Seismic Games – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

July 23, 2018

Niantic übernimmt Seismic Games für zukünftige AR-Projekte

Entwicklerstudio Niantic (bekannt für Ingress und Pokémon Go) präsentierte erst kürzlich seine neue Real World Platform, die in zukünftigen AR-Projekten eingesetzt werden soll. Nun expandiert das Studio mit der Akquisition von Seismic Games weiter, ein erfahrenes Entwicklerteam, das bei der Weiterentwicklung und Umsetzung der neuen Technologie sowie neuen AR-Projekten helfen soll.

Niantic kauft Seismic Games zur Arbeit an zukünftigen AR-Projekten

Niantic verkündet die Übernahme des Entwicklerstudios Seismic Games und setzt damit seine kontinuierliche Expansion fort. Mit der mobilen VR-Erfahrung Blade Runner: Revelations sowie dem Free-to-Play-Smartphone-Spiel Marvel: Strike Force konnten sich die Devs bereits einen Namen auf dem Markt machen. Das Team besteht aus erfahrenen Veteranen/innen aus bekannten Studios wie EA/Pandemic und Activision, die bereits in der Vergangenheit an großen Titeln wie Star Wars: Battlefront mitwirkten.

Zukünftig sollen die Entwickler/innen den Fokus auf neue AR-Projekte von Niantic legen und mit ihrer langjährigen Expertise an weiteren Lizenzprojekten arbeiten. Mit Ingress: Prime und Harry Potter: Wizards Unite stehen bereits zwei große AR-Titel in der Pipeline des AR-Studios. Die künftige Zusammenarbeit soll außerdem zur Weiterentwicklung der Real World Platform beitragen und dadurch eine ausgereiftere Brücke zwischen digitaler und physischer Welt schlagen. Die neue AR-Plattform soll dafür als eine Art Betriebssystem dienen und dank maschinellem Lernen und Occlusion-Technologie neue Maßstäbe setzen.

Die beiden Studios sehen der zukünftigen Zusammenarbeit positiv entgegen, wie man im hauseigenen Blog beschreibt:

“Wir bei Niantic gehen motiviert unserer Mission nach, die Menschen dazu zu motivieren, sich aktiv zu bewegen, zu sozialisieren und neue Orte zu entdecken. Wir sind überzeugt davon, dass Seismic Games uns bei dieser Mission kräftig unter die Arme greifen wird und wir dadurch unsere Ziele noch schneller und besser erreichen.”

Für welchen Betrag das Entwicklerstudio übernommen wurde, ist bisher unbekannt.

(Quellen: Niantic Labs Blog | Medium Blog | Video: Seismic Games Youtube | Niantic Youtube)

Der Beitrag Niantic übernimmt Seismic Games für zukünftige AR-Projekte zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

July 23, 2018

Niantic übernimmt Seismic Games für zukünftige AR-Projekte

Niantic kauft Seismic Games zur Arbeit an zukünftigen AR-Projekten

Die beiden Studios sehen der zukünftigen Zusammenarbeit positiv entgegen, wie man im hauseigenen Blog beschreibt:

Für welchen Betrag das Entwicklerstudio übernommen wurde, ist bisher unbekannt.

(Quellen: Niantic Labs Blog | Medium Blog | Video: Seismic Games Youtube | Niantic Youtube)

Der Beitrag Niantic übernimmt Seismic Games für zukünftige AR-Projekte zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

July 18, 2018

Niantic Labs Continue Expansion With Seismic Games Acquisition

Niantic Labs, the studio behind augmented reality (AR) title Pokemon GO, has been going on the virtual reality (VR)/AR offensive of late, having recently acquired Escher Reality and now VR studio Seismic Games.

Blade Runner: Revelations screenshot

Seismic Games are the team behind the Blade Runner: Revelations VR experience for Google Daydream, made in conjunction with Alcon Interactive. Comprised of industry veterans hailing from EA/Pandemic and Activision, the founders led development efforts on blockbuster games such as the original Star Wars: Battlefront.

On the acquisition Niantic Labs said in a statement: “Seismic will continue to see through its existing slate of titles in development as it transitions into building all new AR experiences with Niantic.

