NYC Bungee – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

December 21, 2020

Blackwall Labs Offer Some Festive Cheer, Rhythmatic & NYC Bungee Free to Arcades Until Feb

Like many retail establishments, location-based entertainment (LBE) has had a rough 2020. Studios like Ubisoft have tried to help out by offering license-free access to their titles and now British developer Blackwall Labs is doing the same, with free access to Rhythmatic and NYC Bungee.

The announcement comes as the team reveal that Rhythmatic has already become one of SpringboardVR’s top worldwide videogames as well as being highly trending on SynthesisVR – both distribution platforms for LBE content. The title only officially released at the beginning of December having been available in beta form since the summer.

“We want to say a huge thank you to everyone in the community……we are absolutely delighted to tell you that Rhythmatic is one of the highest trending games on SynthesisVR and also in the top 20 most popular VR games on the Springboard global usage chart just 2 weeks after release,” said Blackwall Labs co-founder Dan Perrin in a statement.

Rhythmatic is a multiplayer rhythm-action title catered towards VR arcades. Offering familiar gameplay where you have to slice orbs in time to the music, up to six players can either go head-to-head or co-op challenges. The gameplay also features powerups to help improve scores or hinder opponents.

“We couldn’t have done this without your help, feedback and support. We know that this year has been a tough one for everyone, but we believe that 2021 will be much brighter once we reach the early Spring,” Perrin continued. “To show our appreciation and also to help people get through these last hard months we have decided to make both Rhythmatic totally free for you and your locations until 28th February.”

As well as Rhythmatic being license-free until February 2021, Blackwall Labs’ extreme sports experience NYC Bungee is getting the same treatment; allowing players to climb the Statue of Liberty and then bungee off the top.

The studio has plenty of update plans for Rhythmatic going into next year, such as upping the multiplayer to 12-players and adding more dubstep, drum and bass, house and rock tracks. As further information is released, VRFocus will let you know.

April 24, 2020

The VR Game Launch Roundup: Action, Stories and Liberty

As VRFocus likes to do every Friday it’s time to take a look at what virtual reality (VR) videogames are due to arrive over the next 7 days. Offering a diverse range of genres from magical adventures and horror to extreme sports experiences, there’s a little something for everyone here.

Wrest image1

Wrest – Shaftesbury Lucid Inc

Scary videogames are well suited to VR, so Wrest stepping into a coveted genre. This is a horror title where you play an engineer called Andy Bishop, who wakes to discover a terrifying mystery unfolding in his home. For those that want to test the experience first, developer Shaftesbury Lucid Inc has already made a demo available on Steam.

Supported platforms: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift
Launch date: 28th April

Witching Tower: Heroes – Daily Magic Productions

Expanding Daily Magic Productions’ Witching Tower VR universe, this action-packed sequel is about fighting hordes of monsters using an array of weapon styles depending on whether a player prefers close or ranged combat. An Early Access launch, Witching Tower: Heroes will be single-player to begin with, with the studio adding multiplayer options in the future.

Supported platforms: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index and Windows Mixed Reality
Launch date: 29th April

Fire Escape – iNK Stories

An interactive VR cinematic thriller which premiered during the New York Film Festival in 2018, Fire Escape is a Hitchcock inspired tale which takes place across three 20-minute episodes. You watch over a Brooklyn apartment complex from across the street, able to select apartments and listen in to your neighbour’s conversations. When a murder takes place you need to unravel the mystery.

Supported platforms: HTC Vive and Valve Index
Launch date: 29th April

NYC Bungee – Blackwall Labs

And for those thrill-seekers looking for some excitement Blackwall Labs’ NYC Bungee is just that. Set around the Statue of Liberty, players can climb the famous landmark, enjoy the spectacular views and then bungee off her flaming torch. Or jump in the hot air balloon for a relaxing ride.

Supported platforms: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Valve Index
Launch date: 1st May

April 24, 2020

View New York and the Statue of Liberty Like Never Before with NYC Bungee Next Week

New York City has some incredible landmarks such as Times Square or the Empire State Building, but due to the current coronavirus pandemic, nobody will be able to visit them for a while. One iconic structure is the Statue of Liberty and soon British developer Blackwall Labs will allow you to bungee right off the top in NYC Bungee.

