Relive PAX West With HTC Vive

As we’ve already mentioned this week the convention season in the northern hemisphere is all but done, with only Sony’s PlayStation Experience really barring the way to Christmas. Australia on the other hands has PAX Australia to look forward to, which you can find out more about here. The most recent other PAX event however was PAX West, which was held over in Seattle, Washington at the beginning of last month.

Both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) had representation at the convention. Over on the AR side Luden.io, developer of VRobot, demonstrated a build of AR god-sim sandbox title ARrived. For VR there was a large number of videogame titles ready to display. Including Oasis Games showing off two videogame titles ahead of release in Light Tracer and Hidden Dragon Legend, Sony had an array of games for the PlayStation VR on display, including the likes of Gran Turismo Sport, 100ft Robot Golf, and the adventures of Quill in the ever popular Moss.

HTC Vive stock image 6It wasn’t just PlayStation VR videogames and hardware that was available to try, however. HTC Vive were also in attendance and now, albeit some time later, the company has released a new video chronicling some of what they got up to over in Seattle. You can check out the video below and be reminded of some of the sights and sounds of the convention, from cosplayers and enthusiasts to some of the more familiar names of VR gaming, such as Bethesda Softworks’ VR division and their adaption of Fallout 4 into Fallout 4 VR. A title VRFocus described as possessing intriguing depths in its recent preview as “given more time [from its initial appearance at E3] there were many of its nuances that revealed themselves through further play”, the implementation of the Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System (V.A.T.S.) in VR was also particularly praised.

Hardware partners such as Intel, DELL/Alienware and Corsair also feature in the video. For more updates relating to the HTC Vive, or any of the main head mounted displays (HMDs) click the relevant name at the top of the site and get up to date on the very latest news.

 

 

Where to Find VR at PAX West 2017

The Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) will be back in its hometown of Seattle this September 1st through 4th and Road to VR has again done the heavy lifting of sorting out all the VR things to see at this year’s convention:

Exhibitor Exhibit Platforms Location
Alienware (TBD) Oculus #1115
Anshar Studios Detached Oculus, Vive #6003
Archiact VR (TBD) (TBD) Westin Hotel, 4th Floor
Bethesda Softworks Doom, Skyrim, Fallout 4 Oculus, PSVR, Vive #1102
BigBox VR Smashbox Arena Oculus, PSVR, Vive Westin Hotel, 4th Floor
Cyan Inc Obduction Oculus, PSVR, Vive #857
Dell (TBD) Windows Mixed Reality #1125
Drifter Entertainment Gunheart Oculus, Vive Grand Hyatt
Emerald Beast Sellsword VR Oculus, Vive Westin Hotel, 4th Floor
Fantom Fathom Perch Oculus, Vive Westin Hotel, 4th Floor
Gattai Games Stifled Oculus, OSVR, PSVR, Vive #862
Gene Games (TBD) (TBD) Westin Hotel, 4th Floor
Kite and Lightning Bebylon Battle Royale Oculus, Vive Westin Hotel, 4th Floor
Hardlight VR Hardlight VR Suit PC Westin Hotel, 4th Floor
Oasis Games Light Tracer PSVR #6808
Oculus (Multiple games) Oculus Westin Hotel, 4th Floor
PlayStation (TBD) PSVR #100, #103, #109, #203, #209
Polyarc Moss PSVR #203 (Sony Booth)
Secret Location Blasters of the Universe Oculus, Vive #844
Smidgen Softworks How May I Haunt You Oculus 3rd Floor Annex
Spontaneous Quirk Aden’s Musical Playground Oculus Westin Hotel, 4th Floor
Square Enix Monster of the Deep: Final Fantasy XV PSVR Sheraton Hotel, Aspen Room
Survios Raw Data, Sprint Vector Oculus, Vive #1125 (Dell Gaming Booth, Raw Data), #625 (Intel Booth, Sprint Vector)
Surprise Attack Games Blind Oculus, OSVR, PSVR, Vive #6312
Think On Labs Ship It Oculus, Vive #7317
TN Games PhantomSense PC Westin Hotel, 4th Floor

In addition to the expo halls, PAX West will again have a VR freeplay area along with multiple tournaments throughout the 4-day event. There will also be many VR-themed panels and developer discussions (including one moderated by Road to VR).

Cell reception can be spotty in the packed Washington State Convention Center, so attendees may want to download the official PAX West 2017 guidebook (and a copy of this article) ahead of time.

The post Where to Find VR at PAX West 2017 appeared first on Road to VR.

