Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation
What Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality developers are talking about
Digital Trends caught up with League of Legends Twitch streamer BoxBox at TwitchCon 2018 to talk about his career, his favorite part of interacting with fans, and why a hot dog is or isn't a sandwich.
The post BoxBox talks streaming ‘League of Legends’ full-time at TwitchCon 2018 appeared first on Digital Trends.
ESPN is moving forward with its coverage of esports. The cable news network has announced a deal with Riot Games that will allow ESPN+ to begin streaming League of Legends competitions starting later this summer.
The post ‘League of Legends’ tournaments coming to ESPN+ appeared first on Digital Trends.
Opening their Game Developer Conference 2018, Epic Games has distributed a new trailer for the Unreal Engine 4 featuring a number of virtual reality (VR) titles.
Though packed to breaking point with all manner videogames and experiences built using the Unreal Engine 4 there were a number of VR trailers featured that showcase the power of the software. The VR titles that were included in the showcase offer an insight into the types of experiences that can be created by developers for a whole range of different platforms thanks to the engine.
One VR title featured that many are sure to know was Moss, the hit PlayStation VR videogame which recently released. Taking players into a fantasy world within a book, they met Quill and must work together to help complete an epic adventure. Developer Polyarc Games used the Unreal Engine 4 to create a highly detailed fantasy world and deliver stunning animations for Quill, which included the use of sign language. They have since taken Quill onto iOS with a set of animated stickers.
VRFocus’ Staff Writer Rebecca Hills-Duty reviewed Moss saying: “Moss is a flawlessly crafted experience starring a character that absolutely deserves to be the face of modern VR. Every inch of the world shows attention to detail, and a story is woven that draws you in, making you truly invested in the world and in Quill as a person.”
The League of Legends: Elder Dragon mixed reality (MR) experience also got a feature in the trailer, which was used during the League of Legends Worlds 2017 Grand Final Stage. Developer Riot Games have been looking at new ways to bring their hit title to more platforms for sometime and the Elder Dragon crashing the party was a stunning experience for both fans of the title and new comers alike.
Upcoming arcade flight combat title Ace Combat 7 is also making use of the VR capabilities of the Unreal Engine 4 and is set to be playable in full with a VR head-mounted display (HMD). VRFocus’ Senior Staff Writer Peter Graham got hands on with Ace Combat 7 last July saying: “In its present state Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown promises high octane flying action for PlayStation VR players that’s sure to encourage legions of fans to try the VR compatibility. As long as Bandai Namco manage to provide enough content to satisfy then PlayStation VR is likely to have another killer exclusive title when the videogame finally arrives next year.”
Another VR experience which made use of the Unreal Engine 4 was the Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire full-body experience that was created by The Void and ILMxLAB. Players were able to enter the world of Star Wars and live out a whole new story all with hyper-reality detail. Players wear an untethered VR system and move freely around a multi-sensory experience and must survive against all odds in order to recover imperial intelligence vita to the rebellion’s survival. Unreal Engine 4 was a key part of the development of the experience, allowing the teams at The Void and ILMxLAB to bring Star Wars to a new reality.
The Unreal Engine 4 was also used in the French elections by news channels in conjugation with green screens to deliver real-time MR to viewers. The full Unreal Engine 4 showcase trailer can be watched below and goes to show just how powerful and flexible the engine really is.
VRFocus will be bring you all the latest from the Game Developer Conference all throughout the week so make sure to check back regularly for more.
At the Tribeca Film Festival, Crystal Dynamics will show off Shadow of the Tomb Raider and Sony Santa Monica will talk incorporating Norse mythology into God of War. Tickets to the panels will be free.
The post ‘Shadow of the Tomb Raider’ gameplay will debut at Tribeca Film Festival appeared first on Digital Trends.
Der DOTA-Erfolgstitel League of Legends von Riot Games begeistert weltweit viele Spieler und kann in eSports-Turnieren ganze Stadien füllen. Nun stellten das Entwicklerstudio Grab Games auf dem Google-Event in San Francisco eine eigene dazugehörige AR-Erfahrung basierend auf ARCore vor. Die LoL-AR-Erfahrung zeigt die spannungsgeladenen Matches in einer neuen Form und präsentiert damit, wie eSports-Übertragungen zukünftig dank AR aussehen könnten.
Das Entwicklerstudio Grab Games präsentierte auf dem Google-Event ihre League of Legends AR-Erfahrung. Dieses zeigt dank ihrer eigenen Software-Plattform die actiongeladenen Runden auf einem Tabletop-Setting mit dazugehörigen Champions, Werten und Spielverlauf. Dadurch könnten die Liveübertragungen in einer völlig neuen immersiven und detaillierten Art dargestellt und das eSports-Streaming auf das nächste Level gehoben werden.
Die eigens erstellte AR-Tabletop-Plattform soll laut dem Unternehmen auch für weitere Partner zum Einsatz kommen. Dank der Kombination aus AR, VR, Gaming und dazugehörigen Analysen möchten sie eine völlig neue Dimension offenbaren. Doch nicht nur im eSports soll die Plattform eingesetzt werden, auch bei klassischen Sportübertragungen wie beispielsweise Fußball wäre die Nutzung möglich.
Grab Games ist kein unbeschriebenes Blatt im Bereich der AR- und VR-Technologie. Sie sind bereits bekannt für die Entwicklung des VR-Boxspiel Knockout League sowie für die Co-Produktion des First-Person-VR-Shooter John Wick Chronicles. Die Entwickler listen Riot Games als offiziellen Partner auf. Derzeit sucht Grab Games noch Kooperation mit weiteren Unternehmen, wie der CEO Anthony Borquez anmerkt.
