zenith has unlocked six of its seven stretch goals with the final $250,000 Level Editor looking within reach. There’s still a way to go, with a launch date pencilled in for August 2020 currently.
VRGO Mini – August 2019
Another company coming back to Kickstarter looking for more success, VRGO held a Kickstarter for its VRGO Chair in 2015 which went well. This year it’s the turn of VRGO Mini, a more consumer-friendly version of the original chair, designed to facilitate comfortable locomotion in VR.
As mentioned, this is a company with history which makes for a safer bet when crowd-funding. Using most of the tech from VRGO Chair, the VRGO Mini is designed to be used on chairs/sofas and other seats. With a funding target of £20,000, that was easily achieved and just like Zenith still has time to spare to raise even more money. With the VRGO Chair still on sale, a launch goal of March 2020 for VRGO Mini is a likely bet.
Woojer – August 2019
Cyan’s Firmament has so far raised the most cash but Woojer’s current campaign is on track to be the most successful when it comes to target and amount raised. It’s two haptic products in one campaign the Woojer Vest Edge and Woojer Strap Edge, designed to let you feel sound.
Not solely designed for VR as they have multiple use cases, the two devices are an immersion aid – especially the Vest Edge – when playing all manner of VR titles, ideally for rhythm action videogames like Beat Saber. Initially aiming to raise $20,000, the campaign has skyrocketed currently sitting at just over $1.2 million with a month still to go. Needless to say, with over 7,000 backers, Woojer has hit the jackpot with most going for the budget-friendly Strap Edge.
Low-Fi – September 2019
The most recent entry, Low-Fi is another experience from an established team. Created by Iris VR (the team behind Technolust) is another big sprawling adventure, this time set in a far-flung dystopian future. You play a police officer tasked with patrolling the street and skies of crime-ridden city-block 303.
The Kickstarter campaign only started on 3rd September looking to hit $60,000 CAD over 30 days and managed that in under four days. Such was the success the team reworked all of its stretch goals, lowering the targets for platforms like PlayStation VR and Oculus Quest. It’s still too early to tell how successful Low-FI will be but there’s no distracting from its ambition.
Polish developer Gamedust (Neverout) released the rather unusual Spuds Unearthed via Steam Early Access in January and now it wants to bring the title to PlayStation VR with some public support on Indiegogo.
The studio has just started the crowd-funding campaign with a mission to raise $10,000 USD in the next month. The main focus is to support the development of a PlayStation VR version which the team expects to release in Q3 2019. As with a lot of Indiegogo projects, backers can pledge from as little as $1 but that won’t get them access to the videogame. For that backers will need to pledge a minimum of $25 for ‘Limited PSVR Hot Potato Bundle’ which also includes a comic and two digital artbooks. There’s also a tier for Steam/Oculus keys at $19 – or you could just go to Steam direct to download the title.
The Indiegogo campaign isn’t just about supporting PlayStation VR. It’s still in early access so Gamedust wants to add further content and polish the experience. That base $10k goal would also see an additional character added, the Mechanist, a new turret, a Mecha-Bot vehicle, more Zombuds and Goonbots enemies and a new map. Several stretch goals have also been outlined including a $25k single-player campaign.
“We believe that Spuds Unearthed provides a truly unique mix of VR-focused design, seamless user experience and a world full of wacky potatoes fighting for their own piece of land,” said Piotr Jaworski, CEO, Gamedust in a statement. “We’re launching our Indiegogo campaign to help us bring the game to PSVR and help us reach our full vision for Spuds Unearthed, including a full single-player story campaign. We would love to hear feedback from our supporters on the final stage of the game’s development to create something capable of being sustained for a long time, for current and future players.”
In the Spuds Unearthed universe the wacky Spuds just love fighting, and you’re in charge of controlling and managing a troop of guns wielding potatoes. A mix of strategy, tower defence and shooter gameplay all wrapped up together, the videogame training and upgrading your team for specific roles whilst building turrets and vehicles with various parts you happen to find.
