Category: vrwerx

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The VR Job Hub: Vacancies From Phaser Lock, Force Field & VRWERX

As the virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) industries continue to grow so do the opportunities to get involved if you have the right skills. Today’s job list features some of the leading innovators in the field, looking for new applicants to help create the next big immersive experience.

Location Company Role Link
Los Angeles, CA VRWERX UE4 Gameplay Programmer Click Here to Apply
Los Angeles, CA VRWERX UE4 Game Designer Click Here to Apply
Los Angeles, CA VRWERX 3D Environment Artist Click Here to Apply
Los Angeles, CA VRWERX 3d Character Artist Click Here to Apply
Los Angeles, CA VRWERX 3D Animator Click Here to Apply
Los Angeles, CA VRWERX Community Manager Click Here to Apply
Austin, TX Phaser Lock Interactive AI/Gameplay Programmer Click Here to Apply
Austin, TX Phaser Lock Interactive Software Engineer Click Here to Apply
Austin, TX Phaser Lock Interactive Network Engineer Click Here to Apply
Amsterdam, Netherlands Force Field VR Producer Click Here to Apply
Amsterdam, Netherlands Force Field VR Senior Producer Click Here to Apply
Amsterdam, Netherlands Force Field VR Creative Department Manager Click Here to Apply
Amsterdam, Netherlands Force Field VR Senior Technical Artist Click Here to Apply
Amsterdam, Netherlands Force Field VR Systems Administrator Click Here to Apply
Amsterdam, Netherlands Force Field VR Senior 3D Artist Click Here to Apply
Amsterdam, Netherlands Force Field VR Lead Programmer Click Here to Apply

Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hub to check as well.

If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).

We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.

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A Mission: Impossible VR Experience is Coming to VR Arcades in 2019

With virtual reality (VR) able to blur the line between films and immersive entertainment it’s no wonder that movie studios have been promoting their franchises with VR. Paramount Pictures did this way back in 2015 for the launch of Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation. This proved to be popular because last year Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul developer VRWERX announced it was working on a new experience based on the Mission: Impossible franchise. Today, location-based entertainment company Nomadic has confirmed its role in the project.

With VRWERX now collaborating with Nomadic on the VR experience they will co-develop a location-based tactile walkaround multiplayer VR videogame which will make use of Nomadic’s untethered system. As for the standard title VRWERX had been working on for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR that’s still taking place, with the location-based experience looking to compliment the home consumer version.

“Introducing the Nomadic and VRWERX tactile Mission: Impossible VR walk-around experience marks the next generation of location-based entertainment,” said Doug Griffin, CEO and founder of Nomadic. “We’re thrilled to work with VRWERX and Paramount to bring this beloved franchise to a new form of entertainment.”

Actual details on the gameplay and what it looks like haven’t been revealed just yet, just that the title will be based on the franchise – rather than one particular movie – and that ‘participants will experience the legendary film series like never before.’ So the likelihood is that you might not be playing Tom Cruise’s character Ethan Hunt, more an agent of the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) sent out on secret missions.

“We’re excited to work with the fantastic Nomadic team to bring our Mission: Impossible VR game to their revolutionary platform”, said Alex Barder, VRWERX Co-Managing Partner. “With Nomadic, we’ll not only enable the audience to be immersed in the Mission: Impossible world, they will also be able to touch and play inside of it, heightening their immersion to levels we’ve never seen before.”

The Mission Impossible VR experience will debut in Orlando in Spring 2019, joining Nomadic’s first project Arizona Sunshine: Contagion Z. For further updates on the project, keep reading VRFocus.

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Location-Based Mission Impossible VR Experience Coming In 2019

Location-Based Mission Impossible VR Experience Coming In 2019

“Your mission, should you choose to accept it,” are words I’ve wanted to hear spoken to me through the earpieces of a VR headset ever since the Oculus Rift Kickstarter first got funded. I’m a big fan of Ethan Hunt’s adventures in the Mission Impossible franchise of films and was delighted to learn that Nomadic, the creators of this incredible Arizona Sunshine location-based experience, are teaming up with VRWERX, the developers of Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul, to make it a VR-reality. In fact, this appears to be the same Mission Impossible VR game they announced over a year ago.

What makes Nomadic’s installations so amazing compared to other location-based experiences I’ve tried is just how interactive they are. Sure, you can carry a gun in Sandbox VR, or push some buttons in The Void, but with Nomadic the entire installation itself is mapped to the VR environment. I was opening drawers, walking across planks, hanging onto chain linked fences, and riding a moving, vibrating helicopter. They truly know how to make the virtual a reality.