NYC Bungee

Initially designed as a virtual reality (VR) experience for location-based entertainment (LBE) venues, NYC Bungee will be Blackwall Labs’ first widely available title for consumers to enjoy at home. A videogame which combines both exhilarating and relaxing moments, the core of NYC Bungee allows you to take the elevator right to the famous torch of the Statue of Liberty, soak up the scenery and then finally jump off for a unique daredevil challenge.

If you’re looking for something a little more energetic then you can always climb the statue as fast as possible. Or why not enjoy a scenic ride in a hot air balloon high above the Hudson River, even enjoying the New York City skyline at night.

Supporting HTC Vive, Valve Index and Oculus Rift, NYC Bungee is scheduled to launch on 1st May via Steam with Blackwall Labs collaborating with monetization solution Admix to help support New York-based charities making ventilators and PPE equipment for front line medical staff.

NYC Bungee

The two companies will donate opening weekend profits from the sale of the videogame as well as advertising revenue, the ads appearing on a blimp flying overhead. “Our game is set in this beautiful city and having spent the past year replicating it for NYC Bungee, we feel it is our duty to try to give something back as they face a tough time with COVID 19,“ said Sam Perrin, Blackwall Labs co-founder in a statement.

“We’re proud to partner with Blackwall to help monetize their VR titles and even prouder to donate the revenue to help people affected by the crisis,” adds Admix CEO Sam Huber.

NYC Bungee isn’t the only VR title Blackwall Labs is working on with two more planned for 2020. As further details of these projects arise VRFocus will let you know.

Disclosure: Admix is the parent company of VRFocus. VRFocus retains its editorial independence.

April 5, 2019

EGX Rezzed 2019: Great for Gamers, Just not VR Fans

The Tobacco Dock in London, UK is an unusual place to have a big show like EGX Rezzed. The videogame event – which is primarily geared towards PC gaming – has been held there for a number of years, providing a much more intimate feel than its bigger brother EGX (normally held at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham). The small rooms allow studios to create a shop front feel to their displays, for a very British style of gaming event. There was just one problem when it came to VRFocus attending, the notable lack of virtual reality (VR).

That’s not to say there wasn’t any but it was a shame to wander around and really have to search for any hint of a VR experience when the UK has some of the best developers in the world creating awesome content. A good example was the fact that PlayStation was there in all its blue glory but not a PlayStation VR was in sight. On demonstration was Media Molecule’s Dreams – which will get VR support – but April’s Early Access release doesn’t include it.

The ever-popular Coatsink Software – purveyors of fine VR titles like Augmented Empire, Esper, Esper 2, A Night Sky and They Suspect Nothing – was also there but alas no VR, not even a hint of newly revealed Shadow Point.

However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom as VRFocus not only found some VR, it’s also worth trying out if you have the chance. The centrepiece was most certainly at the Porsche stand with racing simulator specialist Vesaro displaying one of its Commercial VR simulators with full pneumatics and Oculus Rift headset – which has a retail price starting from £20,000 GBP – where players could race on Project CARS Pro title Porsche 911 VR-Racing Experience built specifically for the car manufacturer by Slightly Mad Studios.

Vesaro Racing Sim

Continuing with that sense of adrenaline is London-based studio Blackwall Labs which was demoing its recently announced title NYC Bungee. Using an HTC Vive the core of the experience is being able to bungee jump off the statue of liberty – something you couldn’t do in real life. Other parts to the title include being able to climb the statue, take a zip wire from the top of the statue, or for something a little more tranquil there’s a balloon ride to the top.

Primarily designed for VR arcades, NYC Bungee will eventually come to Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Windows Mixed Reality home users as well.

Next to Blackwall Labs was Spillage Games with its title A Dragon’s Tale, where player’s are the dragon, having to hold the HTC Vive controllers out like wings to flap them to gain height. Once aloft you could then soar around the landscape, learning how to breathe fire and deal with monsters.

The last on the list was located in the Unreal Engine area, with indie developer Ben Lunato demoing his videogame A Ton of Feathers. It’s about chasing down a serial killer through a series of novellas that he’s anonymously published online whilst trying to discover his identity.

Tomorrow is the last day of EGX Rezzed 2019 with some tickets still available. For the latest events featuring VR, keep reading VRFocus.