“At Niantic, we’re committed to our mission of motivating people to exercise, be social, and discover new places. We’re confident that Seismic Games will help us deliver on that mission — faster, and better.”

Pokémon GO

While John Linden, President, Seismic Games commented: “As visionaries in the mobile entertainment and Augmented Reality (AR) field, John Hanke and his team have redefined what’s possible in uniting global communities through universally engaging and surprising gameplay experiences. We cannot wait to closely work with them on exciting new projects that will add depth to their narrative-driven releases and to help evolve the Niantic Real World Platform.”

Linden also reveals that: “We’ve also been cooking up a couple of new licensed IP projects,” which could well see AR implementation due to the purchase.

Niantic Labs is working on several AR titles at present, not only more updates to Pokemon GO but also puzzle title Codename: Tonehenge, Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, plus Ingress and Ingress Prime. As the studios reveal further details on their upcoming AR projects, VRFocus will keep you updated.

July 18, 2018

Niantic Acquires Seismic to Help Create AR Games & Upcoming AR Platform

Seismic Games, the studio behind Google Daydream’s Blade Runner: Revelations (2018), has been acquired by Niantic, the force behind popular location-based games Pokémon GO, Ingress, and the upcoming Harry Potter: Wizards Unite.

Seismic Games released the news via a blog post, saying that from now on the team will be working closely with Niantic on “exciting new projects that will add depth to their narrative-driven releases and to help evolve the Niantic Real World Platform.”

Niantic’s recently announced Real World Platform is an upcoming AR platform that aims to blend machine learning and computer vision to tackle the classic challenge of building a useful and realistic AR experience on mobile devices. The company will also allow third-party access to the platform.

“We recently gave a peek under the hood of the Niantic Real World Platform, and we see the addition of Seismic Games as a significant accelerant for realizing our vision of an operating system that bridges the digital and the physical worlds,” Niantic said in a statement.

The acquisition amount is still undisclosed at this time (although we can bet it wasn’t in PokéCoins).

Seismic says they’ve also been working on “a couple of new licensed IP projects,” which if they’re anything like their past work on the mobile title MARVEL Strikeforce or Daydream’s Blade Runner: Revelations, we’re likely in for a mobile-optimized treat.

The post Niantic Acquires Seismic to Help Create AR Games & Upcoming AR Platform appeared first on Road to VR.

January 30, 2018

Seismic Games Discuss Blade Runner: Revelations: Story, Gameplay & Release

The revelation of a Google Daydream exclusive Blade Runner videogame was one of the biggest announcements for virtual reality (VR) at CES 2018, Las Vegas, earlier this month. Seismic Games has partnered with Alcon Media Group and Google for a unique perspective on the Blade Runner franchise, and VRFocus endeavoured to find out more about Blade Runner: Revelations direct from the source.

Blade Runner: Revelations screenshot

Following CES 2018, VRFocus spoke with Trey Watkins, Creative Director at Seismic Games, about Blade Runner: Revelations. How did the project start? Where does it lay within the Blade Runner franchise? How is VR used to create a unique Blade Runner experience? The answers to these questions and more follow in the question and answer session below, and VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details on Blade Runner: Revelations.

Trey Watkins, Seismic Games

VRFocus: How does Blade Runner: Revelations tie-in to the Blade Runner movies?

Trey Watkins [TW]: Blade Runner: Revelations takes place shortly after the first movie in the events surrounding the time of the Blackout and Prohibition. Gaff & Holden both anchor the Blade Runner unit as this new tale of a Replicant conspiracy unfolds. As this is a story-based game I’ll leave the rest for you to discover once we launch.

VRFocus: Can you tell us more about the player’s character, Harper?

TW: Harper is an experienced Blade Runner but serves as a noir vessel for the player’s own decisions. The role of Harper adapts to the player’s choices and allows for distinct alliances and outcomes through the unfolding story. In the demo revealed at CES, the player was teleported between pre-determined ‘hotspots’ and able to interact with a small amount of items.

VRFocus: What other gameplay mechanics will be included in Blade Runner: Revelations?