To be clear, this is old test footage. The actual experience and sets are far more elaborate now.

Combine that with the game development talent of VRWERX, who really brought the Paranormal Activity IP to life in VR, and that’s a recipe for something special.

To be clear we have not seen this VR experience for ourselves and we have no idea whether or not it lives up to expectations, but the potential for a high-quality escape room meets VR game is so perfect with this property it seems like a match made in VR heaven.

According to a press release from a company representative:

“Visitors can expect to literally step into the virtual shoes of an agent of the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) and feel exactly what it would be like to go on a secret mission… The new Mission Impossible experience is set to open early next year and will allow players to reach out and feel their way around various locations that tie back into what they are seeing through their headsets.”

That’s about all we know so far, but this is definitely exciting news. In the meantime, I highly recommend checking out Nomadic’s debut location in Orlando to try their amazing cooperative Arizona Sunshine experience if you can. At the very least this news should tide us over until we find out more about Defector and Blood & Truth.

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Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul Coming to PlayStation VR Next Month

VRWERX has announced that the forthcoming PlayStation VR edition of Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul will launch next month. Having launched via Steam Early Access back in March, VRWERX assured PlayStation 4 gamers that the title would see a release for their preferred head-mounted display (HMD) before the summer’s end, and has stayed true to that promise.

Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul is a virtual reality (VR) exclusive horror experience based on the hugely popular Paranormal Activity motion-picture series. Armed with only a flashlight, the player must explore what appears to be an average looking suburban home in a woodsy American neighborhood. Before long, you’ll discover you’re not alone as you unravel the mystery of what’s gone on in this house; then it’s a struggle to survive the terror that begins to hunt you.

Alongside the launch of the PlayStation VR version will be the release of a new update for the Steam edition. In a post on the official Steam Store page for Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul, VRWERX stated: “Thanks all for your patience. we have been actively optimizing the game and chasing down and killing bugs. We will release a new update on August 15th which should resolve the nvidia driver headache, and the game will also be more optimized so hopefully the game will play better for those who are just below our recommended min spec. we also added a few game modes for you. anyway, good stuff coming soon. [sic]”

Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul will launch on the PlayStation Store on 15th August 2017, with the PC update arriving via Steam on the same day. You can see VRFocus’ Nina getting to grips with the ghouls in Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul in the video below.

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Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul To Hit PlayStation VR This Summer

Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul has been in development since 2015, finally getting a Steam Early Access Release for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift in March 2017. Fans have been awaiting news of the expected PlayStation VR release for some time, and developers VRWERX have said on Twitter that PlayStation VR owners should expect a Summer 2017 release.

The early announcement regarding Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul indicated that a version would be coming to the PlayStation VR (then still referred to as Project Morpheus). Since them, the title has appeared in Early Access form on Steam for HTC vive and Oculus Rift, but there was no word on when the PlayStation VR release would be expected. A Twitter announcement by VRWERX, the developers behind the title, seems to suggest that the PlayStation VR version is still on its way.

The official Twitter for Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul tweeted today “We, Including @playstation are working hard to get you the release date. We promise, Summer will not pass before you get to play.”

The tweet seems to suggest that there have been some difficulties in getting the title on the PlayStation VR. Some fans were not impressed with the vague nature of the announcement, with one Twitter user commenting: “You’ve been saying soon since January when you shouldn’t have said anything ‘til you had a firm date.”

Other Twitter users were enthusiastic to receive any news and were hopeful that the title would indeed be appearing soon on the PlayStation Store.

VRFocus will bring you further information on Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul as it becomes available.

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Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul Could be Hitting Oculus Store This Week

The horror genre has found a natural home on virtual reality (VR) headsets, with the immersion they provide ramping up the scare factor of videogames. One of the most popular is VRWERX’s Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul, a Steam Early Access title that supports Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. While most Oculus Rift users likely do use Steam there will be some that only go through Oculus Store, limiting their access to Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul, but that’s set to change soon.

On Steam’s discussion thread for the title VRWERX has revealed Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul is likely to appear on Oculus Store this week, if all goes to plan. Back in April the team said: “We are working on getting up on Oculus store. Oculus has specific requirements for us to put it up there and we are implementing them currently.” Followed by: “We are releasing on the oculus store with the next update, which is coming very soon.”

