Category: vive studios

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HTC Vive Pro McLaren Special Edition Arrives for an Eye Watering $1550

This weekend may have been all about big discounts off the latest tech but HTC Vive decided to go in a different direction and launch a special edition headset in collaboration with legendary racing company McLaren.

HTC Vive Pro McLaren headset

The HTC Vive Pro McLaren Special Edition has arrived for racing fans, retailing for a rather costly $1,549 USD (that’s $150 more than the standard kit). So what do you get for those extra bucks? Well, the HTC Vive Pro and its controllers have had some added orange accents to compliment the blue body, and two included videogames, the new McLaren Garage VR experience which was made by Vive Studios in cooperation with McLaren. And then there’s a custom version of ‘RFactor 2’ McLaren Edition VR racing.

McLaren Garage VR experience is a multi-player simulation where players can be part of the McLaren pit-crew, with additional features including ‘Pit-stop Challenge’, wherein a room scale recreation of McLaren’s garage enables players to learn to change a car tyre before testing others in a timed competition.

Everything else is the same as you’d find in the normal HTC Vive Pro Full Kit, with Steam Tracking 2.0 lighthouses, integrated headphones, microphones, 110-degree field of view (FoV) and 1440 x 1600 pixels per eye.

mclaren

“Grand Prix racing attracts over 500 million fans globally, and we’re excited to partner with McLaren to bring a unique perspective to race fans through VR. Through our collaboration, we’re combining our best-in-class VR headset with their long heritage of racing expertise to create the most immersive experience for fans across the globe,” said Alvin Wang Graylin, China President, HTC, in a statement. “This is a chance for customers to go beyond being a spectator and feel the excitement of being a McLaren driver or pit-crew right from their living rooms.”

How many actual consumers will want to part with $1,550 for the HTC Vive Pro McLaren Special Edition remains to be seen – not many VRFocus would imagine – when a normal HTC Vive costs $499 or how about rival Oculus Rift for $349 at the moment. Should HTC launch any other pricey special editions along the way then VRFocus will let you know.

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Vive Studios: Joel Breton über zukünftige Marketing-Strategien des Unternehmens

In einem Interview äußert sich Joel Breton, Leiter der HTC Vive Studios, über die Strategien zur Entwicklung und Vermarktung von VR-Content. Dabei ging er besonders auf die zukünftigen Marketing-Strategien des Unternehmens ein und kündigt aggressivere Werbemaßnahmen für VR-Erfahrungen. Zudem könnte es bald kommende Vive-Entwicklerkonferenzen geben.

Joel Breton – Aggressiveres Marketing und mehr Veranstaltungen der Vive Studios nötig

Im Vergleich zu den Oculus Studios bleibt die Anzahl an großen VR-Titeln aus dem Hause Vive Studios im VR-Markt derzeit überschaubar (Ready Player One: Oasis Beta) bzw. fallen diese teilweise komplett unter den Tisch. Eine Tatsache, die auch den Verantwortlichen nicht verborgen bleibt. In einem Interview mit Upload VR spricht Joel Breton nun über zukünftige Maßnahmen und Strategien, um diesen Umstand zu verbessern:

“Das Erste, was ich mit meinen Partnern mache, ist das Risiko des Projekts für sie zu verringern. Zudem sollen sie versuchen innovative Wege zu gehen und etwas Großartiges zu schaffen, das dem Markt und natürlich auch ihrem Geschäft hilft. Wir müssen also definitiv besser im Marketing werden. Ich bin sehr stolz auf die Inhalte, die wir erstellen. Alles, was wir machen, wird sehr hoch bewertet, es wird sehr gut angenommen und sicherlich können wir einen viel besseren Job bei der Vermarktung von Inhalten machen, und das ist etwas, woran ich sehr gerne arbeite.”