TW: Blade Runner: Revelations will include a variety of gameplay mechanics including: exploration, character interaction/conversations, shooting, object discovery and VK & Esper investigations.

VRFocus: Why did you opt to build a Google Daydream experience over a PC based HMD?

TW: Alcon & Seismic strongly believe in the broad appeal of the mobile VR platforms. Using Seismic’s skill in bringing cutting edge 3D experiences to mobile, we felt we could push the Daydream platform to deliver a PC level experience in an untethered VR platform that is extremely accessible to millions of players.

VRFocus: Will Blade Runner: Revelations come pre-installed on the Lenovo Mirage Solo?

TW: Blade Runner: Revelations will be a featured launch title on the Levovo Mirage Solo platform.

VRFocus: Is Blade Runner: Revelations exclusive to the Lenovo Mirage Solo, or will it be available for other Google Daydream compatible HMDs?

TW: Blade Runner: Revelations will also be available in the Google Daydream store.

VRFocus: How did the partnership with Alcon Media Group and Google for Blade Runner: Revelations come about?

TW: Alcon & Google had been discussing the exciting opportunity of bringing the Blade Runner universe to life on Daydream VR and we were fortunate to be on the very short list of developers capable of realising this exciting vision. The three-way partnership showed great promise from the beginning and we are excited to be launching this in collaboration with Alcon & Google.

VRFocus: Seismic Games acquired Grue Games for AR/VR projects in 2016. Is Blade Runner: Revelations related to this purchase? Can we expect more VR from Seismic Games in the future?

TW: Blade Runner: Revelations leveraged the talents of both Grue & Seismic developers in the new merged Seismic team. You can be certain that Seismic remains dedicated to delivering both an amazing Blade Runner VR game as well as continuing to stay at the leading edge of development, as the VR genre blossoms.

January 20, 2018

Check Out Blade Runner: Revelations in These New Screenshots

Fans of cyberpunk dystopian fiction and virtual reality (VR) are about to get a lot happier thanks to the upcoming Blade Runner: Revelations. We’ve got a bunch of crisp new screenshots for the anticipated VR videogame just below, so read on for more…

Blade Runner: Revelations screenshot

The videogame is being developed exclusively for the Google Daydream by Seismic Games in a partnership between Seismic Games, Alcon Media Group, Google and Lenovo. They broke the news on Blade Runner: Revelations at CES 2018, Las Vegas.

In the videogame you take on the role of Harper, a blade runner, who the players will have unravel a replicant plot that threatens the Los Angeles of the distant year 2023. Luckily Harper has a variety of tools at his disposal, such as a flying spinner, blast weapons and esper image reconstruction to help solve mysteries in VR.

This will be the third Blade Runner experience in VR, following Blade Runner 2049: Memory Lab and Blade Runner 2049: Replicant Pursuit. Lenovo’s own head-mounted display (HMD), the Lenovo Mirage Solo, will also see a release of Blade Runner: Revelations.

The teaser trailer for Blade Runner: Revelations is also fascinating, which you can see here. It offers some impressive views of the VR cityscape, giving players a good idea of what they have in store from the Google Daydream experience.

Greg Borrud, CEO of Seismic Games commented; “Seismic Games continues to invest and focus on creating high production game titles that authentically engage and transform major IPs into compelling and expansive interactive experiences for the fans. Collaborating with Alcon Media Group, Google and Lenovo for Blade Runner: Revelations has been an absolute honor, and we can’t wait to hear what the fans and general VR users think as they explore the game.”

The new screenshots below will give you even more of an idea of what you can expect from Blade Runner: Revelations, so make sure to take a look at our gallery, where we have interesting shots of buildings, offices, interrogations and more of the gritty world of Blade Runner.

We’ll have more news and impressions on Blade Runner: Revelations as soon as we can, but for everything else in the world of VR, stay on VRFocus.

