san diego comic con – Page 2 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

July 16, 2018

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan Hyperreality Spy Experience Coming to San Diego Comic-Con

The annual San Diego Comic-Con returns at the end of the week featuring the latest content from the worlds of videogames, comic books, films, TV and more. Today, it has been announced that attendees will be able to enjoy Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan Experience as part of a collaboration between Amazon Studios and MediaMonks.

Oculus Touch - Chris

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan Experience is a several stage hyperreality tour-de-force of technology, and story telling, designed as an introduction to Prime Video’s upcoming original show, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, releasing on 31st August for Prime members.

Visitors will complete the Jack Ryan Training Field by infiltrating, fighting and evading the enemy to gain full field clearance. They will then use that training to help Jack Ryan himself in Dark Ops, an escape experience that will bring to life the pilot episode Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.

The Jack Ryan Training Field, created in collaboration with MediaMonks, uses OptiTrack cameras and Oculus Rift headsets to make it as immersive as possible. Participants will find themselves rappelling from a helicopter, traversing a 28ft high plank, infiltrating an enemy compound, taking out assailants, then locating intelligence, zipline from a building, then exfiltrate back to a safehouse while being chased by enemy cars.

OptiTrack Active

“The best way to promote an experience is through an experience. Hyperreality blurs the lines between VR technology and the real world; it truly brings fans something new and immerses them into the story of the series in ways that we could previously only dream about. Who wouldn’t want to become a hero for a day?” said Wesley ter Haar, COO, MediaMonks.

While the Dark Ops section in non-VR related, throwing participants into their first field assignment, with actors, voice technology and immersive set pieces.

“I’m thrilled that we can bring San Diego Comic Con attendees a multi-faceted, highly visual and technically advanced activation that will bring Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan to life in such an exciting way,” says Mike Benson, Head of Marketing at Amazon Studios in a statement. “Covering 60,000 square feet, fans can choose their own experience from swinging down zip-lines, escaping our Dark Ops activation, participating in mini-missions in the bazaar, or visitors can simply take a break, relax and watch others participate in the training field. It’s an experience like no other that has been designed to give everyone attending the opportunity to become their own version of Tom Clancy’s infamous Jack Ryan character.”

Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan Experience will take place Thursday, 19th July through Sunday, 22nd July at the park directly across from the San Diego Convention Center. It will be open daily from 9 am to 7 pm Thursday through Saturday, and 9 am to 5 pm on Sunday. For any further updates on the San Diego Comic-Con keep reading VRFocus.

June 25, 2018

Mr. Mercedes Immersive Experience Announced For San Diego Comic-Con

The popular AT&T Audience network series Mr. Mercedes, produced by Sonar Entertainment, is set to return to the San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) this year to showcase the Mr. Mercedes Immersive Experience. The showcase will also see the cast and creators of season 2 of the show attending the event as well as join in the experience along with show panels.

Mr. Mercedes

The Mr. Mercedes Immersive Experience will offer fans a chance to get a glimpse into the past and a peak into the future of the AT&T Audience Network original series based on the trilogy of books by Stephen King. Fans will step into a virtual reality (VR) escape room gaming experience dubbed Mr. Mercedes: Lair Escape on the HTC Vive Pro and immerse themselves into the show. Those looking to experience an augmented reality (AR) adventure videogame can do so with the Mr. Mercedes: Finders Keepers AR title in which players will need to collect clues in order to unlock never-before-seen content and special prizes.

In total, the Mr. Mercedes Immersive Experience will feature a number of different elements. This includes the Mr. Mercedes: Lair Escape and Mr. Mercedes: Finders Keepers along with a recreation of the show in the real world thanks to the work of the show’s set designers building the locations for Finders Keepers, Mercy General Hospital and Brady’s Lair on the conference floor. 3D projection mapping is also planned to be used to bring the character of Brady to life within his hospital bed. A unique photo experience will transform the participant’s face into Brady’s along with giving a shareable GIF for them to post all over social network. Lastly, the experience will be completed with a private screening room for media, VIP and lucky fans to see a sneak peek of season 2.