Head on over to Indiegogo to learn more about the project, and as the campaign continues VRFocus will keep you updated.
During the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) 2018 VRFocuscame across technology startup Cybershoes, which was at the show to demonstrate its virtual reality (VR) locomotion device of the same name. Cybershoes went on to launch a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign later that year, sailing past its €30,000 EUR goal in a couple of hours, eventually achieving 333 percent of its target. Today, the company has announced plans to launch an Indiegogo later this week.
Cybershoes aim to tackle one of the biggest problems in VR, and that’s smooth movement without a player becoming nauseous. While some VR users don’t suffer at all running around virtual worlds using normal thumbstick or trackpad controls, many do, and it can be that off-putting that they never want to try VR again. So the company’s theory is that if people can move their legs like they were normally walking, it would fool their brain and not make them feel unwell.
Used in a purely seated position, the Cybershoes are essentially a shoe with a smooth sole and a roller with which to activate movement by moving your feet along the ground. Users will also need a spinning chair or stool to turn around in, which is why the original Cybershoes Kickstarter did feature several backing tier with a chair.
For the Indiegogo campaign, Cybershoes is looking to go one better, with four early bird funding tiers that’ll offer backers the shoes, chair and carpet at massively reduced prices. The cheapest way to get hold of the Cybershoes is via the first deal, offering the full kit for $269 USD, instead of $549, a rather substantial 51 percent saving. There’s also a heavy duty version (image below) designed for arcades, for $669, which features a HAG Capisco Chair with a heavy metal base and the Cybercarpet Pro.
When it comes to delivery, Cybershoes plans on shipping the Indiegogo bundles from July 2019 onwards. For reference, Kickstarter backers should start receiving their shoes from May onwards.
When the Indiegogo campaign starts VRFocus will keep you up to date on its progress, seeing whether it’ll do as well as last year’s Kickstarter in hitting its goal.
Earlier this week virtual world Somnium Space launched an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to raise $10,000 USD over a couple of months by selling virtual land. With three days gone, the campaign has easily achieved its target with plenty more land up for grabs.
Somnium Space is an open, cross-platform virtual world that is currently in Early Access, where users can buy or rent land, creating their own little slice of virtual heaven. With plans for its own economy and in-game currency, the title currently has several multiplayer mini-games, a cinema and other locales, plus a couple of event being hosted every week.
But for the world to work people need to be encouraged to use it and invite others along helping create a dynamic space. Which is why the IndieGoGo campaign is focused around Somnium Space’s main saleable asset, land. The main funding tiers can be split down into two groups, size of the land and additional depth and height.
Firstly there’s the size of the land you want to buy:
Small Land Parcel: 200 sq/m – with a 10 meter (33ft approx) height & Depth limit
Medium Land Parcel: 600 sq/m – with a 25 meter (82ft approx) height & Depth limit
Large Land Parcel: 1500 sq/m – with a 50 meter (164ft approx) height & Depth limit
These can be purchased individually, for example, the Small Land Parcel retails for $55, while the Large Land Parcel is $250. Or if you so choose there are bundle deals where you can get four Small Land Parcels for $190.
And just for extra flexibility, users can also by additional height and depth addons. So an extra 10 meters will cost you $25, or how about 50 meters for $150 if you really want to build big.
That’s not all, as you can take the hard work out of creating your own model by employing Somnium Space’s 3D modellers to build your dream location – or just use the platform’s own tool ‘The Builder’ to make your own.
The Somnium Space beta can be downloaded directly from its website or Steam for free, compatible with Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Windows Mixed Reality headsets. For further updates, keep reading VRFocus.
With virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) continuing to be adopted into the adult entertainment industry, Adult Web Virtual Reality (AWVR) have revealed plans to that the experience to a whole new level. They plan to release a customizable adult entertainment platform and to do so AWVR have launched an Indiegogo campaign to gain support from users.