Paranormal Activity The Lost Soul - Kitchen

When quizzed this week on an update to the Oculus Store launch the studio commented: “Waiting on Oculus. hopefully this week.”

While Steam VR titles do work on Oculus Rift having them on the headsets own store can make for a smoother experience and certainly opens up the chances for more players to dive in.

Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul has been in the works since 2015. The videogame isn’t based on any one of the films previously released, it’s simply set in the franchise’s universe. Armed with a torch, players need to explore an average looking home and uncover the mystery and horror that’s befallen this place.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul, reporting back with the latest updates to the title.

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HTC Vive Celebrates its First Anniversary, VR Studios Give Their Reactions

Another week and another anniversary, this time its HTC Vive’s. To celebrate its first birthday the company has rolled out several promotions, giving away Arcade Saga for free, dropping the price of the headset, and launching the Viveport Subscription Service. But what has this first year meant for developers and where do they see the next 12 months heading? VRFocus caught up with some studio’s to get their reactions.

HTC Vive was the first headset to allow users to physically walk around in a virtual world, which was a big draw for many studios including Waltz of the Wizard developer Aldin Dynamics. Hrafn Thorri Thorisson, Aldin’s CEO said : “At the time Vive debuted, no platform was able to deliver full freedom of movement and hand tracking. Those capabilities are vital in letting you move and act as in reality, paving the way towards mainstream adoption by making the user experience more powerful and intuitive. It were the system capabilities that we at Aldin had been waiting for since we got into VR in 2013.

“HTC and Valve have been a powerful force in pushing this industry forward and they play a large role in making us more excited than ever about where things are headed. Virtual reality is a medium that will be constantly evolving for decades to come and their approach to fostering collaboration and an open platform is driving the industry forward at a faster rate than otherwise possible. We fully expect motion controllers and roomscale to remain the most powerful form of VR, and we’re starting to see the rest of the industry align with that philosophy.”

While VRUnicorns Julie Heyde also spoke highly of HTC Vive’s roomscale capabilities: “Us VRUnicorns love how the Vive and roomscale set-up in general added so much more to VR than other devices. We are game jammers and want to push games to the fullest, interact with everything in our games and give our players the best VR experience possible without too many hardware constraints. Because in VR you want to be able to do whatever you want. And that freedom will grow as the future generations of VR become better on every front: more high fidelity tracking, more feedback, more interactivity, better graphics. And we think that this can be best supported through smart, ambitious choices, not compromise.”

Steve Bowler, President, CloudGate Studio, creators of Island 359 and avid Vive Tracker enthusiasts had this to say: “We at CloudGate obviously were blown away with the incredible potential of the Vive when we first put our hands on the developer kits; enough to quit our jobs and form our own company so we could pursue room scale VR full time. As we enter Year 2 of consumer VR, we’re incredibly excited that we get to work with an incredible partner like HTC. The Trackers are going to open up new horizons we didn’t even know were possible and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for VR! Happy Birthday, Vive!”

“Like many new content platforms, it starts with experimentation such as passion projects and short experiences. Once there is consumer adoption we begin to see growth and monetization. We’re already seeing an ancillary VR marketplace which includes accessories for shooter type games, wireless adapters for cordless play, skins for HMD’s etc. It’s exactly this kind of commitment that drives the innovation and brings VR mainstream,” Russell Naftal, Co-Managing Partner at VRWERX replied. “Regarding the HTC Vive team, they have been extremely active lately, from investments in third party developers to subscription gaming, and more recently, distribution with the launch of Viveport. One thing for sure, HTC Vive absolutely believes in the future of VR.”

HTC_VIVE_VR_Birthday_VIVE_DAY_eheader-LOGOCarsten Boserup, Community Manager at Racket: Nx developer One Hamsa sees the platform as the perfect way to enjoy sports, and wireless high-end VR is the next step. “My eyes have been widely open to the fact that VR Sport is here and it is growing fast. People who don’t have much spare time and who have to chose between going to the gym or play games, are now burning calories and getting their heart beating, in their own living room while playing VR sports games,” effused Boserup. “You can already enjoy VR Sport games in full 360 on the HTC Vive. Though, when the wireless HTC Vive arrives, it’ll change sports and how we exercise today, dramatically… in a good way!”