Luden.Io Will Be Showcasing ARKit Title ARrived at PAX West

Since the launch of Apple’s ARKit, a number of companies have been testing out the possibilities provided by the new augmented reality (AR) toolkit. One of these is Luden.io, who will be demonstrating its upcoming AR god simulator ARrived.

During early demonstrations , the developer behind VRobot referred to the title by a different name of AR Tribe, but since then it has gained considerably more polish. The core gameplay is that of a sandbox god simulator, sharing similarities with classic title Black and White. Players will need to guide and care for their chosen tribe, able to choose from various options to improve the life of the miniature AR people presented on the tabletop before the player.

Current artwork and video footage of the alpha build of the videogame reveals a cartoonish, stylised artwork style, with various style of character, from primitive seemed men with clubs to shamanistic figures. Early footage has shown level areas with flowing waterfalls and an active day and night cycle, with fireflies appearing during the night phase.

Luden.io will be demonstrating a build of the title for attendees at PAX West, which is due to take place in Seattle from 1st-4th September, 2017. It is currently unknown what point in development the title has reached, but most are expecting an alpha build at this point.

A launch date and price point for ARrived has yet to be confirmed.

VRFocus will bring you further information on ARrived and other ARKit projects as it becomes available.

Oasis Games To Preview Light Tracer at Gamescom and PAX

Whilst most developers and publishers are focussing on Gamescom, Chinese videogame publisher Oasis Games is planning further ahead and has announced it will be bringing three of its upcoming titles to PAX West and Gamescom, including PlayStation VR title Light Tracer.

Light Tracer is a puzzle-platform adventure on the PlayStation VR in which the player is a godlike entity with a magical staff of light who must guide a mysterious Princess up an ancient tower, solving puzzles to guide her forward so she can reach the pinnacle of the tower to find a magical cure for a deadly disease affecting her people. Solving puzzles depends on interacting with the environment, moving the tower to get a better view and activating triggers and moving items to solve puzzles and open new routes.

There are eight chapters planned for Light Tracer, each ending with a boss battle. The title is planned for a September 2017 release date. A price point has not yet been set. The trailer is available to view below.

Oasis Games will also be bringing Hidden Dragon Legend and Fringe Wars to PAX West and Gamescom. Hidden Dragon Legend is a 2.5D hack and slash platformer in the mould of classic titles such as Ninja Gaiden and is expected to be released on PlayStation 4 on 19th September, 2017, with a PC release on Steam planned for a later date. Fringe Wars is a MOBA-style space warfare title where players can team up to take on other ships, taking on roles such a sniper, tank, assault or scout.

VRFocus will bring you further news on Oasis Games’ VR projects as well as the latest from Gamescom.

PlayStation Prepares For PAX West

As you likely know next week is Europe’s biggest games focused industry event, the middle chapter of the ‘big three’, Gamescom over in Cologne, Germany. With the other two of course being E3 and the Tokyo Game Show which is still to come. Naturally the VRFocus team is (in part) attending the event and we’ll be providing you with plenty to read and watch over the course of the next week.  You’d be mistaken for thinking these were the only events on the horizon however, because there is also one of the PAX events – PAX West – heading your way at the beginning of next month.

Taking place over September 1st to 4th in Seattle Washington as PAX has grown so has industry representation at it and Sony have just announced the titles that you will be able to try out should you be heading there – which does include PlayStation VR titles. Eight of them to be precise.

Click the title for a link to our most recent preview or story on each videogame.

Gran Turismo Sport

The Inpatient

Bravo Team

Kaiju Driving Range

Moss

Star Child

League of War: VR Arena

Sparc

Other non-VR videogames for the Sony PlayStation 4 that will be playable at one of the five booths at the event are:

  • Gran Turismo Sport – if you don’t want to play it in VR of course…
  • PlayLink: Hidden Agenda
  • PlayLink: That’s You!
  • PlayLink: Knowledge is Power
  • PlayLink: Frantics
  • Uncharted: The Lost Legacy
  • Detroit: Become Human
  • Knack 2
  • Marvel vs Capcom: Infinite
  • Swords of Ditto
  • Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom
  • Tooth and Tail
  • Burly Men at Sea
  • Dragon Ball FighterZ
  • Samurai Shodown V Special
  • Omen of Sorrow
  • Windjammers
  • Hob
  • Battle Chasers

With Gamescom just before and with the PlayStation Experience looming in December we’re not expecting much in the way of news from the event. However, should any updates be released or anything newsworthy be discovered VRFocus will of course bring it your way.