The 8th annual Lumiere Awards has taken place and as VRFocusreported in January it featured 11 virtual reality (VR) categories. The winners have now been announced with several familiar experiences taking the top prizes.
Hosted by The Advanced Imaging Society and The VR Society, the awards featured several honourable mentions with filmmaker and VR creator, Jon Favreau, awarded the Society’s Harold Lloyd Award. HTC Vive’s Cher Wang was selected for the Sir Charles Wheatstone Award for exemplifying exceptional forward movement in the VR Sciences. Her award was presented by AIS-VR Society President Jim Chabin and actress Maria Bello. And Google Earth VR was presented the Century Award by Ed Begley Jr. for VR in service of environmental enrichment.
The full rundown of award winners were:
Best VR Experience: Google Tilt Brush
Best VR Film Experience: Ghostbusters VR Experience (Sony Pictures Entertainment/THE VOID)
Best VR Animation & CGI: Dear Angelica (Oculus Story Studio)
Best Episodic Content (360-degree): Invisible (Doug Limon/30 Ninjas/Conde Nast/Jaunt VR/Samsung)
Best Live Action (360-degree): Nomads: Sea Gypsies (Felix & Paul Studios)
Best VR Documentary: The Click Effect (Annapurna Pictures/Here Be Dragons)
Best VR Journalism: Take Flight (New York Times)
Best VR Sports Experience: Follow My Lead: The Story of the 2016 NBA Finals (Oculus & M ss ng P eces)
Best VR Music Experience: Joshua Bell VR (Sony PlayStation)
Best VR Advertising/Branded Content: 360 Tour of the Shinola Factory with Luke Wilson (Reel FX)
Working out exactly where Nintendo stands on VR can be difficult, especially when one of its most prolific employees makes statements like this.
Shigeru Miyamoto, the beloved videogame designer behind series like Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda, was recently asked for his updated thoughts on VR technology by Time. He told the publication that, in terms of playing VR online, “I think a lot of the problems have been solved or are starting to be solved.” He confirmed that the company was looking into this use of the technology.
That initially seems to be an encouraging step forward from the man that previously said VR wouldn’t allow families to play together, but Miyamoto then cast doubt on how parents might view the tech. “But when I see people play virtual reality, it makes me worry,” he said, “just as for example if a parent were to see their kid playing virtual reality, it would probably make them worry.”
Nintendo has expressed concerns with how isolating VR can be before. This is a company that, in recent years, has become known for experiences like Wii Sports and, going back further, the Mario Kart series. Those are games that have people of all ages gather around the TV to play together. Clearly, Nintendo is having difficulty envisioning VR playing a big part in that style of game.
“Another issue and challenge that I think everybody faces is how to create an experience that’s both short enough while also fully fleshed out in virtual reality,” Miyamoto concluded.
Despite these concerns, we may well see some sort of VR support on Nintendo’s latest console, the Switch, set for release in a little over two week’s time on March 3rd. Earlier this month company President Tatsumi Kimishima said that it could bring VR support to the system if it could solve the tech’s comfort issues. Exactly how that device would work — Switch is a console/handheld hybrid that is less powerful than a PlayStation 4 — remains to be seen, but it’s one of VR’s most interesting questions right now.
One of Europe’s most popular developer conferences, Develop:Brighton, will be returning in July, set to attract scores of videogame professionals from around the world. For the conference’s 12th year organiser Tandem Events has now open submissions for speakers whilst streamlining the number of tracks and added new elements to the submissions process.
Speakers interested in attending are invited to submit sessions for the following six tracks – Art; Audio; Business; Coding; Design and Indie – which take place across 12 – 13 July, or Evolve, a one day track focused on the future of games development running on Tuesday 11 July.
Anyone interested in submitting a session will now need to provide two new pieces of material on top of the previous submissions process. Firstly, prospective speakers must provide a two-minute video of themselves talking about their proposed session, why people should attend and what they’ll get out of it. Secondly, all submissions must include a 140-character mini description that would grab the attention of attendees on the conference’s website or Twitter.
“Develop:Brighton 2016 was hugely popular and successful but we want to make 2017 even better,” commented Andy Lane, managing director, Tandem Events. “We’re constantly striving to make sure that the whole experience improves each year for all attendees and speakers. This year we’re concentrating the number of tracks down to just six, so it’s easier for developers to focus on the topics that really matter to them. By doing it this way, it’ll be clearer for delegates to discover the content that’s most relevant to them.
“There’s such a wealth of talent & creativity out there that if you’ve got a topic that you want to share with your fellow developers, we’d love to hear from you. So, if you’re willing to offer inspiration, share best practice or offer practical guidance, please get in touch. And by distilling the talks down to those all-important 140 characters and 2-minute clip, we’ll be able to give our attendees a really clear insight into what each talk is all about.”
Develop:Brighton 2016 featured plenty of virtual reality (VR) with the likes of HTC, Oculus and Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) all hosting demos. VR talks were held by some of the biggest names in the industry including: Unity, Fierce Kaiju, Force Field VR, Google, Coatsink, Hammerhead VR, Valve, nDreams, Bossa Studios and many more.
As the event draws closer and speakers are revealed VRFocus will bring you the latest updates.
With precious few new PlayStation VR (PSVR) games so far in 2017, we’re keenly watching for any interesting releases on the horizon. Unearthing Mars is one of them.
This promising game from China-based Winking Entertainment released in the Asian region earlier in the year, but the developer had nothing to say of a western release at the time. Today, it’s confirmed that the game will be arriving in western markets “soon”. We’ve reached out to Winking to try and narrow down that date a bit more, though the Asian release already supported the English language, so localisation shouldn’t be holding the project back too much. Germany and French options will also be available in the west.
