Star Wars: Jedi Challenges – Page 2 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

December 3, 2017

The VR Job Hub: Unreal Engine, Rebellion, More…

Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat – and if you’re the goose you might not be quite so happy with this Christmas temp job. Turns out it might be very temporary indeed. Just because we’ve hit December that does not mean that here isn’t a vast array of jobs out there for those of you who might have an interest in the fields of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and/or mixed reality (MR). So we’re back with yet another edition of The VR Job Hub which as usual offers you a selection of different employment opportunities from around the globe.

This week there’s everything from videogame designers, and Unity developers to interns working at NASA and even a roles for someone in Manchester showing off Lenovo’s Star Wars: Jedi Challenges!

Check out the list below to see if there’s something that sparks your interest.

Location	Company	Role	Link
Cary, NC, US	Unreal Engine	PR Manager	Click here to apply
Oxford, UK	Rebellion	Senior Designer	Click here to apply
Oxford, UK	Rebellion	Technical Designer	Click here to apply
Manchester, UK	RMG	Star Wars: Jedi Challenges Sales Ambassador	Click here to apply
Redmond, WA, US	Oculus	Oculus Research VR/AR Software Engineer	Click here to apply
Santa Clara, CA, US	Intel Corporation	Unity Developer – Virtual Reality	Click here to apply
Bangalore, India	Accenture	‘Virtual Reality’	Click here to apply
Hampton, VA, US	NASA	Internship: “Applying AR and VR visualizations to scientific data sets”	Click here to apply
Bangalore, India	ICS Consultancy Services	Application Lead – Virtual Reality	Click here to apply
Glassboro, NJ, US	Rowan University	Virtual Reality Developer, (Prof Serv Spec, 3)	Click here to apply
Coventry, UK	Jaguar	Virtual Engineer – Visualisation	Click here to apply

If none of the the above appealed to you, you can always check out last week’s edition of The VR Job Hub which last week took in roles in America, the UK and the Netherlands. Likewise, don’t forget that if you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – and you want that position to be featured on next week’s VR Job Hub, then please send details to myself via keva@vrfocus.com and also pgraham@vrfocus.com.

Check back with VRFocus next Sunday at 3PM GMT and every Sunday for the latest roles in the immersive technology industry.

September 5, 2017

VR vs. By Design

One of the columns I’ve been either meaning to or trying to write for some time has been one that takes on the topic of videogames franchises within virtual reality (VR) and this is probably as close as I’m going to get to doing so. We’ve been told, for what feels like forever at this point, that VR for videogames won’t truly be meaningful unless the big name players and big franchises get involved.

To be honest this idea has always been something of a nonsense. It works if it works. After all, perhaps the best-known VR title is Job Simulator and that’s got nothing to do with big franchises or non-VR.

In a lot of cases developers will not be able to twist the concept into something that works in VR. Even then there is the little matter of design. Much as the concept of a videogame can only be twisted so far before it breaks, the same is true of the design of existing games. The best VR experiences are always going to be ones designed from the bottom up for VR. A game not originally designed in this way can only be bent so far in its adaption. Again, it might well work – but it may not work. At least in the way the audience expects, if not outright demands.

Speaking of big names and original design let’s contrast two videogames: both using vastly popular brands that are being brought to the world of immersive technologies. The first is Bethesda’s The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Here we have one of the most successful and popular action role-playing games in the history of the videogame industry. It is being brought to VR. Then we have Star Wars, one of the biggest and most profitable film and mixed media franchises in history. This is being brought to augmented reality (AR) thanks to the Lenovo Mirage AR head mounted display (HMD) and the experience Star Wars: Jedi Challenges.

For Star Wars you have a familiar concept that sparks the imagination – that of lightsabre duels – that has been adapted to AR from the bottom up creating in Star Wars: Jedi Challenges. Something that not only got people very excited in AR, but from the reports of those who have tried it delivers on its promises.

Contrast that with Skyrim. An existing product that has already been repackaged and repackaged and repackaged at this point. People have also been very excited for it. It is however a conversion and the design has been twisted to fit VR – it has not been designed for it. The result is that Skyrim VR succeeds in the part that is ‘Skyrim’ but feels a bit disappointing in the actual ‘VR’ part. At least that’s how VRFocus has found it to be. Others were less generous, a headline from Kotaku being perhaps the most shared and discussed opinion – although said opinion was actually that of YouTube channel Super Bunnyhop via Twitter – that the project was a “complete dumpster fire”.