Mr. Mercedes Immersive Experience

The use of VR, AR, and 3D technology will ensure that attendees of the San Diego Comic-Con have the most immersive experience possible. From stepping into the digital recreations of the show or exploring the set to find clues with AR, there are sure to be many surprises on the day as well.

Season 2 of Mr. Mercedes will pick up a year after the events of the first and is set to premiere on AT&T Audience Network on August 22nd. The San Diego Comic-Con is running from July 19th to July 21st. For more on the Mr. Mercedes Immersive Experience in the future, keep reading VRFocus.

June 12, 2018

Ghostbusters Celebrate 35th Anniversary With AR

Ghostbusters has become a huge franchise since the original move aired back in June 1984, seeing sequels, comics, videogames and of course, the beloved animated series. The Ghostbusters are now hunting spooks in augmented reality (AR).

The launch of the upcoming AR videogame is designed to form part of the celebrations around the 35th Anniversary of the Ghostbusters franchise, with Sony Pictures and Ghost corps announcing a range of special events and new releases.

Ghostbusters World poster

One of the biggest events is the Ghostbusters Fan Fest, which is due to take place on 8th-9th June, 2019. Ivan Reitman, director/producer of the 1984 film Ghostbusters and principal of Ghost Corps, said, “It’s immensely gratifying to see the way the fans have embraced our movie over the past 34 years, in a way we could never have imagined in 1984. The credit goes to the fans – collected in over 1,000 fan groups globally – who have kept the flame burning for decades. I’m excited to see you all at Ghostbusters Fan Fest one year from today!”

Before that, Ghostbusters fans will have the chance to play the Ghostbusters World AR videogame, which has been created as a collaboration between Sony Pictures Consumer Products, Ghost Corps, publisher FourThirtyThree Inc. (4:33) and developer Next Age.

Ghostbusters World will let players face off against hundreds of ghosts drawn from all different aspects of the franchise, including the films, TV shows, comics books and videogames. The companies involves in its creation say it will involve the latest AR technology. Visitors to San Diego Comic-Con in July will be able to try out a public demo build at the event.

The Ghostbusters franchise has been featured in immersive experiences before, notably THE VOID’s Ghostbusters: Dimensons and an episodic adventure called Ghostbusters VR: Now Hiring.

Ghostbusters logo

Further news on new and upcoming VR projects will continue to be covered here on VRFocus.

July 24, 2017

Stranger Things VR Experience Impresses at SDCC

Stranger Things was generally regarded as one of the best shows on Netflix last year, gaining praise from many critics. Set in the 1980s, sci-fi horror series Stranger Things is set in a small American town in the mid-west that sees the mysterious disappearance of a young boy and a psychic girl who tries to aid in the search to find him. A virtual-reality (VR) tie-in experience has been showcased at San Diego Comic Con.

While a 360-degree video version of the experience is available to watch on YouTube, the full VR experience is a room-scale interactive title using a HTC Vive to explore the house of Joyce Byers, the mother of the missing boy. The lights in the living room flicker and illuminate as they do in the show. The player explores the house and encounters the weird, creepy things straight out of the TV show, including a phone that, when picked up, tells the player to turn around…

The Stranger Things VR experience is not very long, but many of the attendees at SDCC who tried it had high praise for it’s atmospheric content and how similar it was in ‘feel’ to the show it spawned from. In fact, Stranger Things VR has even been nominated for an Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Creative Achievement In Interactive Media Within A Scripted Program.

An even more immersive version of the Stranger Things VR experience is available at the CBS Digital offices, which involves the player donning a backpack PC and OptiTrack sensors to explore the Byers house in massive warehouse scale, complete with an actor in a motion-capture suit playing one of the monsters, slowing creeping up behind the player.

You can watch the passive 360-degree video version of the Stranger Things VR Experience below.