The platform will allow a user to create their ideal virtual avatar before entering one of many virtual clubs and interacting with them at their own pace. Users will have control over a wide range of features to create their partner ranging from changing basic changes such as height, weight, hair colour down to small details such as the shape and size of the avatars lips, nose, breast/chest, with some options available to customize the genitalia of the avatar also.
“Not everyone can experience a personalized fantasy on an everyday basis, but within AWV Reality you can. Build your ultimate avatar, take him or her to our clubs and create your own customizable experience. Most importantly, based on our proprietary algorithm, you can convert them to full flesh, online interactions. This means your fantasies become Virtual Reality!” The team writes on their Indiegogo page.
AWVR note as well that their platform can be used in conjunction with a number of other products including toys, wearables, and VR headsets to offer the ultimate adult entertainment experience. They note however that the platform is not just about personal desire but also about the opportunity to allow for sexual empowerment. “This is a platform meant for everyone.” They write on the Indiegogo page: “This is for those who want to explore, educate, and experience, with complete anonymity. We are looking for those joining our campaign to help us shape the platform, establish interest in new clubs, create new ideas and make the interaction as custom to the end-user as possible.”
AWVR are looking for $500,000 (USD) to help fund the development and launch of this new adult entertainment platform, with a number of backer tiers and rewards available. The lowest amount to back is $25 and is for a three month unlimited access to the product, along with a 5% discount in the store. Those feeling very supportive can go up to $750 for a lifetime membership with 20% discount in the store or jump to $2,500 for the ‘Red Carpet Access’. Which allows unlimited lifetime membership and plenty of other bonuses. You can find the Indiegogo campaign here but take note, it is not safe for work.
That is not all though, as a spokesperson from AWVR revealed to virtual reality reporter in an interview, as the company plans to leverage the product for education: “This platform will not only support respectful adult entertainment but will also give the user an opportunity to experience a social and sexual environment that they are never excluded from,” the spokesperson comments: “Additionally, the platform will be set up for sexual education based on an algorithm, so that the content is directed at the correct audience. This platform is meant to make porn personal and sex less taboo.”
VRFocus will be sure to bring you all the latest on AWVR in the future and more on the adult entertainment industry uses of VR technology.
If you’re of a certain age – went to school in the 90’s – then you’ll likely remember a toy craze called POGs, little cardboard discs with interesting cartoon designs that could then be used by players to slam their opponents into submission and capture their collection. Well thanks to Compton Technology POGs have been brought back to life, this time with an augmented reality (AR) twist.
POGs AR is an officially licensed World POG Federation mobile videogame for iOS and Android devices with hundreds of POGs featuring both classic and all-new designs. To start things off Compton Technology has launched an Indiegogo crowd-funding campaign to help promote the title ahead of a planned September 2018 release. As it’ll be a free-to-play experience Indiegogo backers will gain access to exclusive perks including a limited-edition physical slammer which can be scanned in to the game using AR, elite in-game content; a custom designed in-game POG character; a horde of in-game currency; pre-release beta access and more.
Just like the original version players have to whack their slammer down and turn over their opponents cards, whoever flips the most POGs wins and both players keep whatever they flip, helping build or reduce their collection. So POGs AR features two-player battle and AR game modes, the ability to scan real-world items in AR mode to complete POG sets, as well as competing to earn real-world prizes and rare POGs from some big name brands.
“POGs blend two things people love to do – compete and collect. But in POGs you play for keeps and must risk losing some of your collection to expand it, so the excitement and intensity increases as you play,” said Sam Park, Director of Compton Technology. “By going digital and applying modern technology like AR to the original concept, we’re creating a game community and collectible ecosystem that I believe can be even bigger than the original.”
Remember this is 21st century POGs so you’ve also got slammers that come equipped with different abilities and upgrades, plus there are multiple throwing techniques for you to try.
POGs AR isn’t the only traditional style kids game to get an AR makeover. British toy company Sensible Objects created Beasts of Balance as a novel use of the tech. In the run up to POGs AR launch, VRFocus will bring you further updates.