File:Joel Breton FlashGameSummit-2010.JPG

Joel Breton

Eine große Herausforderung besteht darin, die richtigen Konsumenten mit entsprechenden Produkten anzusprechen. Dies erweist sich besonders in der Non-Gaming-Szene als schwierig, wie er beschreibt:

“Zum Beispiel ist die TrueScale-Design-App fantastisch für jeden, der einen Innenbereich, wie ein Geschäft, eine Turnhalle oder ein Fitnesscenter gestaltet. Es ist also eigentlich eine perfekte Lösung für diese Leute, aber sie kennen sie einfach nicht. Sie wissen nicht, dass es da ist, sie wissen nicht, dass sie in die VR gehen können und dort in etwa 30 Minuten das tun, wofür sie sonst ein paar Stunden oder einen Tag auf einem Bildschirm benötigen würden.”

Vive Focus VR

Um dieses Problem anzugehen, könnte man zukünftig gemeinsam mit einer entsprechenden Community nach einem Soft-Launch an zukünftigen Versionen arbeiten. Doch eine passende Zielgruppe für die jeweiligen VR-Inhalte zu finden, wird sich derzeit auch weiterhin als kompliziert herausstellen. Allerdings möchten die Vive Studios auch zukünftig an dieser Herausforderung arbeiten. Und auch im Event-Bereich soll sich zukünftig mehr tun, wie Herr Breton verspricht. So kündigt er mehr Konferenzen und Veranstaltungen auch außerhalb von Asien an:

“Wir müssen mehr davon veranstalten. Bei Vive selbst haben wir mit Valve zusammengearbeitet und sie haben mit den Steam Days einen fantastischen Job gemacht, was man innerhalb eines frühen Stadiums, in den ersten zwei Jahren, als unsere Entwicklerkonferenz bezeichnen kann. Jetzt, wo wir zur Focus bzw. der Vive Pro wechseln, arbeiten wir zwar weiter mit SteamVR, jetzt ist es aber zum ersten Mal unser eigenes Ding, unser eigenes Ökosystem. Wir müssen also unbedingt anfangen, über solche Dinge nachzudenken, und ich versichere, dass wir das tun werden.”

(Quelle: Upload VR)

Der Beitrag Vive Studios: Joel Breton über zukünftige Marketing-Strategien des Unternehmens zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

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VRLO Returns for a One Day Celebration in December

Now that Halloween is over its time to start ramping up the festivities for 2018’s next big celebration, good old Christmas. Ahead of the big day full of presents and too much food media company REWIND (The Magic Flute, Ghost in the Shell VR) will be hosting the last VRLO event of the year in London, UK.

They Suspect Nothing - Screenshot - Stamp

The one-day event will be an evening of talks, demos and networking opportunities all wrapped up with some festive celebrations.

Sponsored by HP, Jigsaw24 and Bluegfx, HP and Jigsaw24 are teaming up to bring the HP Z VR Backpack PC to VRLO, with a demo version of REWIND’s Silicon Valley: Inside the Hacker Hostel VR.

Also at VRLO will be Coatsink Software, with the studio set to demo relaxing title A Night’s Sky and comedy mini-game collection about robots They Suspect Nothing. Vive Studios will be on hand to showcase 7 Miracles, an immersive adaptation of the seven miracles of Jesus Christ from the Gospel of John. It will be the experience’s second showing in London after its World Premiere at Raindance Film Festival last month. Finally, Start VR will demo AWAKE, a character-driven interactive cinematic VR series that blurs the line between dream and reality.

Awake - StartVR

And as a festive treat REWIND will be holding The Santa’s Helper Challenge, you’ll have to attend to find out more.

VRLO will be taking place on Wednesday, 5th December 2018, starting at 7pm and running through to 11pm. It’ll be held at The Microsoft Reactor London, with tickets being free, and entry will be granted on a first-come-first-served basis. For further details and to grab a ticket head to the VRLO Eventbrite page. VRFocus will continue its coverage of REWIND and VRLO, reporting back with further updates.

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Vive Studios Boss: ‘We Need To Get Better At Marketing’ Content

Vive Studios Boss: ‘We Need To Get Better At Marketing’ Content

HTC’s Vive Studios division acknowledges that it needs to ramp up its work in marketing, especially with more challenging non-gaming apps.