Ouch.

But oddly, in part of the Twitter thread not quoted in the article, summarise what I’ve previously said: “It’s a shallow complaint, but Skyrim‘s strengths are in immersion and environmental design. Their VR port job worsens both.”

If you’re twisting existing immersion to VR or AR, you cannot expect it to be superior to that which is VR or AR by design. It’s not a coincidence that the Bethesda VR product that VRFocus’ writers have been the most positive about in their previews from E3 and Gamescom has been DOOM VFR – a game which I silent curse because I keep writing it as DOOM VRF for some reason. (I blame two and a half years of conditioning that R follows V in all things.) There we have the concept of an existing videogame and the design of an existing videogame but here both have been refashioned into something new and specifically for the platform.

It is designed as a VR game.
It plays like a VR game.
It succeeds as a VR game.

Now I’m not saying that success in VR is guaranteed by designing for VR, that’s not how it works. I am saying though that if you have an existing creative design it’ll only twist so far. VR and AR don’t need more square pegs in round holes. What it needs is designers to realise what shape their peg is in the first place.

September 1, 2017

Lenovo Mirage AR Headset Veers Into ‘Expensive Gimmick’ Territory With ‘Star Wars: Jedi Challenges’ as Sole Title

Lenovo Mirage AR headset is now available for pre-order at BestBuy.com for $200, which includes a Lightsaber controller, base station, and the star of the show: a collection of mini-games called Star Wars: Jedi Challenges. But will it be enough to attract would-be Jedi to the augmented reality side of the Force and keep them there?

Virtual reality owes much of its popularity to mobile VR, with its promise of abundant, economical and serviceable headsets like Samsung Gear VR and the even cheaper Google Cardboard—the sort of ‘headset shells’ that only require a suitable smartphone to run. While Apple and Google have already made their first big moves into the realm of augmented reality with the release of their respective software development kits for smartphone-based AR, there still isn’t a widespread ‘Cardboard for AR’ yet, no opening gambit that potentially put an AR headset in every Christmas stocking.

With the entrance of Lenovo’s Mirage AR headset and the bundled Star Wars: Jedi Challenges, the exclusive Lightsaber-centric AR experience teased by Disney and Lenovo a few months ago, you may have to wait a little while longer for the cheap and cheerful AR solution of your dreams. With a $200 price tag (twice the cost of Gear VR) and ostensibly only one experience to its name, it’s hard to say what the future of the Mirage will be.

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Inside the box is the smartphone-powered Mirage AR headset, a dedicated “collectible quality” Lightsaber controller, a base station to optically stabilize the headset’s tracking, batteries, charger, and all the right cables to connect up whatever modern phone you happen to own (see compatibility list below). Once you’ve got your smartphone seated correctly and the whole kit is sorted, you can then download the Star Wars: Jedi Challenges experience and start the fun.

In the experience itself, you get a chance to engage in Lightsaber battles against Star Wars universe baddies like Kylo Ren and Darth Vader, play the iconic HoloChess, and clash against the Empire in a tabletop real-time strategy game.

CNET went hands-on with the headset, calling the field of view “too narrow to really be immersive,” and saying the AR elements “felt like they were floating around, probably because it’s not true room tracking.” According to the article, the Lightsaber battle’s graphics were also “underwhelming.”

Engadget’s report was much less damning on the software side, saying the Lightsaber demo was “really fun and immersive experience, and I liked the haptic feedback I got whenever I blocked or took a hit.”

Mixed previews notwithstanding, the question remains of what to do with the headset when you’re finally finished with all three games.

You may argue that mobile VR, including Google Day Dream, Samsung Gear VR, and Google Cardboard, are all gimmicks in their own right and that the Mirage is no different. Regardless of your stance, mobile VR platforms all have fairly mature marketplaces stocked with plenty of content to chew through, the result of which required developer funding campaigns lead by Oculus and Google to establish back before their respective launches. If the Mirage for some reason can boast this healthy marketplace of apps between now and its holiday season launch, the proposition of a ‘Cardboard for AR’ becomes that much more real as it veers out of gimmick territory into a legit AR platform.

