Insomniac Games – Page 11 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

June 1, 2018

Insomniac Games Tease New VR Title

Insomniac Games are best known for their work on the Ratchet & Clank and Spyro the Dragon series, or to virtual reality (VR) fans for magic duelling title The Unspoken. In a developer spotlight on Oculus, the company teased that it was returning to VR with a new, as yet untitled, videogame.

The developer spotlight video saw the people being interviewed remaining cagey about what the upcoming title might involve, dropping only a few tantalising hint, culminating with a spalsh screen saying ‘Reclaim Your World’.

The teaser image showed a red-tinted sky with a few stars dotted around and a thing crescent moon, along with the date 7th June, 2018 and the Insomniac Games and Oculus branding at the bottom.

The other hints presented in the video suggest that what the studio is working on is ‘an open world adventure’, and also indicates that it will be an original IP not related to any of Insomniac Games’ previous projects, despite recent rumours to the contrary.

Insomniac Games Lead Technical Animated Nina Fricker’s comments led to speculation that the studio has developed a new movement system: “In this new project, you’ll be able to go wherever you want. To be able to bring that into the VR space is definitely the next evolution of what we’re going for.”

Movement and locomotion in VR has become something of a hot topic recently, with many dedicated VR enthusiasts demanding more movement options instead of the teleport movement that became the default way to avoid the dreaded simulation sickness.

“We’re gonna see a potential for movement and exploration that breaks out of the 2D plane,” Insomniac Games lead designer Mike Daly said, “We’ve made some interesting discoveries, and for us it was just seeing the tip of the iceberg for how VR enhanced traversal in a way that couldn’t be done before.”

Insomniac Games

The full spotlight video is available to view below. Whatever new announcements and information becomes available for this new title, VRFocus will be sure to bring you the latest coverage.

May 31, 2018

Insomniac Games Teases New VR Project, Promising an Open World Adventure

Insomniac Games, developers behind The Unspoken (2017), Edge of Nowhere (2016), and Ratchet & Clank, showed off a sneak peek of their next VR game. While still unnamed, the studio is aiming to break boundaries with what they say is ‘an open world adventure.’

The whole developer spotlight video (below) is pretty tight-lipped about what’s next, although the studio’s Principal Designer Duncan Moore says “[we wanted to] create really beautiful, immersive spaces and apply it to a new palette of open world adventure.”

“In this new project, you’ll be able to go wherever you want,” says Nina Fricker, Insomniac’s Lead Technical Animator. Fricker continues: “To be able to bring that into the VR space is definitely the next evolution of what we’re going for.”

The video’s description has a cryptic line too, saying “Reclaim Your World – June 7, 2018.”

Although target platforms are still unknown, the video was published by Oculus, possibly pointing to a new Rift exclusive in the works. Both The Unspoken and Edge of Nowhere are exclusive to the Oculus platform.

No launch date is set yet, so we’ll just have to wait and see on June 7th for what Insomniac has planned next.

The post Insomniac Games Teases New VR Project, Promising an Open World Adventure appeared first on Road to VR.

May 31, 2018

Insomniac to unveil an open-world Oculus Rift game on June 7

It turns out Insomniac has been working on more than just Spider-Man these past few years. On June 7, the acclaimed independent studio will reveal its next Oculus Rift game, and it sounds like an open-world space adventure.

The post Insomniac to unveil an open-world Oculus Rift game on June 7 appeared first on Digital Trends.

May 31, 2018

Insomniac’s Next VR Game Lets You ‘Go Wherever You Want’ Coming 2019

Writing articles about teaser trailers that are basically just announcements of upcoming announcements is always frustrating. I don’t know enough about the game to really dive in with details, but I’d also be doing you all (our audience) a disservice by not letting you know about what’s to come.

So, yes, as the headline suggests Insomniac is working on another VR title. This will be the company’s fourth VR title after the critically-acclaimed Edge of Nowhere and The Unspoken, as well as the poorly-received Feral Rites. Pay attention to how, in the below video, not even Insomniac wants to talk about Feral Rites at all.

Honestly, that’s about all we know so far. They’re working on a VR game. Here is the Developer Spotlight video that just went live that shows them ever-so-briefly mention it at the end:

About all we’ve got to go on is that it will feature some sort of free-form locomotion system that lets players go wherever they want, according to a developer in the video. After that statement we see an office space full of people in Oculus Rift headsets reaching upwards with Touch controllers. This makes me think either some form of zero-G flight like Lone Echo and Space Junkies, or a swinging-focused game a la Windlands.

Platforms have not been announced yet and no one will confirm or deny if this is a Rift exclusive, but given the tease is coming from an Oculus video I’d wager that this is in fact another Rift exclusive like Insomniac’s past three VR games.