Vive Studios was announced back in 2016 and is similar, though certainly not identical, to the Oculus Studios division at Facebook. The team pledged to do everything from publishing content made with partners to internally developing and releasing its own projects, going beyond gaming and looking at professional and experiential applications too. But, whilst Oculus Studios has launched big projects like Lone Echo and Marvel: Powers United over the past few years, it’s harder to keep track of Vive’s work.

There have been some notable releases, the biggest of which is undoubtedly the Ready Player One: Oasis beta, a virtual hub of sorts that connects you to a handful of minigames. But, broadly speaking, it’s harder to find Studios’ fingerprints across the current VR ecosystem.

To that end, some Vive Studios releases on Steam haven’t even gathered enough user reviews to get aggregate rankings, though many are also sold across platforms like Viveport and Oculus Home. Even Studios Head Joel Breton admits that games like the Vive Studios-published and Square Enix-developed Million Arthur VR didn’t “sell out of the gates”. Speaking to UploadVR, though, Breton said that it’s his first priority to keep VR developers safe regardless of sales.

“So the first thing I want to do with my partners is derisk the project for them and let them try to innovate and create something awesome that will help the market and then obviously help their business too,” Breton reasoned. “So certainly we need to get better at marketing. I’m very proud of the content we make. Everything that we’re making is very highly rated, it’s very well received and certainly we can do a much better job of marketing content and that’s something that I’m very happy to be working on.”

Breton admits that much of the challenge comes from knowing who to market to, especially in the non-gaming scene. “For instance, the TrueScale design application is fantastic for anybody that’s doing design of an interior space like a store or a gymnasium or a fitness center. So it’s amazing for those people but they just don’t know about it. They don’t know that it’s there they don’t know that they can go into VR and then in like 30 minutes do what might take them a couple of hours or at least a day to do on a flat screen.”

One approach Breton says its taken recently is to give some of its apps more of a soft launch, quietly releasing early builds and then updating them with the help of the community to the point that it can market them more confidently. Studios also sees its most recent project, an episodic VR movie retelling Bible stories named 7 Miracles, as an example of an app that it knows directly who to market to.

“But finding the audiences for these non-gaming VR content? That is certainly a challenge right now that’s something that we’re faced with and you know we’re not going to shy away from it we’re going to keep working on it,” he added.

One thing that has struck me over the past few years is just how quiet Vive has been in the conference space, at least in the US. Judging by Vive China President Alvin Graylin’s Twitter account, the company has a huge presence at most Asian VR events but, over in the west, shows like E3 and Gamescom come and go without Vive makings its presence really felt. Even last year’s reveal of the Vive Pro passed on livestreaming to the audience at home. I told Breton I thought this was a key component missing for Vive’s strategy right now.

“I agree,” he said.

“We need to do more of that. On Vive ourselves, we partnered with Valve and they did a fantastic job with Steam Days, so early on, certainly for the first two years, that was our developer conference. Now we’re moving to Focus, Pro is the same thing, it’s still SteamVR, now with Focus it’s our own thing, our own ecosystem for the first time. So absolutely we need to start thinking about those kinds of things and I assure you we are.”

It sounds like we could see a Vive-dedicated event in the near future, then.

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Vive Studios’ 7 Miracles Delivers A Sunday School Lesson In VR

Vive Studios’ 7 Miracles Delivers A Sunday School Lesson In VR

If you’re reading this, JesuSavesSouls, this one’s for you.

I have to admit that, when I was first invited to watch a feature-length 360 degree movie about recounting the seven miracles of Jesus Christ, I hesitated. I confess it’s not a subject I have much interest in, nor has there been any 360 degree content yet published that’s so convincing I could spend over an hour watching it. Pairing the two didn’t exactly fill me with enthusiasm, then.

In truth, though, the end product isn’t quite the biblical endurance test I thought it would be, though it’s far from a miraculous achievement (sorry, I’ll stop those now).

