The Tribeca Festival returns for 2022 this week with a massive selection of films, shorts, XR content and more, viewable online via desktop and virtual reality (VR) as well as physical events. For the first time, however, organisers have teamed up with Meta to showcase 20 Tribeca Shorts via Horizon Worlds for Meta Quest.
Amanda Seyfried in Skin & Bone. Image credit: Tribeca Festival
First reported by Variety, the selection of 20 short films will be shown in the new Venues section of the Horizon Worlds metaverse beginning this Friday, 10th June. Running for five days, each day will have a new selection so you’ll have to pop back to watch them all. Notable additions include Skin & Bone, a 17-minute horror starring Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia!, Chloe), directed and written by Eli Powers (Holy Moses).
“At Tribeca we always explore new ways of storytelling, so we are thrilled to partner with Meta and create our first shorts program to play in VR,” said Ben Thompson, head shorts programmer for Tribeca. “We have curated a range of Tribeca Festival films including out-of-this-world science fiction and impactful documentaries that will excite and inspire audiences in this new storytelling frontier.”
Oculus Venues used to be a separate app but last month Meta announced it would be merged with Horizon Worlds as the company builds its metaverse vision. Venues shuttered yesterday which means the only way to watch the Tribeca Shorts in VR is in North America, as Horizon Worlds is region locked currently. For everyone else, the shorts can be viewed via Tribeca’s Facebook page.
As you may have spotted, the festival has now dropped the “Film” part of its name because over the years it’s become so much more. Alongside the staple film selection, there are immersive experiences, videogames, and podcasts to enjoy. Tribeca Festival is both online and in-person in New York City, running from 8th-19th June 2022. For further updates keep reading gmw3.
Meta’s collection of virtual reality (VR) social apps (Horizon Worlds, Venues and Workrooms) is a bit of a fragmented affair as you can’t switch between them as one seamless metaverse. However, part of that is about to change with Venues about to be absorbed into Horizon Worlds in June.
Meta has announced that the Horizon Venues app will be shuttered on 6th June 2022, so if you use it for watching Foo Fighters concerts, martial arts events, the Space Explorers series or any other programming that’ll soon come to an end. You will be able to catch highlights via Oculus TV if that’s any help.
Instead, on that same date Venues will get its own dedicated space within Horizon Worlds, giving the metaverse greater utility and so more reason for Meta Quest owners to venture inside. The downside, Horizon Worlds is still only accessible to Meta Quest 2 users over 18 in the US and Canada. For the rest of the world or those under 18 who do use Venues, tough luck, for now.
It’s understandable (and expected) that Meta would merge these apps, it’s just a shame that this would happen when only very select territories have access. The company has indicated that Horizon Worlds will be expanded to more countries this summer although specific details on when and where have yet to be unveiled.
Meta has been gradually rolling out several new updates to Horizon Worlds over the past few months, testing monetization tools for creators that’ll allow them to sell virtual items and effects inside their worlds. And to ensure users feel safe in its metaverse Meta introduced the Personal Boundary as an unseen security guard.
Every day there seems to be a new company jumping on the metaverse bandwagon with several key tech giants leading the charge. One of those is Epic Games, having made several acquisitions of late as well as releasing Unreal Engine 5, Metahuman and RealityScan, for example. Alternatively, there is Niantic Labs and its vision for a real-world metaverse utilising augmented reality (AR).
As Meta releases further updates for Horizon Worlds, gmw3 will let you know.
The NBA officially kicked off its 2021-22 regular season in mid-October after having last year’s derailed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Starting this week, Meta (formerly Facebook) is welcoming Quest users back to Horizon Venues for some more courtside action.
You’ll be able to catch the first game on November 14th, which features the Golden State Warriors vs. the Charlotte Hornets. Check out November’s full NBA VR lineup below:
To watch, users need the paid NBA League Pass, which comes with a few other caveats. Meta says in a blogpost that League Pass games will only be open to users based in the US, and to those that are outside of a 50-mile radius of the two teams in a given game. That’s the wonderful world of broadcast syndication for you.