Best Buy remains the exclusive vendor for pre-orders, although the Star Wars AR pack will be available online and in stores starting in November. The AR headset is compatible with a variety of phones including the iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6s, Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, Samsung Galaxy S7, Google Pixel XL, Google Pixel, and Moto Z. The Best Buy order page contends devices with iOS 9 and above, Android 4.1 and above will be able to hook into the headset.

We’ll be keeping our eye on the Mirage in the coming months to see just what Disney/Lenovo have in store (if anything).

The post Lenovo Mirage AR Headset Veers Into ‘Expensive Gimmick’ Territory With ‘Star Wars: Jedi Challenges’ as Sole Title appeared first on Road to VR.

September 1, 2017

Pre-order Star Wars: Jedi Challenges Today for £249.99

Yesterday’s big news came from Lenovo with the company announcing the Mirage augmented reality (AR) headset which would come with exclusive experience Star Wars: Jedi Challenges. VRFocus reported that pre-orders seemed to be launching for US consumers first, as it’s turned out that’s not the case with UK customers able to place their orders today.

For Star Wars fans interested in heading to a galaxy far far away, being able to battle Darth Vader or take on the First Order all in AR in their living room, the Star Wars: Jedi Challenges bundle can be pre-ordered directly from Lenovo today for £249.99 GBP.

As previously reported, for that price you’ll get a Lenovo Mirage AR headset which is compatible with Android and iOS devices. These currently are: iPhone 7 Plus, iPhone 7, iPhone 6s Plus, iPhone 6s, Samsung Galaxy S8, Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, Samsung Galaxy S7, Google Pixel XL, Google Pixel and Moto Z, with Lenovo stating more will be added.

Also in the kit will be a Tracking Beacon, Lightsaber controller and of course Star Wars: Jedi Challenges (via download). The Tracking Beacon is placed on the floor, acting as a base for the headset’s sensors to aid movement while the Lightsaber controller shouldn’t need explaining.

While the actual release date hasn’t been officially confirmed – Lenovo has merely stated mid-November – VRFocus has found that during checkout the estimated shipping date is 9th November.

For any further updates from Lenovo, keep reading VRFocus.

August 31, 2017

Lenovo Unleashes the Force This Holiday with AR Experience Star Wars: Jedi Challenges

If you’ve been keeping up with VRFocus’ coverage of the IFA conference in Germany you’ll have seen Ricoh announce a new 360-degree camera, LG supporting Daydream with the V30 and Dell showcasing its Windows mixed reality (MR) headset. For all those Star Wars fans out there – and there’s certainly a few – the best is yet to come. Lenovo has now confirmed a price plus release window for its augmented reality (AR) headset, the Mirage, which will feature exclusive title Star Wars: Jedi Challenges.

First teased back in July with a brief trailer, further details are now available. The smartphone-powered Lenovo Mirage AR headset, Tracking Beacon, Lightsaber controller and Star Wars: Jedi Challenges have been unveiled as part of Force Friday II which occurs tomorrow. The kit will be available to pre-order tomorrow for $199.99 USD at BestBuy.com and Lenovo online, with Best Buy stores having stock in November. The kit will be available in other markets during November, but there’s no confirmation yet of price or retailers.

“With Star Wars: Jedi Challenges, Lenovo and Disney are bringing Star Wars to fans in ways they could previously only imagine,” said Jeff Meredith, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Lenovo Consumer PCs & Smart Devices in as statement. “Augmented Reality has always been an important part of Star Wars, and it’s exciting to bring these key moments to life by marrying Lenovo technology with Disney’s storytelling.”

As for Star Wars: Jedi Challenges, players will be able to hone their Jedi talents across three separate AR-based experiences. First there are Lightsaber Battles. Using the lightsaber controller, fans can train against legendary dark side villains like Kylo Ren and Darth Vader. Players will then be able to rally the forces of the Republic, Rebel Alliance, and Resistance against the might of the Separatists, Empire, and First Order in battles across their living rooms. Lastly to get that grey matter working there’s Holochess. So now fans can actually direct holographic alien pieces across a board.

“We believe augmented reality will usher in a new era of storytelling and play an important role in the experiences we create for our fans,” said Kyle Laughlin, Senior Vice President, Games and Interactive Experiences, Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media. “With Star Wars: Jedi Challenges, we’re bringing together the latest technology and one of the most recognized franchises in the galaxy to fulfill the wishes of anyone who’s ever wanted to wield a lightsaber or take on the empire forces on the battlefield.”