January 16, 2018

Blade Runner: Revelations Receives Debut Teaser Trailer

At CES 2018, Las Vegas, Seismic Games announced that it has partnered with Alcon Media Group to develop Blade Runner: Revelations, a new adventure experience built specifically for virtual reality (VR) based on the award-winning Blade Runner series. The videogame follows the critically acclaimed release of Blade Runner 2049 from Oscar nominated director Dennis Villeneuve, starring Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford, and today sees the debut of a teaser trailer for the experience.

Blade Runner: Revelations is an all-new interactive story and full VR game set shortly after the original film and leading up to the narrative of Blade Runner 2049. Players will enter the shoes of Harper, a seasoned blade runner who winds-up deeo within a twisted replicant plot that threatens the delicate balance of Los Angeles in 2023. Searching for evidence to piece together this case, players will have access to their flying spinner, unique weaponry and the esper image reconstruction technology to try to solve the mystery.

Greg Borrud, CEO of Seismic Games commented, “Seismic Games continues to invest and focus on creating high production game titles that authentically engage and transform major IPs into compelling and expansive interactive experiences for the fans. Collaborating with Alcon Media Group, Google and Lenovo for Blade Runner: Revelations has been an absolute honor, and we can’t wait to hear what the fans and general VR users think as they explore the game.”

“It has been incredibly rewarding to see the Blade Runner universe brought to life with so much faithfulness and nuance in Blade Runner: Revelations thanks to our partners at Seismic Games, Google, and the cutting-edge technology from Lenovo and their upcoming Mirage Solo release,” said Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson, co-founders and co-CEOs of Alcon Media Group. “From the aesthetic and narrative details to the intriguing gameplay in the VR world, Seismic has set the bar in delivering a highly rewarding and immersive film-to-game experience Blade Runner fans will enjoy.”

Blade Runner 2049 is available now on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Combo Pack, Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and DVD. Created in conjunction with Google, Blade Runner: Revelations is set to debut on the soon-to-be launched Lenovo Mirage Solo head-mounted display (HMD), an all-in-one device with support for Google’s Daydream platform. The official videogame trailer is featured in the Blu-ray edition of Blade Runner 2049, with the teaser edition available below. VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest details on Blade Runner: Revelations and the Lenovo Mirage Solo HMD.

January 10, 2018

‘Blade Runner: Revelations’ for Daydream to Launch with 6DoF Tracking Support

A new adventure set in the Blade Runner universe from developer Seismic Games is coming soon to the Daydream mobile VR platform. The game is optimised for WorldSense, a new six degrees of freedom (6DoF) positional tracking system developed by Google, found in upcoming mobile devices such as the standalone Lenovo Mirage Solo.

Announced at Google I/O last year, the Mirage Solo is the first standalone mobile VR headset using the Daydream VR platform. Google recently revealed that it is also the first device to feature WorldSense, their new self-contained tracking system based on “years of investment in simultaneous localization and mapping,” that claims to deliver “PC-quality positional tracking.”

Alcon Media Group has partnered with Google and Lenovo to bring Blade Runner: Revelations to Daydream. Seismic Games, who acquired mixed reality specialists Grue Games in late 2016, have a history with major IP such as Skylanders and Call of Duty. The studio teased a potential Blade Runner connection in September.

In this new narrative adventure, players assume the role of Harper, a seasoned Blade Runner who “unravels a twisted replicant plot that threatens the delicate balance of Los Angeles in 2023.” According to the press release, players will “search for evidence with the help of their flying spinner, deadly blaster, and esper image reconstruction to try to solve the mystery in an immersive VR environment.”

While the game will work on all Daydream devices, it is said to be “best experienced” on the Mirage Solo. WorldSense support means that players can “duck, dodge and lean,” as well as stepping “backwards, forwards, and side to side, unlocking new gameplay elements that bring the world of Blade Runner to life.”

“We’re working closely with developers to bring new experiences to the platform that take advantage of all these new technologies,” writes Clay Bavor, Google’s Vice President of Virtual and Augmented Reality. Blade Runner: Revelations is the first example of Google’s partnerships with developers to bring 6DoF-optimised games to mobile VR.

“It’s the most immersive way to access Daydream,” he says, noting the headset’s wide field of view (110°) and “advanced blur-free display”. The Lenovo Mirage Solo is due to launch in Q2 2018.

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