Though billed as VR’s first feature-length piece, 7 Miracles actually arrives in an episodic format similar to other ‘movies’ like Nicolas Cage’s The Humanity Bureau. It consists of seven chapters, each lasting around 10 minutes and focusing on a different miracle. Odd as it may seem, I can see publisher Vive Studio’s thinking behind its support; there’s thought to be over two billion Christians in the world, why not push VR to them in the ongoing effort to popularize the tech? The result is what very much looks like a Sunday School lesson in VR, and that’s likely where this makes the most sense. It’s certainly in line with the specificity of Studio’s target audiences (which also include ocean conservationists and interior designers), if nothing else.

I was initially a little wary of 7 Miracles, though. The first episode, which recounts Jesus turning water into wine, doesn’t do much to validify its existence. It sees us join Jesus at a party, but it’s hard to shake the feeling that you’re simply watching a school production rather than really immersing yourself in an authentic recreation of the time and setting. Perhaps that’s just the experimental nature of the format itself shining through but the piece struggles to find much you’d call cinematic in its first ten minutes.

Subsequent episodes I was shown, however, fared far better than the introduction. The first, in which Jesus helps a man to walk again, is shot with a stunning backdrop of mountains in a city nestled between them. It lends the production a lot more weight, as does one particularly convincing scene in which a series of fast cuts have us trying to keep pace with Jesus as he angrily lectures those around him. It was here that I really got a sense of why this project should be in VR; there was unparalleled intimacy and communion to being part of the group huddled around him.

Jesus certainly looks like Jesus, I’ll give him that.

You continue to catch glimpses of that purpose throughout, including one scene in which Jesus resurrects Lazarus, though I couldn’t help feel like the piece ultimately wasn’t doing enough to elevate itself beyond traditional 2D footage.  Tellingly, I watched the experience in a cinema seat, but never felt the need to uncomfortably crane my neck around to get the full scope of a shot. It is, at the very least, comprehensively put together, only occasionally revealing its stitching and exposing some directional audio mishaps.

Perhaps the most interesting side of the experience, though was a full VR rendition of the resurrection scene, captured using photogrammetry. The laser-scanned tomb was freely explorable in the standalone Vive Focus headset and both Jesus and Lazarus had been brought to life via performances captured with hundreds of cameras. Running on mobile hardware, the quality of the scans wasn’t on par with those I’d seen out of Dimension in London but I was told it could be scaled up for the PC version. It’s more of a taste of what’s possible rather than anything meaty, but it was proof enough to me that 360 content may be laying a foundation for a deeper, more immersive form of VR storytelling to come.

In this sense, 7 Miracles feels a bit like an unfinished puzzle, as if new and more exciting pieces were discovered mid-way through production that got the crew wanting to make a different picture entirely. It’s not likely to be something that has legs for home-based VR use B#but it could be genuine tool to raise awareness of the platform, even if it might not fully convert anyone.

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Vive Studios Announces First Feature-Length VR Film, 7 Miracles

Vive Studios have announced their first virtual reality (VR) feature film, in partnership with Panogramma and Film Production Consultants, entitled 7 Miracles. The title will be one of the first feature-length cinematic VR experiences and is set to premiere at the 26th Raindance Film Festival, Europe’s leading independent Film Festival on October 3rd, 2018.

Vive Studios

7 Miracles recreate the seven miracles performed by Jesus Christ based on the Gospel of John in VR. The seven-part 360-degree experience will immerse and connected the audience like never before to the stories that are known to many. The film is being created by leveraging the latest in capture technology such a photogrammetry and volumetric video capture to produce images in stunning 8K with additional scenes created in 3D.

“We are thrilled to push the boundaries of story-telling in VR with 7 Miracles,” Said Joel Breton, GM of Vive Studios. “Our amazing film production team has worked tirelessly to pioneer the technology for cinematic virtual reality and to bring the viewers back in time to experience the miracles of Jesus for themselves.”

Shot in Rome and in Matera, the film has been directed by Rodrigo Cerqueira (Jesus VR: The Story of Christ) and co-directed by Marco Spagnoli (Hollywood Invasion, Hollywood on Tiber, Walt Disney and Italy – A Love Story). The VR film was produced by Enzo Sisti (Aquaman, Wonder Woman, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Passion of the Christ) and Vive Studios’ Joel Breton (Pirates of the Caribbean, Unreal, Anno 1602, Terrarria) and Rodrigo Cerqueira.

