Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation
What Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality developers are talking about
If you're a fan of the classics, now is the perfect time to dip into that sense of nostalgia. We've rounded up some retro gaming consoles that feature classic titles from Nintendo, Sega, and Atari.
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With the destination VR approach gathering momentum, the need to establish a profitable model exercises many developer’s minds. Out-of-home entertainment specialist Kevin Williams in his latest two-part column reflects on the influential facility concepts that are shaping development in the virtual reality (VR) scene – this first part looking at the original innovative concept that set the mould.
While some mourned, many may not have been aware of the closure this month of one of the most pivotal (and longest running) entertainment projects in the establishment of the immersive entertainment sector, called DisneyQuest. Even fewer aware of this VR attractions project, let alone why it was now a victim of the axe. But rather the end of a failed experiment, it’s termination comes at the very time where the concept behind the experiment finds fulfilment.
The concept in question is that of an indoor interactive theme park (also seen as a mini-theme park) using VR technology to bring immersion and high thrill levels to make a smaller regional faculty act as compelling as a theme park. DisneyQuest was part of a franchise concept that would have seen multiple facilities opened across the globe.
The first DisneyQuest was opened to much fanfare in 1998, though only a Chicago sister facility would ever follow and shortly close, (while land would be broken for an abandoned Philadelphia site). The aspiration of this approach to a location-based entertainment (LBE) concept would be abandoned but not forgotten. Though the indomitable Orlando DQ facility would go on to become the longest operational LBE franchise with a permanent VR attraction offering. (Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride the oldest running continuously.)
The concept of indoor interactive theme park was not originated by Disney however – but was derided from previous development that saw the Japanese amusement industry invest millions into the development of ATP – Amusement Theme Parks. Facilities opened in Japan that married the concept of a deluxe amusement venue, with specially developed interactive media attractions (called Hi-Entertainment machines). Most notable of these by the NAMCO Wonder Eggs facility (first opened in 1992) and the SEGA Joypolis (first opened in 1994) – these venues planned as chain stores than would offer a theme park in a box, with the digital interactive medium offering a repeatability revenue stream that traditional theme resorts achieve through and through.
These ATP concepts attempted to apply for the first-time innovative new digital technology. Along with interactive game narrative, the display medium was revolutionized. SEGA’s Joypolis, one of the first to deploy an attraction that used VR technology. The ground-breaking Head-Mounted Display (HMD) became the first of its kind to be used in a VR motion ride attraction; called the VR-1, and launched in 1994, the six-rider space themed attraction, gave a glimpse of the future of this technology.
Seeing the birth of this immersive entertainment, the Walt Disney Corporation looked to play its part in development of this sector. Initially under Michael Eisner’s chairmanship, Disney started high-level negotiations with then ATP leader SEGA, working towards a joint project to bring a version of the Joypolis concept to the West. But at the time, corporate differences between Japanese and California management styles ended in abandonment.
With the collapse of the SEGA negotiations, the two parties would split – SEGA would jump into a partnership with Universal and Dreamworks to create the failed GameWorks amusement chain, (that would inevitably be brought-out from bankruptcy by management). While for Walt Disney, the dream of indoor theme park projects continued, with the formation of Disney Regional Entertainment given the responsibility of operating several concepts that included DisneyQuest, with aspirations that over 20 locations would be placed at major conurbations for maximum foot traffic.
Borrowing heavily from the Japanese amusement trades ATP aspirations, Walt Disney Imagineers (the corporation’s world renown research and development operation) created a concept that comprised the latest digital entertainment platforms within a 90,000-sq.,ft., facility – the most advance undertaking of its kind and pointing to an investment in offering both regional and international entertainment experiences.
DisneyQuest, at its heart, embraced the interactive attraction experience narrative and comprise, for the time, ground breaking VR and immersive technology. Many of the ideas touched on by the original Japanese ATP’s refined for a Western audience. Incredibly ambitious and technically challenging, the multi-million Dollar budget was soon swallowed up in achieving the required “Disney” level entertainment.
One aspect of this innovation was the development of the DisneyVision VR platform, an impressive tethered HMD system, that allowed guests to navigate a virtual world. The VR system in DisneyQuest employed in two experiences (Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride and Ride the Comix), running on Silicon Graphics supercomputers. DQ also employed Augmented Reality attractions and immersive projection system – years’ before mainstream adoption.