The newly rebranded Horizon Venues (previously just Venues) offers up multi-user spaces for large event viewing, which means you can watch games courtside with friends and key into exclusive play-by-play commentary from NBA champion Richard Jefferson, sportscaster Adam Amin, and more.
Meta says it’s going to publish more participating games in the future, however here’s November’s upcoming schedule. Click the links below to subscribe for an event reminder.
The third season of VR Master League’s (VRML) competitive Echo VR matches continue this weekend, with the second challenger cup concluding cycle 2 of the season.
VRML began Season 3 of their competitive Echo VR matches earlier this year, many of which are broadcast live in VR through Oculus’ Venues app, available on Quest. Season 3 brought some new structural changes compared to last year’s second season, with a “flexible ladder system” that accounts for multiple divisions with players at any skill level, from Master down to Bronze.
The regular season matches are spread out over three cycles, each of which conclude with a Challenge Cup. The cups are an opportunity for teams in the second highest division, Diamond Division, to make it into the Master Division for the next cycle of regular season play. Likewise, for some of the teams in the Master Division, this is their chance to keep their spot and avoid relegation for the next cycle.
The 2nd Challenger Cup of the season will be broadcast in Venues this week for both the NA and EU regions , with six teams competing per region — five from Diamond, trying to move up a division, and one from Master, fighting to keep their spot and avoid relegation down to Diamond.
The teams competing in the EU Challenger Cup are Clockwork, Everest, Baked Potato, Ronins, Exploited from Diamond and Nantes Esport from Master. Likewise in the NA division its Wrath, 7, Corrosion, Genz, Rush and Illumidooty (formerly known as Illuminaughty and Illumidotty) from Master.
The entire Challenger Cup for both regions will be broadcast in Venues this weekend, so you can watch the matches by yourself or with friends in a social setting. Venues features a live theater-sized virtual screen, which emulates the feeling of attending a large sports event.
During Season 2 previously, VRML broadcasted VR esports matches in Oculus Venues so this will be a return to form with “more shows than ever” this time around. The slate of content includes “Challenger Cups” every six weeks for the top teams in the VRML.
You can see the current list of standings right here. At the time of this writing Team Gravity is on top with 9 wins. For Season 3, VRML revamped the entire ladder ranking format.
“Now, the top 10 teams in the VRML are slotted into the Master Division and face off against one another in a round-robin style of matchmaking over the course of five (5) weeks (one cycle). In addition to the Master Division, the Echo Arena VRML maintains its flexible ladder system for players of all skill ranges. Ranging from the Bronze Division to the Diamond Division, the ladder is a space for anybody to play Echo Arena, competitively, against equally skilled opponents.”
For those unaware, Echo Arena is developed by Facebook-owned Ready at Dawn Studios (the same team behind Lone Echo) like zero-gravity ultimate frisbee in VR and it’s awesome. You can get the game for free on Rift/Rift S or on Quest/Quest 2.
Echo Arena VRML games in Oculus Venues should be a really interesting way of enjoying the matches. The large theater-sized virtual screen will emulate the experience of attending a large-scale esports event in the real world like no computer monitor can, especially due to the social aspect of the Venues experience.
VRML has put in a lot of work to keep VR esports chugging right along and has continued to expand their content to include match highlights, interviews, recaps, and more each week. You can find that on the official Echo Arena VRML YouTube channel. They’ve added more casters as well for the hundreds of live matches each and every week.
There are two Twitch channels you can follow for Echo Arena VRML (channel 1 and channel 2) as well as a growing ‘Content Creation Team’ at VRML.
Let us know what you think down in the comments below!
Not ready to plonk down your first $100 on Quest 2 games? Thankfully there’s an impressive number of free games, experiences, apps, and social VR platforms to keep you playing before you’re paying.
We have however included App Lab games. If you want to see more, SideQuest’s search function is a great resource for finding free stuff and demos. Below you’ll find some of the top App Lab games in addition to those hosted on the official store.
