Category: Newcastle University

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Bonfire & Paper Beast Selected for Games For Change 2020 Awards

Bonfire

The 17th annual Games For Change (G4C) festival takes place next month and like many others, it’ll be a digital-only event. Today, the 22 finalists for the Games For Change Awards have been announced with virtual reality (VR) titles including Bonfire and Paper Beast selected for the XR category.

Paper Beast

The Games For Change festival as well as the awards advocate the power of videogames as drivers to impact society in meaningful ways. This year’s awards were highly competitive, seeing over 200 game submissions across the six categories.

Nominated in the Best XR for Change category are:

  • Bonfire from Baobab Studios (Oculus Rift, Oculus Rift S, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive, PlayStation VR)
  • Escape to the Future from Open Lab, Newcastle University (Digital Immersive Escape Game, 360 Projection)
  • Paper Beast from Pixel Reef (PlayStation VR)
  • The Holy City from Nimrod Shanit (Oculus Rift, Oculus Rift S, HTC Vive)

Paper Beast is probably the best known out of all those selected and the only videogame. Currently available for PlayStation VR – with a PC version on the way – its a puzzle-adventure set in a surreal world of paper creatures which can manipulate the landscape.

Bonfire, on the other hand, is more of an interactive experience, where you’re tasked with finding humanity a new home, landing on a planet filled with strange but friendly creatures.

Games for Change 2020 awards collage

As for the other categories they look like this:

Best Gameplay

  • Arise: A Simple Story from Piccolo Studio (PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4)
  • Dear Reader from Local No. 12 (iOS, Mac, Apple TV)
  • Mosaic from Krillbite Studio (PC, Mac, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, iOS)
  • Sky: Children of the Light from thatgamecompany (iOS)

Most Innovative

  • Concrete Genie from Pixelopus (PlayStation 4)
  • Dreams from Media Molecule  (PlayStation 4)
  • Sea of Solitude from Jo-Mei (PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4)
  • Sky: Children of the Light from thatgamecompany (iOS)

Most Significant Impact

  • Eliza from Zachtronics (PC, Mac, Nintendo Switch)
  • Life is Strange 2 from DONTNOD Entertainment (PC, Mac, Xbox One, PlayStation 4)
  • Sea of Solitude from Jo-Mei (PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4)
  • SweetXheart from Catt Small (Web/Online)

Best Learning Game

  • Funexpected Math from Funexpected LTD (iOS)
  • Mightier from Mightier (Android, iOS)
  • Rabbids Coding from Ubisoft (PC)
  • Sci-Ops: Global Defense from Plasma Games (Web/Online)

Best Student Game

  • Apollo from Team Apollo, University of Southern California (PC, Mac, Live Action)
  • Gamer Girl from RIT’s School of Interactive Games and Media (Web/Online)
  • Plasticity from Plasticity Games, University of Southern California (PC)
  • Resilience from Sungrazer Studio, Drexel University (PC, Mac, Linux)

The Best Gameplay, Most Innovative, Most Significant Impact and Best Learning Game are all eligible for the “G4C People’s Choice” award which you can vote here for. Plus, all the finalists are eligible for the Game of the Year award.

The Games For Change Festival takes place between 14th – 16th July, with the Games For Change Awards streamed at 7:30 pm EDT on 14th. For further updates, keep reading VRFocus.

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DemVR Hackathon Aims to Create VR Experiences for People With Dementia

Virtual reality (VR) has been used on a number of occasions for dementia purposes, whether that’s to help spread awareness or help teach medical students what life is like with dementia. Next month the University of Newcastle will be hosting a unique hackathon called DemVR, for the sole purpose of designing VR experiences for people living with the disease.

Organised by Open Lab at Newcastle University and held in the city’s Great North Museum, everyone is encouraged to apply – no prior VR knowledge is needed – as there will be experts in both VR and dementia on hand to give advice. Open Lab is looking for new and innovative ideas to help those living with dementia, whether it’s through a VR hardware solution or an interactive VR experience.

PhD student and founder of DemVR, James Hodge has been researching the potential of using VR in dementia cases, saying: “Our previous design work looked at not being burdened by the past or focus on perceived cognitive deficits, but where the person with dementia is enabled to drive the experience in all its richness.

“Dementia affects people differently, and through our research we’ve found it’s important to create personalised experiences to match that.”

LookBack by Virtue (VRTU)

Hodge’s research has led him to create tailored VR environments, such as a personalised Shania Twain concert for a couple living with dementia, as well as looking at how meaningful media experiences can be captured via 360-degree video for families living with dementia.

When it comes to the VR experts on hand, VRTGO Labs has been confirmed: “We are delighted to be working with the team at Open Lab and supporting DemVR – it’s really important for us to ensure we are collaborating with universities to help further build relationships between education and industry,” said Katy Reilly, VRTGO Labs Network Manager.

“The North East immersive tech sector stems from the regions’ proud games industry roots; innovation and growth in XR has developed considerably over the years with the support of organisations such as VRTGO Labs, Digital Catapult and PROTO, as well as XRTGO conference. XR in healthcare has huge potential and we can’t wait to see lots of new ideas brought to the table during the DemVR 24 hour hackathon!”

The DemVR Hackathon will take place from Friday, 5th April to Saturday 6th, with judging being held on Sunday 7th. There’s a £1,000 GBP Grand Prize up for grabs and £500 for second place. Registration is open now and closes next Friday 22nd. For further details head on over to the official DemVR website. As more use cases for VR are found, VRFocus will keep you updated.