Launched in 1998 at Downtown Disney Orlando, the imposing building ushered in a new age of immersive entertainment, and received critical success, but was a facility that proved a monster to kept fed and define. The temperamental technology cost much more than expected, and the need for a dedicated staff operation saw a poor return on the grandiose revenue expectations. Likewise, the new Disney Regional Entertainment found it difficult to understand what they had with DQ, or how best to promote it.
By the time of the planned second facility opening in Chicago, the writing was on the wall for this project, and Disney’s regional chain store aspirations were shelved. DisneyQuest Orlando however defined all the critiques and continued to generate revenue while offering a useful family entertainment in the area. Many times’ staving off closure as it offered a unique interactive entertainment medium in a location bereft of such amenities. However, nothing lasts forever, and at the beginning of July 2017, the venue was finally closed, most of its attractions (and the building itself) far beyond their intended operational life.
Just as DisneyQuest shutters its doors for the last time, (and the amusement machines are auctioned off) there are others that have learned from this failed experiment to develop what could be the successor to the original indoor theme park approach. With the launch of brand new projects from SEGA Joypolis and BANDAI NAMCO. The very manufacturers that fuelled the interest in this approach though their ATP development now driving the next phase of innovation.
The second part of this column lifts the lid on the brand-new developments that hope to raise the crown, and become the new successors to the VR infused indoor theme park throne.
Supermassive Games, a UK-based videogame developer best known for their work on Until Dawn: Rush of Blood, Bravo Team and The Inpatient are welcoming a new member to its senior team.
Jim woods will be joining Supermassive Games as Executive Producer. Woods was previously Director of Development Services at SEGA Europe and has held various senior management roles in the videogame industry since the 1980s, working for companies such as Codemasters and DMA Design as well as SEGA. He has worked as Development Director for the early Grant Theft Auto titles, and was Head of Studio during development of Colin McCrea Rally 5.
“We’re delighted to welcome Jim to the leadership team at Supermassive. His significant experience in multiple senior roles, spanning four decades in the games industry, will be invaluable as we enter an exciting time of growth for the studio,” said Pete Samuels, Managing Director of Supermassive Games.
Supermassive also revealed recently that they are working with IKinema, using the full-body movement technology to develop new animations for its upcoming projects, to create more naturalistic movement for characters within Virtual reality (VR) in order to increase player immersion.
Also recently announced by Supermassive Games at E3 was Bravo Team, a co-op shooter title set in Eastern Europe that incorporates the PlayStation Aim controller into its control scheme.
VRFocus will bring you further news on Supermassive Games and its upcoming titles as it becomes available.
Emulation experts have managed to get Persona 5 entirely playable on the PC after just six months of work. Frame rates are still a little low, but bugs have been squashed and it now plays rather well.
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When it comes to virtual reality (VR) the usually highly experimental SEGA have been a tad hesitant to embrace the new technology. With the exception being the releases on PlayStation 4 of the PlayStation VR compatible games relating to Hatsune Miku. But Miku and her Vocaloid brethren are still licenced characters, and SEGA have yet to bring any characters or franchises they expressly own over to VR. Which is a little odd, as it’s not like they haven’t a fair few that could make the leap.
That’s not to say SEGA aren’t known to have been experimenting with it and other vision technologies. Videos from both SEGA Europe and SEGA America have both shown various headsets at their offices. SEGA America’s being a somewhat jokey (and meme related) mixed reality (MR) video for the Sonic The Hedgehog social media accounts that showed that the branch was in possession of at least one Microsoft Hololens.
The dream is real pic.twitter.com/JQtW6OVwP7
— Sonic the Hedgehog (@sonic_hedgehog) January 18, 2017
Now it seems something more concrete may have come from their – or someone connect with the publisher’s – efforts. Eagle-eyed members over at UK-based Sonic The Hedgehog fan site The Sonic Stadium spied that something distinctly hedgehog related is apparently coming to this year’s San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). As well as a line-up of other VR and augmented reality (AR) experiences, including many previously featured on VRFocus such as Raw Data, Paranormal Activity, Project Cars and John Wick, slotted away on the Comic-Con website’s Toucan blog is also the apparent reveal of a Sonic-related AR to be found at The Futurism & Tech Pavilion.
“Sega is presenting an AR Sonic experience and a special concert with the awesome Shota Nakama on Thursday evening, and dome takeover on Friday!”
The ‘dome takeover’ it seems refers to the MR/360 domes of FulldomePro that will be at the pavilion and will apparently be involved in some way after the initial reveal. There is no word or clarification from SEGA yet as to what this experience entails or if it involves forthcoming videogames Sonic Forces or Sonic Mania, but it is likely that more will be revealed early next week.