Free Games
Population: One
Population: One is basically VR’s most successful battle royale, letting you climb, fly, shoot, and team-up with whoever dares. Once paid, the free-to-play game does feature microtransactions, but only for cosmetics, which is nice. It’s still a paid on game on Steam though, which makes sense considering developers BixBox VR were acquired by Meta. There is more than just battle royale though: you can play in the sandbox for custom maps and rules, team deathmatch with customizable loadouts, a 12v12 war mode, and more.
Once a paid game, this room-scale shooter is now free-to-play, letting you take on friends, family and foes in head-to-head 1v1 dueling. Refine your loadout and jump into the action as you scramble for weapons and send a volley of hellfire at your enemies, all the while Matrix dodging through this innovative bullet hell meets futuristic dueling game. Spend money on cosmetics, or don’t: it’s a massive slice of fun any which way.
There aren’t a ton of free-to-play shooters out there that promise multiplayer action, however Gun Raiders fits the bill with its multiple game modes that let you jetpack through the air, climbing from wall to wall, and shoot down the competition. There’s the same sort of microtransactions you see in bigger games, but it they’re all avatar skin stuff, so no pay-to-win here.
Hyper Dash is a multiplayer shooter that basically fills in where Echo Combat never could (never mind that Echo Combat was never on Quest, and is now entirely defunct on Oculus PC). Letting you quick dash, sprint, and rail grind around, Hyper Dash manages to serve up an impressive number of modes, including Payload, Domination, Control Point, (Team) Deathmatch, Capture The Flag, and Elimination. You can also take on both Quest and SteamVR users thanks to the inclusion of cross-play.
Ultimechs should look pretty familiar: it’s basically Rocket League, but instead of driving around in cars, you’re given rocket-powered fists to punch balls into the goal. Online multiplayer includes both 1v1 and 2v2 matches, offering up tons of opportunities to earn cosmetic gear that will let you outfit your battle mech into something unique. There are also now two paid battle passes too, offering up a ton of cosmetics to set you apart from the competition.
Battle Talent is one of those fighting sims that let you go ham on ragdoll baddies, which in this case are wily goblins and loads of skelingtons. This physics-based roguelite action game lets you climb, run and slide your way through levels as you slash, shoot, and wield magic against your foes.
Cards & Tankards is a pretty addictive social collectible card game, letting you collect and battle friends with over 180 cards. With cross-play against SteamVR headsets (also free on PC), you may consider hosting your regular game night playing more than a few rounds in the game’s characteristic medieval fantasy tavern.
Ever wanted to play Counter-Strike on Quest? Pavlov Shack offers up a pretty comparable experience, as you play in either deathmatch or co-op mode. It’s got all of the realistic gunplay and much of the fun of the paid PC VR title, but it’s still going strong with a free open beta on Quest.
Still in open beta, this 4v4 arena-scale shooter requires space and Quest 2 (or Quest Pro) owning buddies—both of which you may not have. Still, it makes for an incredible time that is basically the best version of laser tag you’ve ever played. You’ll need SideQuest to download this one since it disables Quest’s guardian system, but it’s well worth jumping through the hoops to get working if you have everything else.
This humble game of tag started out life on SideQuest and App Lab, offering up an infectious bit of gameplay that’s now available for free on the official Quest Store. You’ll be lumbering around a tree-lined arena using its unique grab-the-world locomotion style that lets you amble around like a great ape. Chase the other apes and infect them or climb for your life as the infected chase you. Pure and simple. Make sure you’re far from TVs, furniture, babies, and pets because you will punch something in the mad dash for sweet, low-poly freedom.
No real cash gambling here, but PokerStars VR not only let you go all-in on games of Texas Hold’em, but now a full casino’s worth of table games a machines that are sure to light up the dopamine starved pleasure centers of your brain. It’s all free play, so you won’t be risking real cash unless you buy in-game chips, which cannot be turned back into real money: it’s only to keep your bankroll flush for free play.