Crowdfunding projects can sometimes be a bit hit and miss, some never get off the ground whilst others achieve massive success. Even after reaching or surpassing a funding goal the chance of completion is never assured, with the latest to fail being the extremely popular OSSIC and its 3D audio headphones, the OSSIC X.
Having launched two crowdfunding campaigns in 2016, one on Kickstarter and one on Indiegogo, OSSIC managed to raise a considerable $2,708,472 USD and $3,224,442 respectively.
However, that’s now all come to an end with the company confirming in a statement that it is shutting down after running out of money.
“It is with an extremely heavy heart that we must inform you that OSSIC is shutting down and will be unable to deliver the remaining OSSIC X headphones.
“The OSSIC X was an ambitious and expensive product to develop. With funds from the crowdfunding campaign, along with angel investment, we were able to develop the product and ship the initial units. However, the product still requires significantly more capital to ramp to full mass production, and the company is out of money.”
Back in January this year OSSIC announced shipment of the first Innovator/Developer units which sold for $999 on Kickstarter, which were originally supposed to go out by the end of 2016. Only those initial units have been shipped leaving thousands of backers disappointed.
The crowdfunding money was used to fund half of the R&D and production costs – the rest came from angel investments – yet that still proved to be insufficient, with OSSIC blaming: “VR’s slow start and a number of high profile hardware startup failures,” as reason behind its failure to secure further investment and continue into consumer production. “It would take more than 2 million additional dollars to complete mass production of the remaining backlog,” OSSIC claims.
The OSSIC X headphones looked like an impressive piece of kit. Designed to auto-calibrate to the listener’s anatomy – a function that assists with the head-related transfer function (HRTF) technology incorporated in a number of virtual reality (VR) head-mounted displays (HMDs) – OSSIC X were meant to make VR gaming even more immersive.
Currently for most virtual reality (VR) users moving through virtual worlds usually involves whatever locomotion system the developer has chosen to implement. That can be teleportation, roomscale, fixed point-to-point teleportation, or direct locomotion for example. But ever since the first headsets arrive there have been companies looking to make that experience more immersive and natural with equipment like an omni-direction treadmill or foot-based controllers. The latest comes from Australian company Visospace which is looking to raise funds on Indiegogo for its Alto100 motion controller.
The Alto100 is an omni-directional controller platform that aims to make virtual experiences comfortable without the side effects of motion sickness whilst giving users full control over where they go.
Alto isn’t just about freedom of movement in VR as it features haptic feedback as well. Visospace explains that when you put on a headset you can still see the Alto in the VR world. Stepping onto it, you then shift your weight in the direction you want to go, and doing this more so increases the speed. If you go over a bump or for example a rock on a road you’ll then feel that through your feet.
Designed to work with all VR, augmented reality (AR) and 3D platforms the Alto will suit applications across a range of industries. The Indiegogo campaign is to raise funds for the dev kit model, aimed more towards developer, beta testers and early adopters. Visospace is looking to raise $10,000 AUD and has almost achieved its goal sitting at $8,405 at the time of writing.
“Imagine the web implemented in VR,” said Dr. Puya Abolfathi, CEO and co-founder of Visospace. “You need a way to move in that space believably and seamlessly. The Alto is like a mouse for your body in immersive VR and AR environments right now, but it’s also the user interface for the internet of the future.”
“We are in an apex moment for many technologies, especially immersive computing like AR, VR, and Mixed Reality,” Abolfathi adds. “Soon we will replace our phones and laptops with these immersive technologies because they are going to enrich our lives. The Alto is the only device that can deliver the kind of natural movement needed to experience intuitive, limitless immersion.”
There’s only one backing tier for the Alto100, at $790 ($600 USD) plus shipping. This will get you the limited edition dev kit and everything you need to get started, with an estimated shipping date of September 2018. As the Indiegogo campaign draws to a close VRFocus will keep you updated.
Firmament – March 2019