7 Miracles

“Working on this project has been a wonderful experience for me and my team. This new cinematic VR technology has given my team and me a chance to create and tell more personal and intimate stories,” Said Enzo Sisti, Executive Producer. “I’m very proud of our work.”

Vive Studios’ 7 Miracles will premiere at the 2018 Raindance Film Festival, which is the largest independent film festival in the UK. The 26th Raindance will take place between September 26th, 2018 and October 7th, 2018 in central London.

For all the latest on Vive Studios’ work and 7 Miracles in the future, keep reading VRFocus to stay up to date with all updates.

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‘Super Puzzle Galaxy’ Exits Early Access, 24 Additional Levels Released in ‘Warp Ball’ DLC

Super Puzzle Galaxy (2018), a physics-based puzzle game from Vive Studios and 2Bears Studio, has just existed its seven-month stint in Early Access. To boot, the studios have also launched the game’s second DLC pack today, dubbed ‘Warp Ball’, which adds 24 new levels and two new obstacle types.

Super Puzzle Galaxy is a physics sandbox based in outer space that lets you sculpt sand across 16 challenge levels (base game) in effort to get the ball to the goal.

Image courtesy Vive Studios, 2 Bear Studio

Players use the new Warp Ball ability to solve 16 more additional puzzles. A new ice trap and rotating obstacles are available in Create Mode. You’ll also be able to use the Warp Ball ability to solve the eight challenge levels and see if you can collect all galaxy gems—making for 56 levels with both the base game and Warp Ball DLC.

The game is available on Steam and Viveport. Priced at $2 extra, the Warp Ball DLC is offered separately from the base game on Steam, and as an in-app purchase on Viveport.

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HTC Donates Over 100 Vive Headsets to California & Nevada Libraries

HTC is donating over 110 HTC Vive systems to California and Nevada libraries through its new Vive Libraries Program, an effort to seed local communities with premium VR.

In a blogpost announcing the program, HTC’s Chris Chin, Executive Director of Education VR Content, said he’s “especially excited that VR is entering communities that traditionally have had social, economic, or other access barriers.”

In California alone, HTC has donated 100 Vive headsets to public libraries.

“This generous contribution by Vive is helping bring a virtual world of adventure and learning to communities across California. As more virtual reality stations take root across our library system, we are seeing positive learning impacts and visitors that are genuinely excited about technology and education,” said California State Librarian Greg Lucas.

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The company has invested heavily in the areas of education and the arts, including a multi-million dollar arts program, which saw partnerships with museums across the globe including London’s Tate Modern, New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Paris’ Natural History Museum—and their China-based, multidisciplinary VR educational programs via their startup VIVEDU, which has brought HTC VR products to Chinese classrooms spanning the gamut of K-12, vocational schools and university-level classes.

Through HTC’s content platform Viveport, the company is presenting libraries with over 35 educational experiences covering the areas of Arts & Culture, Creativity, Design, History, STEM, Travel, and Wellness. Check out the full list of experiences below.

Vive Libraries Program Content List

  • Adventures in Space
  • Amazon Odyssey
  • Ancient Adventures
  • Berlin Wall: The Virtual Reality Experience
  • Beyond Tokyo
  • Buzz Aldrin: Cycling Pathways to Mars
  • Calcflow
  • COSM Worlds within Worlds
  • Earthlight VR: Spacewalk
  • Everest VR
  • Jam Studio VR
  • Lifeliqe VR Museum
  • Lumen
  • Lunar Learning & Earthly Robots
  • MakeVR Pro
  • Mars Odyssey
  • Masterpiece VR
  • Masters of Design
  • Modigliani VR: The Ochre Atelier
  • Newton’s House of Forces
  • Oceans of Wonder
  • Operation Apex
  • Rad Robots
  • Realities.io
  • Remembering Pearl Harbor
  • Remind VR: Daily Meditation
  • SculptrVR
  • Stonehenge VR
  • Super Puzzle Galaxy
  • Take Flight!
  • The Night Cafe: A VR Tribute to Van Gogh
  • The Physiology of the Eye
  • TrueScale
  • Unabomber: The Virtual Reality Experience
  • Unbound
  • Wisemind

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Jam Studio VR Gets Into The Groove With New Content And Compatibility

It was back in September last year that we first brought you news of Jam Studio VR from Vive Studios and Beamz Interactive. A virtual reality (VR) musical experience that utilised the HTC Vive in order to help teach both would-be musicians (and people who just want to make a lot of noise) in the way of playing a musical instrument, unleashing their inner musician and being able to create great music or play like a DJ.