I wish I knew more, but I honestly don’t. We should be getting more details next week. I can confirm that after speaking with PR we know that this unnamed and unannounced project will not be shown at E3 and will not be releasing this year — it’s a 2019 title. So buckle up for lots of slow reveals.

What do you think of this news? Let us know down in the comments below!

Tagged with: insomniac, Insomniac Games, oculus

March 6, 2018

Magic Duelling Title The Unspoken Free This Weekend

Free weekends are a great way to get a taste of a videogame to see if you like it and see if is worth dropping some cash on buying it for yourself. Oculus Rift users will be getting the chance to try out magic duels in the Chicago magical underground this weekend.

The Unspoken is a title by Insomniac Games that puts the player in the role of a magic user who is taking part in a sort of mystical urban fight club in Chicago. When two of your fellow acolytes go missing, your character is drawn into the dangerous hidden history of the city.

The Unspoken Acolytes image 3

A significant update for the title was released in December 2017 that brought a new chapter titled The Acolytes for The Unspoken, which provided new players with a good entry point by allowing new players to develop and hone the skills they will need as well as providing an opportunity to get to grip with the story.

The Unspoken: Acolytes update sees the player character attempting to climb the ranks of the duelling club even as the magic world of Chicago starts to collide with the mundane world, resulting in the dark alleyways being infested with demons. Players will need to fight against huge wraiths and explore the secluded magical sanctums in order to discover what is really happening.

The Unspoken offers variable difficulty, so players trying out the title for the first time can ease themselves into the experience. The single-player mode means players can learn what magical abilities they have and how to handle them and what classes are available and obtain rewards that can be subsequently used in the PvP mode that is the main draw of The Unspoken.

Oculus Rift users will be able to play for free from 6pm GMT on 8th March 2018 until 7am GMT on 12th March, 2018. The Unspoken is usually priced at £22.99 (GBP).

The Unspoken Acolytes image 1

For further news on the latest updates, offers and deals, keep watching VRFocus.

March 6, 2018

Play Magic Dueler ‘The Unspoken’ for Free on Rift This Weekend

Oculus has been hosting free access weekends for some time now, including Onward (2017), SPARC (2017), and From Other Suns (2017). Now, Oculus is tossing out free access to Insomniac Games‘ magic dueler The Unspoken (2016) this weekend for Rift players on Oculus Home.

While The Unspoken does put heavy emphasis on its online multiplayer mode, which pits you against other spell-casters in the magic fight club arena, it also features a single-player mode called ‘Acolytes Chapter’, giving you a space to bone up on the spell-wielding skills before hitting the professional circuit.

Thanks to a well-balanced mix of 5 classes with over 30 spells to choose from, The Unspoken is also regularly featured as an eSport.

The free access weekend starts March 8th at 10:00 AM PT (local time here) and goes until March 12th at 12:00 AM PT (local time here).

Normally priced at $30, the magic dueler is currently ranked at a touch over [4/5] stars on Oculus Home.

The post Play Magic Dueler ‘The Unspoken’ for Free on Rift This Weekend appeared first on Road to VR.

December 18, 2017

The Unspoken Acolytes Update Shows That Insomniac Games Are Listening to Their Fans

Magic fiends will surely know Insomniac Games’ The Unspoken, the virtual reality (VR) videogame where players duel one another by casting spells. The PvP has been popular for multiplayer e-sport tournaments that use the Oculus Rift, but back at Oculus Connect 4 this year, Insomniac Games announced that The Unspoken would be receiving a major update that would allow players to play a narrative-driven single-player campaign set in Chicago. The free update to all players who own The Unspoken was released last week, yesterday and with the update comes a lot of new classes, story and world. VRFocus spoke to Chad Dezern, Studio Director at Insomniac Games, about the Acolytes update.

The Unspoken Acolytes image 1

The Unspoken: Acolytes goes into the untold story of Chicago’s secret spell-casting duels. When two of your fellow Acolytes mysteriously disappear you go on a mission to uncover why. The journey leads you into the underworld of Chicago, and takes you to neon alleys to battle demons, jump to vertigo-inducing rooftops to hidden sanctums. Players can choose from five different spell casting classes, each of them drastically changing the way in which the gameplay works and feels. Each class has different spells and players will have to strategically make the most of their environment to defeat demons and large-scale Wraiths.

Dezen explains that Insomniac Games have been wanting to create a magic videogame that was set in the real-world since 2006. When asked why they chose Chicago, Dezen says, “We have a few native Chicagoans on staff and we liked its potential as a Midwestern location that’s got a bit of weird history we can tap into. We were just taken by the idea this occult underworld and of all places, Chicago. Where you might not expect it.”

Insomniac Games know that The Unspoken has a strong PvP community and want to allow players to understand the history of why they’re dueling and what they’re fighting about. At the end up of the update, players will not only have learned new skills and improved their ability to cast spells but will also unlock several items you otherwise wouldn’t be able to get. When having played through the campaign, these players will be clearly marked and may have a few items you may not have seen before. There are plenty of videogames on sale and with Oculus’s Winter sale you can now purchase the videogame for £14.99 GBP, rather than £22.99. To find out more, watch the video below.