Gym Class – Basketball is the solution if you’re looking to shoot some hoops and dunk like you probably can’t on a physical court. Online multiplayer lets you go head-to-head for a pretty convincing game of b-ball thanks to the game’s physics-based and full-body kinematics.
This plucky roguelite dungeon crawler is still in beta (still!), but there’s a reason it’s become an App Lab favorite. Explore a vast dungeon to explore, housing plenty of baddies just asking for the steel of your sword, knives, and arrows. You’ll climb over deep pits, dodge lethal traps, and search for hidden treasures. Smash all the pots and crates you can before it officially launches on Quest sometime in the near future.
Would-be wizards, this is your time to shine. Explore a magical laboratory and take on the job of apprentice wizard. The lab is full of gadgets and magical stuff to mess around with; as one of the games that natively supports Quest’s hand tracking, you can put your controllers down and get experimenting with this little slice of the dark arts.
Since the recent Fishin’ Buddies update, this classic VR title has gotten a whole new lease on life as a multiplayer VR fishing game that lets you sit back and crack a cold one with the boys as you reel in the big’uns. The additional social areas also let you sit back between your fishing adventures to take part in casual mini-games.
Gods of Gravity is an arcade-style RTS game where you compete in an epic showdown of between celestial gods (2-8 players). Scoop up ships and fling them to capture a nearby planet, or open wormholes to teleport them across the solar system. Hold planets and moons to boost your production. Mine asteroids for the powerful resources within. And if you dare, capture the sun for the ultimate buff. Then send a massive fleet to conquer your enemy’s home planet. Last god standing wins.
Without a doubt one of the most fun, and most expansive VR titles out there… and it’s free. Sure, you can pay real cash for in-game tokens to buy spiffy clothes for your avatar, but that’s really up to you. Gads of mini-games await you in both first-party creations such as the ever so popular co-op Quests—that could be games in their own right—to user-created stuff that will keep your pocket book gathering dust. It’s social VR, so meet people and have a ball for zero dollarydoos. Fair warning: there’s a ton of kids.
If you’ve been anywhere near the Internet in the last few years, it’s likely you’ve already heard about VRChat, the user-generated social VR space filled with… well… everything you can imagine, re-pro games included like Among Us, Mario Kart, and even a version of Beat Saber. Fashion your own avatar or download the millions of user-generated avatars out there so you can embody SpongeBob, Kirito from Sword Art Online, or any one of the million anime girl avatars that you’re bound to see there.
Horizon Worlds is still taking baby steps, although recent efforts have brought more tools and user-generated content to the platform which has rounded out things to make it more competitive with Rec Room and VRChat. You may want to check in just to see the state of Meta’s first-party VR social platform—and then check right out again—but at the price of ‘free’, you may just find an environment or community you really gel with, which is the whole reason behind social VR in the first place.
Facebook confirmed it is testing a “new and improved version” of its Venues software with a limited group of people on Oculus Quest that will add a lobby to meet up with friends and fans “as well as more social features.”
Oculus Venues launched in 2018 for Go and Gear VR and pushed forward Facebook’s merging of its Oculus VR platform and existing Facebook social network, as it required participants to use their Facebook account to access live events in VR. Both those earlier VR headsets are no longer sold, however, as Facebook focuses its strategy around the Quest standalone headset with some features backed by Facebook’s policy which asks people to use a name that “should also appear on an ID.” Facebook contends the policy, which is also used with its forthcoming VR-based Horizon social networking effort, allows the organization to “do some great things around both safety – making sure it’s backed by a real person – but also for the people who want to invite more of their social network from their Facebook world into their VR environment,” a representative explained at the OC6 developer’s conference in 2019.
“This week we began testing a new and improved version of Venues in beta early access with a limited group of people on Oculus Quest,” a Facebook spokesperson explained in an email today. “The new Venues experience places a stronger emphasis on social interaction, including a lobby where you can meet up with friends and fans, as well as more social features. We’ll continue rolling this out in the coming weeks and will have more to share soon.”
