In 2020 VRFocus launched its very first awards event to celebrate all that the XR industry had to offer. A big part of that was the inclusion of public voting rather than industry judging, with that vision being expanded for this year’s The Better-Than-Reality Awards by opening up the nominations to the public as well.
From today until 10th September 2021 (at 11:59 PM BST) VRFocus encourages all of our readers to nominate their favourite virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) videogames from the last 12 months, across a range of categories, some new whilst others return from last year. There are 14 categories to place your nomination which is completely free.
After the nomination closing date, the top five from each category will then go into a final voting round – public once again – from 1st October through to 14th November 2021. The winners will then be announced before the end of November.
It has been a tremendous 12 months for the XR industry with exciting innovations for both the short and long term future, as well as new videogames and apps showcasing the depth and breadth of what’s possible. With The Better-Than-Reality Awards, you can have your say, congratulating those who work so hard to make this industry what it is.
What a year it has been for the XR industry, with both highs and lows felt across the board as companies deal with remote working conditions, lockdown restrictions and much more. So in October VRFocus decided to launch its very first awards showcase, celebrating the best of what the industry has to offer; all with a little twist, public voting. So now it’s time to reveal who the lucky winners are.
Dubbed The Better-Than-Reality Awards, there were eight categories up for grabs, ranging from the consumer-focused ‘Best VR Game of 2020’ to business solutions and rising stars in the XR space.
Whilst some categories were almost dead certs having redefined AAA VR gaming, there were still a few surprises considering all the winners were chosen by the public.
“For us, building a Half-Life game from the ground up for Alyx was always about bringing that universe back in an exciting way, and to do that through VR was a rewarding process. But the positive feedback from fans of Half-Life is truly the most rewarding part, and we are just super grateful for the community support,” said Robin Walker, Programmer / Designer at Valve Software.
“We are extremely honoured that STYLY received the Best AR App award, and we are incredibly grateful for this recognition from VR Focus and the AR community. STYLY continues to move forward, taking on new challenges in XR. We are very proud to be designing and building a new XR world in Tokyo, Japan, with incredible XR artists and content creators from around the World,” said Ryohei Watanabe, CMO of Psychic VR Lab Co., Ltd. “It is an ambitious goal, but we are incredibly excited to bring VR, AR, and MR content together in a spectacular showcase in the heart of Tokyo. We hope that everyone can come to Japan to enjoy this XR world. Once again, we are honored and grateful for receiving this award, and thank you to everyone who helped make STYLY the Best AR App!”
“We are thrilled that VRFocus’ readers named Transformers: VR Battle Arena as their favourite location-based VR experience in a category filled with such worthy competition,” noted Vander Caballero, CEO of Minority Media. “This just goes to show the power of a great brand and social gameplay in attracting players, even in these challenging times.”
“I’m truly honoured to receive the Top XR Influencer 2020 award! Thank you! My mission with MRTV though is not to “influence” my viewers but rather to give them all the information they need so they can make their own educated purchasing decisions!,” said MRTV’s Sebastian Ang. “Therefore I’d rather call myself an XR Content Creator! This award shows me that the community appreciates independent XR content on YouTube! Thanks again to everyone who voted for MRTV!”
“It’s a huge honour to take home the award of Favourite VR headset for Oculus Quest 2. We’ve seen an incredible response from the VR community since launch in October, and to know this award was voted for by the public means a lot. We’re looking forward to delivering more incredible Quest 2 content in 2021 for people to experience,” said Rangaprabhu Parthasarathy, Product Manager, Oculus Quest 2.
“We’re extremely excited that FitXR has been announced as the winner of the Most Promising XR Startup award, as given by VRFocus. This is a great win for us so thanks to everyone for their votes and continual support for FitXR,” said Sam Cole, CEO & co-founder, FitXR. “We’re focused on continuing our mission of creating a virtual reality exercise experience that remains fun and effective at its core and have lots of exciting updates in store for the FitXR platform in 2021. Next year is going to be huge so keep your eyes peeled!
Congratulations to all of VRFocus’ The Better-Than-Reality Awards winners and their contribution to the industry. Best of luck to everyone for 2021!
Content Creators, Youtubers, Streamers, Bloggers and XR influencers come in many forms, but their importance to the industry and ecosystem cannot be overstated. From the comedic approach of YouTubers such as “Up Is Not Jump” to the more informative takes from YouTube duo “Cas and Chary” all the way through to the business-focused podcasts of award-winning director “Alex Makes VR”, each influencer brings something to the industry, delivered in their own unique style.