VRFocus will bring you further information on Stranger Things VR as it becomes available.

July 24, 2017

Steven Spielberg Thinks VR Is The Way of the Future

Legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg expressed his opinion on the developing influence of virtual reality (VR) to a crowd at San Diego Comic Con as he presented Ready Player One, a film that deals with VR as an escape from a dystopian world.

Ready Player One is an adaptation of a book by Earnest Cline that tells the story of a young man who escapes from the awful future of 2044 by immersing himself in 1980’s pop culture while searching for a mysterious ‘Easter Egg’ that may just be his way out of his current situation.

“It’s the most amazing flash forward and flashback at the same time – to a decade I was very much involved in as well as a future that I think is out there awaiting all of us whether we like it or not,” Spielberg said.

Spielberg previously warned of the ‘danger’ of VR at the Cannes Film Festival, where some VR films where making their debut. Spielberg said at the time: “I think we’re moving into a dangerous medium with virtual reality. “The only reason I say it is dangerous is because it gives the viewer a lot of latitude not to take direction from the storytellers but make their own choices of where to look. I just hope it doesn’t forget the story when it starts enveloping us in a world that we can see all around us and make our own choices to look at.”

Being involved with directing Ready Player One seems to have changed Spielberg’s mind somewhat, as at SDCC he referred to VR as a blank canvas of opportunities where people can: “Do anything you can possibly imagine”.

Ready Player One is due to be released on 30^th March, 2018.

VRFocus will bring you further news on Ready Player One and other VR-related projects as it becomes available.

July 16, 2017

Become A Super Hero With Marvel Powers United VR

We’ve already seen that superheroes and virtual reality (VR) can work together well with the Spider-Man: Homecoming VR experience. Marvel are now taking that idea a step further with the first full VR videogame from Marvel – Marvel Powers United VR.

Marvel have announced that the upcoming title will feature co-operative multiplayer that allows up to four players to take control of their favourite Marvel heroes to fight supervillains, complete assigned missions and compete for a high score.

Marvel Powers United VR will be coming to Oculus Rift. Though a precise release date is yet to be confirmed, it is scheduled to be released some time in 2018. A demo of the title will be available for attendees at San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) to play, by visiting the Marvel booth at the event, which will be held between 19th-23rd July at the San Diego Convention Centre.

Three characters have already been confirmed. The Hulk will have a seismic punch and thunder clap ability to take out supervillains. Rocket Raccoon will have his trademark blasters and a scatter rifle, while Captain Marvel will have the power of flight, alongside photon beams and super strength.

A range of comfort and locomotion options will be available, so players can choose the options that best fit them. There are plans for more than a dozen characters from the Marvel comics and films to be available to select. Further information can be found at the official Marvel Powers United VR website.

The announcement trailer is available to view below.

VRFocus will bring you further information on Marvel Powers United VR as it becomes available.

July 15, 2017

Oculus and Marvel Announce New Rift Co-op Title ‘Powers United VR’

Announced at Disney fan expo D23 today, Oculus are teaming up with Marvel to bring a new Rift exclusive title which lets you play as one of “more than a dozen” characters from their comic book universe, with a little help from the Oculus Touch controllers.

Take one iconic Marvel superhero, The Incredible Hulk, and throw him into a co-operative, first person VR action game with two slightly less iconic ones Rocket Racoon (Guardians of the Galaxy) and Captain Marvel, and you have Oculus Studios’ latest title Powers United VR. These are the first three characters to be demonstrated for the game, which will eventually offer up more than a dozen playable Marvel characters at launch.

The game, developed exclusively for the Rift & Touch by Sanzaru and Oculus Studios, lets you join 2 other friends to battle “across the Marvel Universe”. As Hulk you can, well, smash stuff with Rocket Racoon bringing his love of exotic weaponry to bear alongside Captain Marvel’s photon blasts.

With the exception of that, and the fact that we’ll have to wait until 2018 to play it, Oculus’ blog post was a little light on details. Except to state that if you’re attending this year’s San Diego Comic Con you can be one of the first to get your hands on the game July 19 -23 at Marvel’s booth.