VRFocus will of course, barring any giant water monsters or moustachioed space stations, bring you more news when it is revealed.
Sega Forever is a new program for iOS and Android that will give players free classic Genesis and Dreamcast games every two weeks. The first lineup includes the original Sonic the Hedgehog and Altered Beast.
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In the second part of his feature, (click here for part one) looking at the impact that the movie business and prominent Intellectual Properties (IP) have in steering new commercial entertainment VR business. Digital Out-of-Home entertainment (DOE) industry specialist Kevin Williams charts the major develops shaping this emerging new sector. One of the technologies gaining a strong interest from the deep pockets of this sector is the untethered backpack VR experience (Arena-Scale VR). The technology seen as the perfect medium to immersive the guest in the selected movie IP like-never-before, even some investors seeing this as a natural successor for the representation of the movie experience.
One of the most promoted developers of this approach has been The VOID, championing their ‘Hyper Reality’ concept. After many twists and turns the company opted to enter the race by presenting their technology within the Ghostbusters: Dimension attraction. Sony Pictures in partnership with operator Madame Tussauds investing in a walk-through waxwork attraction with a backpack virtual reality (VR) experience in support, commissioned from The VOID. The whole experience created as part of the marketing effort for the reboot of the famous Ghostbusters franchise, with the 2016 film.
The opening of the New York venue, though critically acclaimed and reported as seeing crowds, has yet to see the proposed roll-out at other Tussauds venues; but The VOID has opened a standalone Ghostbusters: Dimension attraction at JBR’s The Beach in Dubai. With a third installation charted for their new flagship entertainment facility in Utah, Nevada, scheduled to open to the public in July.
The growth in interest in movie properties having their own backpack VR experience was evident during CinemaCon 2017. New start-up Nomadic is an immersive entertainment company creating tactile VR adventures, and promoted at the conference their backpack VR experience (Arena-Scale), aiming to occupy a 20-foot-by-30-foot space. Not only seen as “Lobby Entertainment”, but targeting the existing screening rooms (auditorium), to be appropriated as standalone entertainment offerings with their own recurring revenue stream.
Major movie IP’s that have embraced Arena-Scale VR technology have started to reveal their plans thick-and-fast over the last few months – major movie studios such as 20th Century Fox, through their theme park arm (FoxNext Destinations) revealed that they are in the process of developing a 2,000 sq.,ft., multi-player VR experience based around the Alien movie franchise. FoxNext working to develop a ‘free-roaming’ VR experience undergoing secret testing. This new development building on the work creating a free cinema pop-up 360-degree VR journey called Alien: Covenant in Utero; the promotional lobby entertainment developed by FoxNext VR Studio in partnership with AMD Radeon and DELL.
Another major movie franchise receiving VR attraction investment was revealed to be in develop in partnership between Hasbro and DMG Entertainment, (through the recently established DMG VR division). The planned Transformers Experience Center is based on the popular Transformers IP that over the last 30-years has expanded to include comic books, animated series, films, video games and consumer products, the recent film properties generating $850 million internationally. The first interactive Transformers digital simulation experience center, scheduled to open in China this summer.
The application of arena-scale VR has been charted beyond the cinema landscape, with already Zero Latency establishing a growing number of locations for their multi-player backpack VR platform. The game system complimenting family entertainment centers and karting locations. A constant iterative process the operation launching their last multi-player backpack experience called Singularity with a play duration of 30-minutes in this space station exploration narrative. While at the same time announced that they were working on eight-player simultaneous experiences – while also planning to open the largest free-roaming virtual arena in America in the Boston-area later this year, and Philadelphia in 2018.
As previously reported the Asian amusement scene has jumped into out-of-home VR applications with both feet, in Japan investment in this approach has increased and Zero Latency, saw the first commercial installation of their system through a deal with SEGA at their JOYPOLIS site. Building on this, and a new location for Arena-Scale VR experiences opened within the brand new ‘SEGA VR Area’ location – taking over the top (6th) floor of the famous Club SEGA Akihabara amusement venue in Tokyo. The venerable Japanese amusement factory the latest to dip their toe into the waters of dedicated VR based out-of-home entertainment.