Most video-format influencers started in VR the way we all did, positioning sensors, dealing with tracking issues or trying not to trip over wires; but as VR tech has progressed and advanced, so have they. These days’ creators are producing their content with standalone headsets, such as the recently launched Oculus Quest 2, or utilising green screen mixed reality approaches to enable their viewers to feel more immersed in the worlds they are exploring.
These modern day methods of content creation show the accessibility and wonder that VR has to offer, exposing their audiences to new tech and helping break the industry into the mainstream.
Alex of “Alex makes VR” set out her stall in a different part of the industry, using her skills and experience to offer tangible guidance to start-ups and entrepreneurs, bringing new blood into the eco-system and as a result helping to fuel innovation.
XR influencers have had a huge role in the growth of the industry, but what can the industry do to help them on their mission to bring XR to the masses? And what innovative features can developers provide influencers to help them grab the attention of their viewers? It would appear that no one is currently doing more to support than Oculus, who has been providing early access to hardware and experiences, but what can smaller development teams do to help?
NYC Bungee. Image credit: Blackwall Labs
Speaking with Cas of “Cas and Chary” there are ways for smaller organisations to provide support. Cas explained during a recent interview the pitfalls and challenges of capturing VR content, the most significant of which being the need for the creator to keep their head still as much as possible, to ensure the content being recorded is clear for their audience. However, if developers made a conscious effort to keep creators in mind whilst developing, these pitfalls could be a thing of the past.
Recently, here at Blackwall Labs,we have undergone early development on a new title Dead Quiet. Realising the importance and symbiotic relationship between developers and influencers, we wanted to build a suite of features to not only help influencers capture footage but also give them new ways of interacting with their audience.
In Dead Quiet (coming 2021) we have implemented camera stabilisation techniques to give creators more freedom when recording content. Alongside tools to make their lives easier, we also wanted to give their viewers new ways of interacting with the videogame, even if they don’t own a VR set up themselves. In Dead Quiet viewers and spectators will have access to information that the player doesn’t, allowing them to help or sabotage, adding a new level of engagement and audience participation.
With VR getting closer to the fabled goal of “The Oasis” with each passing year, I’m excited to see what innovations will be utilised by XR influencers in 2021.
As part of VRFocus’ current Better-Than-Reality-Awards, each category features an industry ambassador to delve into a particular aspect of their subject. Today, Apex Construct developer Fast Travel Games discusses location-based entertainment (LBE) VR gaming. Of course, don’t forget to cast your vote in TheBetter-Than-Reality-Awardsnow.
LBE virtual reality (VR) is an experience taking place within simulated environments, which operate in a specific location like theme parks, arcades, entertainment centres, and even movie theatres. While home VR gaming already offers highly immersive experiences, LBE VR raises the bar by offering streamlined options to play with a group of friends in the same physical location, allowing you to use your whole body while engaging with the content and often provides an unmatched level of graphical fidelity to further boost the quality perception.
Wraith: The Oblivion – Afterlife | Fast Travel Games
Alongside home VR gaming, the LBR VR industry grew rapidly from 2016 onward. According to Greenlight Insights, which focuses on augmented and virtual reality market research, the LBE VR market amounted to $3.6 billion with a growth rate of 44% worldwide in 2019. This year, LBE VR was in a position to quite literally “explode”: Greenlight initially estimated that the market would grow to a $34.6 billion business, almost a x10 increase vs the year prior which would have been a fantastic performance for such a relatively young industry.
However, just like with cinemas and sport arenas, the situation with COVID-19 has massively impacted LBE VR companies in 2020. Not only completely halting the expected growth, but the impact the virus has had on our behaviour in regards to crowd gatherings and health precautions has also led to many LBE VR companies shifting focus towards home VR entertainment or completely new business areas. “We went from a relatively healthy business to zero revenue”, SandboxVE CEO Steve Zhao said in June this year. “We have to rethink our strategy.”
The Void is considered to be one of the most prominent companies in the LBE VR industry today. Operating since 2015 and running VR centres in North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East, The Void is known world-wide for their LBE VR experiences based on popular franchises like Ghostbusters and Star Wars. Still closed due to the coronavirus, on the official website you can now read: “COVID-19 is affecting all of us – as employees, travellers and communities – in a constantly evolving environment and in unprecedented ways. As a result, our terminals are remaining closed for everybody’s safety and to support our local health officials and government leaders.”
Most businesses, not only LBR VR, are affected negatively whenever there is a high level of uncertainty on the market and it is safe to say that COVID-19 has brought a kind of uncertainty we have rarely seen before, changing our everyday lives and how we go about the most mundane of tasks – like going to the food store or greeting someone on the street. I for one hope for a day when LBE VR can pick itself up again and keep building on the already impressive experiences offered. All the nominees in the ‘Best LBE Experience’ category have brought highly immersive content to life in an industry currently suffering badly. Given this, they are all winners in my book.