Facebook dropped the Oculus prefix for its social VR event viewing platform, rebranding it to simply Venues—another ostensible move to minimize the Oculus name (eg: Facebook Connect now, not Oculus Connect). Now the company is widening access to Venues in preparation for their upcoming flagship social VR offering, Facebook Horizon, which will likely have a bigger reveal at Connect this year.
Update (September 11th, 2020): Facebook is talking up its Venues (Beta Early Access) app in a recent blog post, releasing more information on what to expect from the social platform.
“There’s a new lobby where you can socialize before, during, and after the show—because we all know that one of the best parts of an event is chatting about the experiences with others who were there,” the company says.
Facebook says Venues will also include interactive emoji expressions, confetti rain, fist bumps, high fives, and the ability to take photos and selfies.
Access to Venues is being expanded to more people, Facebook says, and will continue “in the coming weeks.”
Original Article (August 14th, 2020): Now simply named Venues, an early access beta version of the social VR app is currently rolling out. The app is being released to only a few users at this time though, so you may not find that big blue ‘Download’ button on Venue’s new Oculus Store page.
Although likely still a work in progress, many of the avatars appear to be very similar, if not identical, to the ones seen in Facebook Horizon promo material.
1 of 4
Image courtesy Facebook
Image courtesy Facebook
Image courtesy Facebook
Image courtesy Facebook
Facelift notwithstanding, Facebook is still using Venues for social live event viewing, including sports, concerts, and standup comedy. Although we haven’t had a chance to go hands-on yet, the Beta Early Access version seems to include a more robust avatar creator and multiple environments, including lobbies for informal chats and more intimate viewing areas for groups.
Notably, Venues still requires a Facebook login, something that seems to have created a backlash from users on the original app, which may explain its nearly a [2/5] star rating. That’s unlikely to change, as Facebook Horizon inevitably brings Oculus users ever closer to the mothership.
Neither Facebook Horizon nor the new Venues have general release dates yet, so there’s no telling how the two will hook into each other. We’re hoping to learn more at Oculus Connect 7, which will be held digitally this year.
The Game Awards will be broadcast live in Oculus Venues tomorrow, allowing you to watch the awards with other Venues viewers and interact and chat with them throughout the show.
The Game Awards are an annual award show hosted and founded by games journalist Geoff Keighley. Not only do the awards celebrate the past year of games through various categories (similar in concept to the Oscars, Grammys or Emmys), but the show also usually features a wealth of new announcements from developers and game studios.
This year will be the first year that the showed will be live in Oculus Venues. Venues is a social VR application that allows you to attend live events in VR, surrounded by other Oculus Venue users in stadium-style seating. You can talk and interact with those around you and basically attend the event in VR in similar ways to attending it in real life. We’ve previously given our thoughts on some Oculus Venues events, such as when a Billie Eilish concert was streamed live in Venues a few months ago.
Community Download is a weekly discussion-focused articles series published (usually) every Monday in which we pose a single, core question to you all, our readers, in the spirit of fostering discussion and debate. For today, we want to know what you think about the upcoming VR Billie Eilish concert and what it means for the future of in-VR entertainment.
Oculus has really stepped up its promotion of the Oculus Venues live event app that’s featured on the Oculus Go and Oculus Quest. In Venues you are granted a seat at a real life performance by a musician, or at a sporting event, and it’s streamed using 180-degree or 360-degree cameras. In this way, your VR headset acts like a portal to the concert itself, providing the illusion of attending. Sometimes they offer a flat stream on a screen like a theater instead as well.
What makes the app extra neat is that it’s a multi-user experience too and you can look around and see other people using their Oculus avatars around you as well, watching the same performance in real-time.
Our dicussion topic this week, on the heels of the Billie Eilish announcement, is: Do you think VR concerts and other live events will ever become mainstream entertainment? As of now they’re little more than a novelty, but will they eventually become a highly anticipated part of the live entertainment industry for a large portion of the population? Or will it stay niche within a niche forever?
Comment down below with your thoughts and you may have a chance of your comment being featured in our weekly news recap show, VRecap, which airs every Friday on your YouTube channel.