The videogame supports both Android and iOS smartphones. The Lenovo Mirage AR headset features two built-in fisheye sensors to provide inside-out positional tracking, while the Tracking Beacon is placed on the floor, acting as a stable base for the headset’s sensors to detect the user’s movement during gameplay.

As further details on the Lenovo Mirage are released VRFocus will let you know.

August 31, 2017August 30, 2018

‘Star Wars: Jedi Challenges’ review

Want to be a Jedi? Disney and Lenovo have teamed up to create an augmented reality headset that lets you wield a lightsaber. You can deflect blaster shots, play Holochess, fight or be Kylo Ren in ‘Star Wars: Jedi Challenges.’

The post ‘Star Wars: Jedi Challenges’ review appeared first on Digital Trends.

August 15, 2017

Lenovo Teases Its Upcoming VR and AR Product Launch at IFA

Lenovo seem to be keen on getting into the virtual reality (VR) market. The company has at least three headsets that it is working on, some of which are set to be launched for Christmas this year, if the recently released teaser video for Lenovo’s presentation at the IFA event is any indication.

As previously reported, Lenovo is working on two VR platforms. One of which is an entry into the Windows 10 Mixed Reality headset market, where it will join companies such as HP, Asus and Acer. The other is a stand-alone VR device based on Google Daydream technology, designed to be a meeting point between expensive high-end PC VR and mobile VR. A recent trademark application revealed that one of these devices will carry the name ‘Lenovo Mirage’, and thought on which of those devices will receive the name is divided.

Lenovo are also developing augmented reality devices, one of which has previously been featured as part of Disney’s D23 event as the headset was used along with a bluetooth lightsabre peripheral to create an AR Star Wars experience which will overlay images on the real world. The same headset will allow users to play Holochess, the iconic game played by Chewbacca and R2D2 in Star Wars IV: A New Hope.

The AR device is said to be smartphone-powered, though Lenovo have previously displayed a prototype of a standalone AR device referred to as the DaystAR. If this device is related to the Star Wards AR device is unknown at this stage, though some reports indicate that the DaystAR is intended for enterprise use.

Further details will be revealed by Lenovo at IFA 2017, which will be held on 31^st August, 2017 in Berlin, Germany. You can watch the IFA teaser video below.

VRFocus will continue to report on new technologies in the VR and AR sectors.

July 17, 2017

Disney and Lenovo’s Star Wars-themed AR headset to introduce ‘Jedi Challenges’

Lenovo and Disney are looking to bring augmented reality Star Wars experiences to the masses with a new smartphone-enabled headset and a series of Jedi Challenges, set in a galaxy far, far away.

The post Disney and Lenovo’s Star Wars-themed AR headset to introduce ‘Jedi Challenges’ appeared first on Digital Trends.

July 16, 2017

The Force Comes to AR with Star Wars: Jedi Challenges

A slightly surprising amount of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) information has emerged from Disney’s D23 event taking the place this weekend. From the announcement of Marvel’s first full VR videogame, and now word that Disney and Lenovo are developing their own AR headset for a Star Wars AR experience.

The headset uses AR to place animated overlays on top of the real world, letting users wield a lightsaber as part of an experience that Disney are calling Star Wars: Jedi Challenges. There are few details on exactly how it would work, or what the gameplay entails. A very brief teaser trailer for the experience is available to view below. The video shows a woman donning the headset, which features a clear visor to display the AR images, and picking up a model lightsaber. It’s not clear at this point if the model lightsaber is part of the experience as a motion controller, or if it is acting as a prop.

Star Wars: Jedi Challenges was introduced at D23 by Mike Goslin, who also spoke of other AR apps that Disney are working on: “Disney has always used new technologies for new ways to tell stories. We’ve been working on our own version of augmented reality.”

The headset, creating in partnership with Lenovo, is a smartphone-powered device, though at present there are no details on what smartphones will support Disney’s AR functions. Disney have also confirmed that a version of HoloChess, the monster-battling board game from Star Wars: A New Hope will also be available.

VRFocus will bring you further information on Star Wars: Jedi Challenges as it becomes available.