December 15, 2017

Single-Player Combat Sorcery Comes to The Unspoken With the Acolytes Update

During Oculus Connect 4 (OC4) in October, Oculus and Insomniac Games announced that popular magical combat title The Unspoken would be getting a major update, adding a single-player campaign to the title. That update has now gone live this week.

The Unspoken Acolytes image 2

The Unspoken: Acolytes is a free update for owners of the base videogame. The narrative-driven single-player sees you play a rising star of The Unspoken’s urban magic fight club in Chicago, climbing ranks as the city becomes unhinged. Two of your fellow acolytes have been murdered, and it’s up to you to investigate the connections and find the killer. To do this you’ll travel through neon alleys to battle demons, cross vertigo-inducing rooftops to fight towering wraiths, and explore Chicago’s hidden sanctums to uncover the truth.

Insomniac Games has designed The Unspoken: Acolytes with variable difficulty and selectable classes, whether you’re new to the title or an experienced spell caster. For new players, the chapter provides a suitable point of entry into The Unspoken universe – a way to hone skills before playing a competitive match. For those experienced players, the single-player offers respite from the one-on-one duels, so they may gain more insight into the world of The Unspoken – a deeper look at the history of spell-casting classes, the duel, and the Astral Plane itself – and in doing so gain rewards that feed into The Unspoken PvP mode.

If you don’t already own The Unspoken then don’t worry as today Oculus has begun its Winter Sale. There are plenty of videogames on sale with Insomniac Games’ title also included, retailing for £14.99 GBP rather than £22.99.

This is one of 30 updates to The Unspoken that Insomniac Games has delivered over the course of 2017, teasing: “more updates and more surprises just around the corner” in a recent blog posting. As the studio continues to do so, VRFocus will keep you updated.

October 11, 2017

The Unspoken: Acolytes Introduces Single-Player Experience

Insomniac Games’ ‘magic fight club’ title The Unspoken has proved popular among Oculus Rift users, even managing to be featured in the fledgling virtual reality (VR) e-sports scene. Now the multiplayer is going single player, with the addition of a single-player story campaign titled The Unspoken: Acolytes.

Announced at the Oculus Connect event in San Jose, where attendees will be able to try out a playable demo, The Unspoken: Acolytes puts the player in the shoes of a newcomer to the world of magic. As such, users will delve into the hidden world of Chicago’s mages and their deadly spell-casting duels.

Players will face not only fellow magic users, but also demons and wraiths, learn to traverse the rooftops of the city and sneak into hidden sanctums as well as channel arcane power to cast over thirty types of spells, from lifting cars to firing off bolts of lightning or even seeing into the future.

The Unspoken: Acolytes is designed with variable difficulty to present a challenge to new players as well as those experienced at the PvP experience of The Unspoken. As such, the expansion can act as a point of entry for players who wish to learn how to play before getting involved with PvP.

In addition, rewards in the single-player will feed into The Unspoken PvP. The Unspoken: Acolytes will be available as a free update for existing players of The Unspoken, or available alongside the purchase of The Unspoken PvP experience.

The Unspoken: Acolytes will be available sometime later this year. The announcement trailer is available to view below.

VRFocus will bring you further updates on The Unspoken as it becomes available.

September 18, 2017

VR Esports Tournament Comes to Brighton, UK

Esports is gradually taking off in the UK. Esports tournaments have been a fixture in Japan, Korea, the US and parts of Europe for a while, and are now popping up in the UK as well. Some events re even combining Esports with virtual reality (VR) as is the case for an upcoming tournament where players will compete in VR title The Unspoken.

A small team at Brighton-based start-up company GOVR will be hosting a tournament at The Prince Albert in Brighton, a venue well-known in the music scene for its history of great performances and atmosphere.

Mark Bou Mansour, co-founder of GOVR, said: “For most people, high costs are still a serious road block to getting into virtual reality which means the future of virtual reality is getting shaped without them. That doesn’t sit right with us at GOVR. We have three rules for VR: make it easy, make it cheap, make it social. Events like this tournament bring everybody and anybody excited about virtual reality together, from first timers to core gamers to developers and local businesses. And it’s loads of fun too.”

The Unspoken was created by Insomnia Game for the Oculus Rift as a VR competitive title where players could face each other in magical duels, learning various types of magical spells and pitting them against one another in a way that blends traditional fighting games with the fluidity of VR motion controls.

The Unspoken Esports tournament by GOVR will form part of the Brighton Digital Festival taking place during September and October, which is designed to celebrate the creativity and culture of the city.

The main tournament is due to take place on 24th September, 2017. Further information can be found on the GOVR website.

VRFocus will continue to report on VR Esports events.