At the time, it launched with a library of twenty songs from likes of Flo Rida, Miley Cyrus and The Jonas Brothers and they even brought in Megadeth bassist David Ellefson to try it out. Other song content bundles could then be added via in app-purchases can be added through in-app purchases, and users could then use these to compose, record and share their own unique mixes.

The latest update from Beamz Interactive sees Jam Studio VR reduced in price by 60% in a special money-off promotion which will be active from today until April 30th, 2018. The app now has support for both the Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality and all purchases will now include three additional EDM/DJ/Dance tracks songs will be included with the pack, as well as a number of music instrument games, songs relating to music appreciation and fundamentals and additional life skill and learning additions, opening up the title more to the family as a whole and, the company hopes, to more education-based  and health care-based organisations.  Allowing Jam Studio VR to not only act as an educator and a fun experience but a VR experience that could be used for “therapeutic and special needs requirements”.

“Our goal is to create a whole new category of interactive music and gaming applications that takes advantage of Virtual Reality technology. Jam Studio VR delivers just that! ” said Charlie Mollo, Beamz Interactive’s CEO at the initial launch of the app. “Using our advanced triggering and synchronization technology and IP position, we’re able to create a truly unique interactive music experience that makes it easy and exciting to engage people of all ages and skill levels.”

On the new content announcement Mollo had this to say: “This rich new content provides individuals and families with a wide range of music and choices that can allow them to have fun and be fully immersed in Jam Studio VR for extended periods of time – experiencing music like never before!”

The downloadable content packs, which already contained rock, Latin, jazz, classical, hip hop and reggae music as well as Disney tracks for children now has additional learning content for young children from the likes of The Learning Station and Gigglebellies. Music Appreciation and Music Fundamentals bundles will also be added soon.

For more news about updates to VR apps, as well as to find out what’s coming out in the future check back regularly on VRFocus.

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Enter the Ready Player One Universe as Three VR Experiences Arrive on Viveport

Ready Player One is due to hit theatres this week and for fans eager to delve into the Ernest Cline’s fictional virtual reality (VR) focused world three new VR experiences have launched today on Viveport from Vive Studios.

Battle for the Oasis

Eight pieces of VR content inspired by the book were announced earlier this month, with the first three now available to HTC Vive users through Viveport. Published by Vive Studios, you can now play Battle for the Oasis by Steel Wool Studios (Bounce, The Horus Heresy: Betrayal at Calth), Gauntlet from Directive Games (Super Kaiju, The Machines), and Rise of the Gunters from Drifter Entertainment (Gunheart).

Battle for the Oasis is a wave-based shooter, killing IOI Sixers in your path. “Advance through the trenches of Planet Doom towards the snowy planes that surround Anorak’s Castle. With an arsenal only possible in the OASIS, you must stop IOI from gaining control,” states the official description.

Gauntlet is inspired by the first key dungeon. You must navigate through this seemingly endless labyrinth while fending off the undead. You can collect gold on route to improve your score whilst finding food will restore your health, your protection to make it out alive is a bow.

Rise of the Gunters

Rise of the Gunters is another fight against the army of highly trained IOI Sixers. This time you can chose to go it alone or with two fellow Gunters. Defeat Sixers to collect their coins, find power ups and survive a merciless onslaught for as long as it takes.

To access all three experiences and the others due to follow you’ll need to download Oasis Beta first, then access them through the portal. There are five more VR titles to come, all of which are due to arrive this month, very likely split over each day this week in the run up to Ready Player One’s launch.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of the Ready Player One experiences, reporting back when the next ones go live.