The first VR installation in this new space sees SEGA partner with Korean based Skonec Entertainment installing their new Mortal Blitz For Walking Attraction – a three player, backpack VR shooting experience, (using the Pimax 4K headset), opened to the public at the end of May. This destination facility approach following the work that the other amusement powerhouse BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment achieved with their first VR Zone: Project i Can temporary installation; BANDAI announcing that they will be opening a second version of their temporary VR Park in a matter of months in the Tokyo area. (Editor’s Note: For more about this check out two recent VRFocus stories about the experiences on offer including ones based on Mario Kart, Neon Genesis Evangelion, the Gundum franchise and Dragon Ball Z.)
Underlining the interest in using VR as an audience experience akin to a movie theatre or planetarium approach, and Japan has seen the launch of the VirtuaLink. A pop-up paid entertainment experience that has multiple guests sharing a virtual space, with a specially created 360-degree 3D video. Several locations around the Tokyo area will be turned into viewing theaters accommodating some 26 special seats (Wonder Pods) – the VR experience presented on Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) Playstation VR head-mounted displays (HMDs). The concept the closest seen to being a ‘virtual-planetarium’ experience, constructed by Konica Minolta Planetarium Corporation.
From those commentators entrenched outside of the out-of-home entertainment business, we have seen some wild and contradictory statements regarding the perceived impact of this business on the application of their hopes for VR – statements ranging from if VR is confined to public spaces there is a risk of stunting the growth of the medium, too comments that state to love to see these types of themed [VR] centers popping up around the world. A level of ignorance of the DOE market revealed in superficial research of the scene.
This confused speculation, illustrates the disquiet by some as their promised consumer sector slows, in the shadow of the growth (and revenue generating) out-of-home adoption; best illustrated by the growing numbers of consumer platforms pivoting to destination application. Along with HTC, we see OSVR (The VOID, Zero Latency) and StarVR (IMAX VR) deployment in VR arcade settings; it was recently announced in Japan of the new Virtual Gate platform developed by Techno Blood; allowing VR content to be enjoyed at the countries host of Internet Cafes, the platform partnered with the once consumer facing FOVE eye-tracked HMD – already operational at 33 net cafes in the country.
The commercial entertainment industry has proven an uncomfortable enigma to many that had previously invested in a promised consumer approach to VR. To educate and promote, the Digital Out-of-Home Entertainment (DOE) sector has invested in a unique conference in September, partly supported by my consultancy (KWP) and a major exhibition organizer. Based in Las Vegas, the Future of Immersive Leisure convention will bring together operators of the latest immersive entertainment technology, as well as developers of the hardware, and investors shaping the latest developers.
This new event will be the launch-pad where several new projects will reveal their thinking behind entering the commercial entertainment against previous interest in consumer investment. It is the ability to have direct access to the revenue stream, and a believable business model that has drawn both established operations and new start-ups to the DOE business for VR. Expect reports on the build-up to this event and industry developments in following columns.
Total War: Warhammer II, the next chapter in the strategy franchise, has been teased over the last several months. The biggest news to emerge at E3 2017 regarding the title is that the game will be released on September 28.
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Japan is no stranger to VR arcades, but gaming giant Sega is now looking to open one in one of its most iconic locations.
A Sega Twitter account last week revealed that one of the floors in its gigantic arcade in Akihabara will soon feature a VR section. In fact, the area was meant to be up and running already, but it appears an equipment failure has delayed launch a little. That won’t surprise anyone that’s had any experience exhibiting VR technology over the past few years.
2017年5月31日（水）「SEGA VR AREA AKIHABARA」がクラブセガ秋葉原新館6階にオープンします！日本初登場のVRアトラクションを楽しめる施設になりますのでご期待ください！詳細情報は近日お知らせいたします。 pic.twitter.com/7Mc9uYk9vk
— セガ エンタテインメント公式 (@SEGA_Ent) May 22, 2017
Sega hasn’t revealed exactly which headsets it’s using in this space — we’d bet on the HTC Vive — nor what experiences it will have on display. The company has made its own VR game in the Hatsune Miku experience that debuted on PlayStation VR (PSVR) last year, though we’d expect to see games from other companies used here.
Hopefully it won’t take long for the company to get everything up and running again; Akihabara is an iconic location for gaming in Japan, pulling in tourists from around the world as well as bringing in local gamers to play the latest fighting games or try out crazy new machines that we can’t even begin to understand.
VR arcades are a great way to introduce people to the technology, so having headsets in a location as popular as this is ideal. Bandai Namco also has a VR site in the popular Shinjuku district, which offers the best of Tokyo’s neon futurism. Start making your holiday plans.
Tagged with: sega
Sega has inked a deal to publish the new project from Two Point Studios, a company made up of staff from the recently shuttered Lionhead Studios and its predecessor Bullfrog Productions.
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