Wir dürfen gespannt sein, welche weiteren Informationen uns zukünftig über die neue AR-Plattform erwartet und welchen Einfluss sie auf die Liveübertragungen der verschiedensten Art haben wird.
(Quellen: VR Scout | Grab Games)
Der Beitrag Grab Games stellt League of Legends mit neuer AR-Plattform vor zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!
Google were showing off the new capabilities of its software development tool for augmented reality (AR), ARCore, Google’s answer to Apple’s ARKit. During the presentation of the upcoming Pixel 2 smartphone, Google demonstrated some of the capabilities of ARCore, including a new way to watch League of Legends matches.
League of Legends is one of the biggest success stories in the esports scene. The phenomenally popular MOBA (Multiplayer Online Battle Arena) has attracted a huge following, not just of players, though it is hardly short of those, but also of spectators who watch as teams battle it out.
Most people watch matches on a PC, of course. Sometimes when you are on the go, it’s not possible to watch on a big monitor, and users had to make do with watching on a smartphone screen – until now.
Using the new ARCore toolset on a Pixel 2 smartphone, it will be possible to watch League of Legends in augmented reality, allowing spectators to see every play in much better detail. Also available will be a Lego app that uses ARCore to allow users to build Lego figures and models in AR and have them move around, such as a Lego astronaut zooming around in a spaceship. Similar to other apps using ARKIt, Houzz lets users select and personalise furniture they wish to buy to make sure it fits in with the existing décor as well as physically fitting in the designated space.
The camera on the Google Pixel 2 camera has been specially optimised for use with AR, with a 12.2 megapixel camera, which has been given a score of 98 by DXO, the highest camera score ever awarded to a smartphone camera, with the iPhone 8 Plus coming in just below at 94. The Pixel 2 pre-orders will open later today.
VRFocus will bring you further new on Google’s AR and VR projects as it becomes available.
A Dutch judge has ruled that Riot Games will pay former soccer player Edgar Davids a portion of the profits from its Striker Lucian skin for League of Legends, which used the player's likeness without consent.
The post Dutch soccer star wins legal battle against ‘League of Legends’ developer appeared first on Digital Trends.
In 2016 SLIVER.tv raised $6.2 million USD to promote eSports in virtual reality (VR), going on to partner with ESL to cover Counter-strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) and League of Legends (LoL). Today the VR specialist has announced a broad-reaching 2017 partnership with ESL and DreamHack, which will see the company broadcast 14 tournaments this year.
ESL’s events like ESL One and the Intel Extreme Masters series, DreamHack’s DreamLeague, DreamHack ASTRO Open and DreamHack Masters bring together the best eSports teams and players in the world, for competitive games of CS:GO, LoL and Dota 2.
Over the past three months SLIVER.tv has been beta testing its VR Live Cast tournament platform in collaboration with ESL, at events such as ESL One New York and Intel Extreme Masters. Using the company’s patented Virtual Camera array technology, spectators can step into and experience top flight eSports games in fully immersive 360-degrees. Most recently, the IEM event in Oakland drew over 130,000 unique viewers across SLIVER.tv’s web 360, mobile and VR apps platform claims the company.
Mitch Liu, founder and CEO of SLIVER.tv, said in a statement: “We are thrilled to be working closely with two of the largest esports tourney organizers in the world in 2017. Our vision is to forever transform the esports spectating experience by providing new perspectives and insights into live esports streams. In partnering with ESL and DreamHack across these 14 global events, we have the opportunity to showcase our 360 virtual reality, live replays and stats technology to millions of esports fans worldwide.”
“Our partnership with SLIVER.tv at ESL One New York and IEM Oakland last year exceeded our expectations, and our fans, teams and players were blown away by the first-ever live broadcast of CS:GO and League of Legends in VR,” said Stuart Ewen, Product Manager of ESL. “We are delighted to partner with SLIVER.tv this year across 7 events starting with Intel Extreme Masters in Katowice, Poland where in 2016 we saw over 100,000 attendees and nearly two million peak concurrent online viewers. With the help of SLIVER.tv we hope 2017 will be even bigger and better.”
The full rundown of events and dates can be found below. To watch any of SLIVER.tv’s events, visit the company’s website or download the SLIVER.tv app for Android and iOS to view in 360 video or on Google Cardboard. For the best experience, download the app for Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Rift or HTC Vive.
For any further updates, keep reading VRFocus.
SLIVER.tv – DreamHack 2017 Events
DreamHack Masters Las Vegas – Feb 15-19
DreamHack Masters – Q3 Date and Location TBA
DreamHack ASTRO Open Austin – Apr 28-30
DreamHack ASTRO Open Atlanta – Jul 21-23
DreamHack ASTRO Open Montreal – Sep 8-10
DreamHack ASTRO Open Denver – Oct 20-22
DreamHack ASTRO Open Winter – Nov 30-Dec 2
DreamLeague Season Seven Playoffs – Dates and Location TBA
DreamLeague Season Eight Playoffs – Dates and Location TBA
SLIVER.tv – Intel Extreme Masters 2017 Events
Intel Extreme Masters Katowice, Poland – Feb 25-Mar 5
3 Addtl IEM Global events – Dates and Location TBA
SLIVER.tv – ESL One 2017 Events
ESL One Cologne – Jul 3-8
ESL One New York – Sep 1-15
ESL One Addtl event – Date and Location TBA