As part of the VRFocus Awards – the largest ever survey on the VR/AR market -, VRDays Europe has been chosen to be the ambassador of one of the categories: ‘Global Impact Award’. Even more this year, VRDays tackles the future of XR and how immersive tech shapes the world of tomorrow.
VRFocus introduces the ‘Better-Than-Reality Awards’
Have you always wanted to bring a VR/AR experience to light? VRFocus is giving you the opportunity to speak out! The virtual reality specialist website created the VRFocus Awards, the largest ever survey on the VR/AR market. “No judges, no committees, no bullsh*t”. Users have got the power.
Best game, most promising startups, top influencer, favourite hardware… Altogether, 6 awards will be delivered. VRFocus asks its readers to vote for the best XR content of the year 2020. No industry professionals will be selected for the final vote. It’s up to us! VRFocus has listed nominations, but also offers the possibility to fill in an open entry section. This is the time to promote new projects and companies.
VRDays Europe – ambassador of Global Impact Award
In order to help promote the awards, VRFocus has chosen a selection of industry ambassadors for each category, encouraging “their VR fans to make their voices heard”. VRDays is one of the lucky ones! The XR international event from Amsterdam is the official ambassador of the Global Impact Award.
For six years now, VRDays has been about: Business, Science and Art. But this year is special, and VRDays wants to make a difference. For its 6th edition, VRDays is exploring new horizons and taking up emerging challenges. This year, VRDays is about how immersive technologies are shaping the world of tomorrow. How can they help build a better future?
From environmental to social, XR tackles global issues the society is facing today. More and more, immersive technologies are used for sensibilization. Showing the past, present and future as a way to open people’s minds and find solutions to preserve the beauty and uniqueness of our world. XR is a powerful tool to tell meaningful stories.
Shaping the world of tomorrow
This year, more than ever, VRDays Europe wants to show how much immersive technology can make a difference. From November 4th to 6th, visionary XR experts will discuss how virtual reality has an important impact today and is becoming a valuable tool to build new perspectives for our future. Together, let’s explore new horizons – at the most immersive event of 2020.
VR inspired videogames have come a long way since the 1990s with today’s games becoming more engaging with massive improvements in quality and the way we play them. VR games like Five Nights at Freddy’s VR: Help Wanted, a horror-based title, and Pistol Whip, a rhythm-action first-person-shooter (FPS) are both exhilarating and fun.
Through my experience, I have come to gain a better understanding regarding which game genres are most interesting to put into VR. Game genres that require player physicality and immersion like horror, action-rhythm, fitness, or puzzles games are really emphasizing the excitement of the experience. Personally, I am most interested in seeing more games that have great storytelling like adventure titles. In Japan, VR games have been on the rise. The other day Facebook Connect mentioned that Japan is one of the biggest VR game markets. Every day there are VR games developed in Japan being released or launched for Oculus Quest 2 by Oculus.
So… how can foreign games be accepted by the Japanese?
In the past, there haven’t been many videogames developed outside of Japan that were localized for the Japanese market, but since the release of Oculus Quest last year there has been a significant increase in foreign games adapted for the Japanese market. Most Japanese are not proficient in English, so it is extremely vital for games sold in Japan to be well localized.
In addition to language, there are other somewhat unusual characteristics that are also important. Japanese people prefer VR games to have a “unique” and “well-developed” worldview with captivating characters. This may be an aspect that is slightly different and unique from Western interests. This difference is partly due to how the Japanese understand VR.
To many Japanese, VR is a type of “supported reality”. In other words, VR to many Japanese people is not a complete creation of a virtualized reality, but instead, an extended or supported reality. Japan has a unique culture of anime, manga, and games. For many Japanese, this unique culture is an escape to an imaginary world where you can become anything or anyone.
In Europe and America, it is common to see avatars that resemble the creator’s real-life self, however, in Japan, it is more common to see avatars that are quite different in shape and attributes from their creators. This may be because Western countries view VR as a real-life simulator whereas Japanese people use VR to become something different from their real-life selves.
Ready Player One’s Oasis is close to what Japanese people want in VR. Many people are motivated to play games because they can use their own unique avatar. The well-known Beat Saber VR rhythm game became popular by spreading MR-like play videos on social networking sites, but in Japan, the number of videos of avatars playing on social networking sites is far greater than the number of videos of real people playing a game.
I am excited about the future of VR games and I look forward to seeing more Japanese and foreign games becoming popular in Japan.