The consumer VR space is incredibly exciting right now,” said Simon Windsor, Joint MD, (Co-founder) Hammerhead VR. “As an immersive content studio producing consumer titles we’re feeling good about early market growth and have high expectations for the coming year. We’re looking forward to the release of more diverse, premium quality titles from indies and established studios alike, which we see further fuelling consumer interest and adoption. In particular the fast growing VR arcade market, which Vive is a huge proponent of, will unleash some very cool, ultra-quality experiences to excite consumers.

These early days of consumer VR have lead to a lot of experimentation within the community, but with some companies eager to get on board this has also meant quite a few similar titles. But this will expand and the quality will further improve expects Denny Unger, CEO and Creative Director, Cloudhead Games.

“At launch there was a push to establish best practices which gave everyone a base level to develop towards. Since then we’ve seen further experimentation, far too many wave shooters, late attempts at longer format AAA-like experiences, and Hollywood desperately trying to wrap its head around what it all means for their industry,” said Unger. “I think that the next wave of development will continue to be content focused but with a push towards polished games, tools/training, as well as Hollywood taking a much deeper dive. In Asia at least, the industry will likely attempt to balance out a slow growth home market with location based multiplayer experiences, while in North America we will be purely content fixated.

“Beyond the next year the market is going to slowly become a very competitive place and we may start seeing some homogony in terms of platform. Hardware will improve and prices will shift. That will signal a tipping point for the industry and that’s when things get really interesting.”

Do you agree with the devs? Or do you see HTC Vive and VR going in a different direction? What do you hope will happen in the next 12 months? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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VRWERX And Paramount Announce Mission: Impossible VR Game

Paramount Pictures and game developer VRWERX today announced that they are working on a virtual reality (VR) game inspired by popular spy film franchise Mission: Impossible.

VRWERX are the developer behind VR game Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul, which is based on another Paramount movie franchise. VRWERX say that the new Mission: Impossible game will be an original story inspired by the movies. The game is set to be available on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR.

mission-impossible-tom-cruise

“We love Mission: Impossible. We’re extraordinarily excited to enable audiences to experience first hand the thrill of being an IMF agent in this high-tech, adrenaline-charged universe,” said Alex Barder, VRWERX Co-Managing Partner. “In addition to strategic gameplay, our proprietary movement system enables us to innovate running, climbing, fighting, and many other impossible stunts the fabled franchise inspires.”

“Virtual Reality is the perfect platform to offer fans a truly immersive experience of being part of the exciting Mission: Impossible franchise,” added LeeAnne Stables, President of Worldwide Licensing for Paramount Pictures. “Like Paranormal Activity, this VRWERX Mission: Impossible game will be a fully-interactive VR game and we know consumers will love the premise of playing as a smart and daring Mission IMF agent.”

If you want to take a look at some of VRWERX other work, you can see our coverage of it’s other Paramount franchise game Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul. VRFocus will continue to follow VRWERX’s partnership with Paramount.

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Mission: Impossible VR Game Announced For PSVR, Rift and Vive From Paranormal Activity Devs

Mission: Impossible VR Game Announced For PSVR, Rift and Vive From Paranormal Activity Devs

Videogame tie-ins to movies are usually pretty bad, but LA-based VRWERX is hoping the same isn’t true for VR tie-ins; the company has just announced a new VR game based on the Mission: Impossible franchise.

This is the second movie-based VR experience from the studio, the first being the upcoming Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul. As with that experience, the Mission: Impossible game will tell an original story inspired by the action film series that stars Tom Cruise as elite agent Ethan Hunt. An official name has not been revealed.

There’s little else to go on right now, though VRWERX co-managing partner Alex Barder did state the game would cast players as an IMF (Impossible Mission Force) agent. It’s set to feature “strategic gameplay” with the team’s “proprietary movement system” which apparently allows players to run, climb, fight and perform the kind of stunts you’d expect to see from one of the movies.

It’s going to be very interesting to see how the movement system works, as the series’ fast-paced action doesn’t necessary seem suited to a comfortable VR experience. Still, we’d love to experience some of the iconic set pieces, like danging from a wire as we hack a government computer, or climbing one of the tallest buildings in the world with nothing but a pair of gloves, in VR.

It’s probably not a coincidence that this announcement comes around the same time as a sixth Mission: Impossible movie starts to ramp up production. It’s not the first time the series has mixed with VR; a promotional experience was created for 2015’s Rogue Nation, attaching users to the side of a plane.

