XR Connects London – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

January 23, 2018

XR Connects London – A Roundup of the two day Event

It’s not just the major international events like CES 2018 that draws VRFocus’ writers out of their bunkers and into the light. There are plenty of smaller conferences and shows taking place right here at home in the UK, one such event being held in London this week is XR Connects, bringing professionals together from across the immersive technology scene. Running over the course of Monday and Tuesday, VRFocus’ roving reporter Nina has put together a short video showcasing some of the best bits from XR Connects London.

Organised by Pocket Gamer, XR Connects focusses on everything to do with virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR), whether that’s hardware manufacturing, videogame development, entertainment, education, investment or media.

Speakers included the likes of Tommy Palm, CEO, Resolution Games; Dan Tucker, VR Producer at the BBC; Masaru Ohnogi of gumi; Tanya Laird of Digital Jam, Chris Donahue of AMD, Samantha Kingston, Virtual Umbralla founder, Faviana Vangelius SVRVIVE CEO and Sam Watts, Director of Immersive Technologies at Make Real. The latter of which announced a new videogame whilst at the event, Pastime for Pirates, a swashbuckling mini-game experience for up to four players.

XR Connects isn’t just about industry professionals waffling on about how awesome VR is and the rest. Attendees also got the chance to play some awesome titles on the expo floor, featuring indie teams from around the country. Videogames like Make Real’s Loco Dojo, Hyper VR Party Ware by Shuttershade Studios and Truck Simulator.

As with any event featuring VR and AR, VRFocus will always endeavour to bring you the latest news and updates.

January 23, 2018

Make [Real] Announce new VR Videogame Pastimes for Pirates at XR Connects

Make [Real] are likely a familiar name to VRFocus readers. They created virtual reality (VR) videogame Loco Dojo and are a regular fixture around the VR scene in Britain. Sam Watts, Director of Immersive Technologies at Make [Real], has been heavily involved with VR in Brighton thanks to VRlab; as well as helping Roto VR allow developers to integrate native support and control over the VR chair’s motion directly into VR apps. Since then Make [Real] have also been creating various training simulations, as seen at the Great British VR event last year. They’ve also been supporting Immersive VR Education to bring their experience Apollo 11 to Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream from the Oculus Rift. VRFocus spoke with Watts about a new project for the studio – their new VR title Pastimes for Pirates at XR Connects, London.

Makereal_Pastimes_for_Pirates — All images and footage of Pastime for Pirates are placeholder art at this time.

So, you’re a pirate – swashbuckling merrily away on the seven seas. People hear tales of your escapades but only the parts where you’re boarding boats and plundering foreign lands. But what happens when you’re just trying to go from point A to point B? Well, besides the risk of getting scurvy, it’s all fun and games it turns out. Pastime for Pirates immerses you into that world of pirating (not the scurvy part) and re-invents it into a completely functioning pirate galleon, which you can fully explore in VR. You can either play online or offline, explore distinct areas of the ship and play various pub like games with friends or AI crewmates.

Taking a satirical twist on the ever-popular theme of pirating, Pastime for Pirates will give players a social space to explore and play in. Various mini-games exist on different parts of the ship. You’ll be able to throw darts, play a game of shuffleboard, skittles, try some knife or axe throwing and challenge your friends. Not only will you hear the ocean and the evil cackle of crewmates as they challenge you, but you can also just choose to just enjoy the ocean view.

Winning the mini-games you’ll be able to rack up various achievements and wealth, enabling you to spend on fancy, customisable wardrobe attire for your pirate avatar from hats and buckles to wooden legs. Pastime for Pirates will make use of 6DoF tracking motion controllers, a vibrant graphical style and plenty of seafaring sound effects.

To find out more watch the video below.

January 10, 2018

Tickets For XR Connects London Now Available

For those who are part of the immersive technology scene, or who wish to become more involved with it, getting to attend the right industry events is important, in order to meet the people who can help move your project along. One such event is taking place later this month, and tickets are now on sale.

XR Connects London is part of a larger family of technology and videogaming events that helps inform and inspire attendees who are interested in the areas of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR).

The event will bring over 500 delegates from all over the world and various branches of the immersive technology industry for a two-day expo and conference that focusses on the hardware manufacturing, videogame development, entertainment and education, investors and media. Four tracks are planned, covering areas of interest and concern such as global trends, technical and design challenges, future technologies, monetisation, business strategies, case studies and more.

Featured speakers lined up for the event include Dan Tucker, VR Producer at the BBC, Masaru Ohnogi of gumi, Tanya Laird of Digital Jam, Chris Donahue of AMD, Rhianna Pratchett, Faviana Vangelius SVRVIVE CEO and others. Also featured at the event will be the ‘Pitch and Match’ meeting system to help delegates plan meetings and make the right connections, and dedicated pitching events such as the XR Indie Pitch.

Over sixty speakers are planned for the two day event, which is planned to take place on 22nd-23rd January, 2018 at The Brewery, a respected event venue located in the City of London and the location of many other successful events from the XR connects organisers.

Further information and tickets can be found on the XR Connects London website. VRFocus will continue to bring you news on this event and other VR-dedicated events.