It’s interesting that Oculus saw fit to highlight “full locomotion” as a headline feature, with more and more VR gamers seemingly demanding to choose a more immersive, if potentially less comfortable way to move through VR gameworlds.

You can stay tuned to the official teaser website for more info later in the year.

The post Oculus and Marvel Announce New Rift Co-op Title ‘Powers United VR’ appeared first on Road to VR.

July 15, 2017

Raw Data Is Getting Prequel Comic Series

Virtual reality (VR) shooter Raw Data by Survios is one of the most popular VR titles on Steam, surpassing $1 million (USD) in sales in just one month. The title will now be getting a comic mini-series tie-in.

As reported by Den of Geek, the Raw Data comic series will be a seven issue prequel. The story of Raw Data concerns a group of hackers tasked with breaking in to a major corporation in order to find information on their nefarious plans, fighting off armies of lethal robots in the process. The comic will explore the backstory of robot sidekick Simon Teller, with a first issue titled ‘Promotion Material’. The comic mini series will be written by Nick Bragg, who previously worked on CW’s The 100, with artwork by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles artist Michael Dialynas.

“It felt like the world of Raw Data was too big to be just a game,” said Jonathan Callan, Survios Senior Writer, in a release. “We love comics, and we wanted each creator to bring his or her own style, to help spotlight all the different stuff that we know about this world that the player might not get to see.”

Copies of the first issue of the Raw Data comic are available for free to attendees of San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) and can be obtained by visiting the Survios booth at the ‘VR Con’ section of SDCC, which is located at the Omni Hotel.

Raw Data recently introduced the new Hostile Takeover PvP expansion, and Design Director at Survios Mike McTyre recently spoke to VRFocus about Raw Data and Survios’ plans for VR.

VRFocus will bring you further news on Raw Data and other VR tie-ins as it becomes available.

July 11, 2017

Legion MR HoloLens Experience Coming to San Diego Comic-Con

The San Diego Comic-Con has become a popular place for unveiling virtual reality (VR) experiences based on TV shows and films. The latest comes from FX Networks, announcing that its critically-acclaimed series, Legion, will be going down the mixed reality (MR) route with a 10-minute piece using both Microsoft HoloLens and live actors.

Titled Sessions: The Legion Mixed Reality Experience, attendees at the event will be able step into the head of main character David Haller, a troubled young man diagnosed as schizophrenic as a child, who uncovers the possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees may actually be real.

Legion Installation Exterior — Image: FX Networks

Fans will be able to interact with his world and test the boundaries of their own reality, able go through key scenes as seen in Legion season 1, and for the first time, get a sneak peek into season 2.

Produced by immersive studio HERE BE DRAGONS, the experience will be FX’s main feature at FXHibition 2017 held at the Hilton Bayfront Park in San Diego. For those interested in trying it out advanced reservations for Sessions: The Legion Mixed Reality Experience can be made at LegionSessions.com, beginning 17th July. For details and more information visit FXSDCC.com.

Last week VRFocus reported on the Blade Runner 2049 Experience which will be shown on the same weekend as Comic-Con, just outside the event.

For the latest VR updates from San Diego Comic-Con 2017, keep reading VRFocus.

July 11, 2017

‘Legion’ HoloLens Experience Coming to San Diego Comic-Con

FX TV series Legion (2017) is getting an immersive, mixed reality experience powered by Microsoft’s HoloLens, and it’s coming to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con on July 20-23.

Sessions: The Legion Mixed Reality Experience will take fans into the headspace of show’s protagonist David Haller, which according to the press release will let you “interact with his world and test the boundaries of their own reality.” The experience is also said to let fans will go through key scenes as seen in the first season of Legion, and get a sneak peek into season 2 as well. Making it even more immersive, the experience will feature real-life actors dressed in costumes ripped from the infectiously stylish world of Legion.