Mission: Impossible VR is coming to the HTC Vive, PlayStation VR and Oculus Rift. We haven’t heard a release date yet, although Paranormal Activity VR is set to release on Rift and Vive in Early Access form on March 14th, with a PlayStation VR launch coming later down the line. We got hands-on with the game at GDC this year and found a promising horror title that will try to scare players in different ways depending on how they react.

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Paranormal Activity VR Won’t Scare You The Same Way Twice, Now Available in Steam Early Access

GDC 2017: Paranormal Activity VR Won’t Scare You The Same Way Twice, Learns Your Fears

Update: Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul is now available in Steam Early Access for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift at the price of $39.99 with a 15% launch discount. The current edition of the game can be played entirely from start to finish, but the fully launched version, which is planned in a few more months, will include “more randomized scares, improved textures, improved AI, more hidden items, improved animations, improved object interactions, improved lighting and much more.” A PSVR release will follow the full launch later this year. The headline of this story was also updated to reflect the released status.

Original: Last year at GDC, I saw someone rip off their Vive headset and throw it across an entire demo booth. She was cowering in fear, on the verge of tears, ready to run out of the Moscone Convention Center. This year at GDC the responses weren’t as extreme because the demo was far more reserved, but the quality of the immersion and atmosphere still rang true.

Paranormal Activity: The Lost Soul (aka Paranormal Activity VR) is a slow-paced first-person exploration survival horror game. As opposed to Resident Evil 7 [Review: 9/10] which asks you to unload shotgun shells and flame throwers on creepy monsters, Paranormal Activity isn’t going to give you any guns or weapons. Instead, it’s going to slowly haunt you, scare you, and make you want to rip the headset off and run far, far away.

During my demo at GDC this year, I began in a situation quite similar to many horror movies or video games: completely surrounded by darkness. I looked down and noticed a flashlight in my hand, so I pressed one of the face buttons of the Oculus Touch controllers to click the light on. Once I inspected my surroundings a bit I could tell I was standing at the top of a staircase. After a few steps an invisible force ripped the flashlight from my hand,  giving way to a bit of a jump on my part.

I tried to find the flashlight on the ground, but had no luck, so I just rounded the corner into a room that looked like an altar of some kind. There were creepy, bloody, demonic markings all over the ground with candles flickering. Past the altar was a pedestal with a book that outlined a ritual. I had to burn a specific piece of paper, then place coins in their corresponding locations. Thus began a mini scavenger hunt.

The piece of paper was easy to find, but the coins were scattered around the room. Once the animation was triggered, things started to feel different around me, which seems odd to say since I couldn’t actually feel the air and environment around me at all — but in VR, your mind plays tricks on you. Those tricks are exactly what the developers are trying to toy with here.

A small girl emerges from a hole in the wall over in the corner, requiring me to literally get down on my hands and knees to crawl into the space and retrieve a flashlight. With a quick button press I flip it over to a UV light and notice a cryptic message scrawled on the ground. Then as I turn to look over my shoulder I notice a woman entering the room. Her skin is overly wrinkly and her voice is frantic. She threatens me with harsh words, then ascends the stairs back out of the room. Naturally, my demo attendee tells me that I should follow her. I don’t want to.

After a few steps up the stairs I can feel my muscles tensing up, palms sweating, and teeth clenching. A jump scare is coming; I know it is. And sure enough, as I round a corner on the stairs the woman emerges once again to nearly make me drop the controllers. Even when you know they’re coming, jump scares in VR can still startle you to the bone.

After my demo, Alex Barder and Russell Naftal at VRWerx explained to me some of the design ideas that went into the game’s creation. First and foremost, they wanted to focus on crafting a large, explorable game space (a multi-level house with several floors, an attic, and a basement) that could combine together for a 10+ hour narrative. That sets it up as one of, if not the, longest purely VR titles to date if the length estimate holds true.

A big part of the design is also how they’ve crafted a randomized system to startle players as they explore the house. When I enter a bedroom, a lamp might fall off a table and shatter, but for someone else that might not happen at all. For them, a book might fly off of a shelf an hour later in the game that I never get to see. This makes sure that it feels like a more organic and intimate experience for each player.

Paranormal Activity VR is set to release in Early Access for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive very soon on March 14th, with a full launch on both platforms, plus Sony’s PlayStation VR (PSVR) shortly after. Pricing is still up in the air, but they’ve assured that it will feel like a fair price.

And if you love getting your horror fix, check out this list of other upcoming horror games to keep an eye on this year!

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