While a final price hasn’t been confirmed, the game costs around $15 in Asia.
Unearthing Mars looks to be a 1 – 2 hour long adventure for PSVR that sees players explore the titular red planet. The game will consist of 10 chapters with different gameplay styles, including piloting spacecraft, solving puzzles, and taking on aliens in first-person shooter action. We first played it back at Gamescom 2016 and found promise in the short chapter we saw, though it’s anyone’s guess as to if the full experience holds up. The game is played with two PlayStation Move motion controllers.
Winking is going to be showing the game at GDC in two weeks’ time, where it plans to reveal new VR games too. The developer is also currently working on another VR game, Project Tres, which adapts the ancient Chinese novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms for the HTC Vive. The game was merely a tech demo when we saw it at Gamescom, so it could perhaps be one of the projects set to be revealed in San Francisco soon. Hopefully with Unearthing Mars out of the way we’ll see more on this one in the near future.
Capcom’s Resident Evil 7 biohazard launched worldwide only four weeks ago and today sees the next instalment of DLC arrive. Called Banned Footage Vol. 2, it contains three pieces of content 21, Daughters and Jack’s 55th Birthday.
In 21, players have to gamble life and limb in a deadly game with Lucas Baker. While Daughters unravels some of the back story behind the Baker family, taking a deeper look at their life before the events of Resident Evil 7 biohazard. Lastly there’s Jack’s 55th Birthday, a somewhat comical race against the clock where players have to feed tons of party food to Jack Baker for his special celebration. This extra game mode separate from the tapes and story of the main game.
While Resident Evil 7 biohazard can be player using PlayStation VR, as well as Daughters and 21, the Jack’s 55th Birthday mode isn’t compatible with the virtual reality (VR) headset.
DLC Banned Footage Vol. 2 is available today on PlayStation 4 for £11.99 GBP/€14.99 EUR. It’ll also be readily available for anyone who has purchased either the Deluxe Edition or Season Pass. Banned Footage Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 will then be available to purchase for all other platforms on 21st February. As an extra bonus Deluxe Edition and Season Pass owners will get an additional story episode which Capcom has yet to reveal. Then in spring 2017, all players will have access to the free Not a Herocontent, introducing players to a new separate storyline away from Ethan’s saga in the main game.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Resident Evil 7 biohazard, reporting back with any further announcements.
Was erwartet man von einem Tischtennis-Spiel für die virtuelle Realität? Vermutlich sollte die Kernkompetenz eines solchen Spiels in der akkuraten Darstellung der Bewegungen des Balles liegen, denn nur die richtige Physik macht das Spiel zu einem großartigen Erlebnis. Zudem könnten sicherlich unterschiedliche Modi nicht schaden und das Spielen gegen andere Menschen wäre wünschenswert. Doch kann VR Ping Pong diese Ansprüche erfüllen?
VR Ping Pong mit PSVR
Das Konzept von VR Ping Pong müssen wir sicherlich nicht erklären. Ihr nehmt wahlweise einen oder zwei PlayStation Move Controller, stellt euch an die Tischtennisplatte und startet das Spiel. Ihr habt die Wahl zwischen einem Training, einem Turnier, besonderen Herausforderungen und einem einzelnen Match. Auf einen Multiplayer-Modus haben die Entwickler leider verzichtet und deshalb müsst ihr mit der KI vorlieb nehmen. Zumindest lockern die Herausforderungen das Spiel aber etwas auf und bringen Elemente ins Spiel, die an einer herkömmlichen Tischtennisplatte nicht funktionieren würden. So verschwinden beispielsweise die Teile der Tischtennisplatte, die vom Ball getroffen worden. Wenn ein Spieler einen Punkt macht, dann wird die Platte wieder aufgefüllt. Der fehlende Multiplayer-Modus ist dennoch ein dickes Minus für das Spiel, denn es gibt bereits andere Tischtennisspiele für die HTC Vive und die Oculus Rift, die zeigen, dass Tischtennis mit Freunden viel mehr Spaß bereit.
Optik
Die Entwickler des Spiels setzen auf eine Retro-Optik, die sich aus kleinen Würfeln zusammensetzt. Prinzipiell sind wir auch Fans einer solchen Darstellung, doch dummerweise geht der Plan bei VR Ping Pong nicht so richtig auf. Irgendwie fehlt ein Hinweis darauf, warum wir in dieser Optik spielen und letztendlich scheint die Darstellung auch nicht sonderlich hilfreich für den Spieler zu sein. Auf uns wirkte die Gestaltung eher anstrengend und half uns nicht bei der Fokussierung auf das Wesentliche. Im Vergleich zu Paddle Up für die HTC Vive wirkt VR Ping Pong einfach nicht schlüssig und teilweise auch etwas billig.
Mit Tethered steht ein nettes Strategie-Spiel im PlayStation Store bereit, welches auch demnächst für die Oculus Rift und die HTC Vive erscheinen soll. Im Spiel werdet ihr zum Gott der kleinen Peeps und müsst die kleinen Bewohner des Planeten beschützen. Hierbei ist nicht nur eine geschickte Koordination der Peeps notwendig, sondern ihr müsst auch das Wetter so manipulieren, dass es euren Peeps in die Karten spielt.
Tethered erhält PS4 Pro und Move Controller Support
Die Entwickler des Spiels werden demnächst ein Update veröffentlichen, welches einen Support für die PlayStation Move Controller und eine verbesserte Grafik für PlayStation 4 Pro Besitzer beinhaltet. Die Move Controller werden dabei nicht nur den herkömmlichen Controller ersetzen, sondern ihr werdet mit den Controllern noch weitere Möglichkeiten erhalten. So könnt ihr beispielsweise die Welt mit einer einfachen Geste vergrößern sowie verkleinern oder das Wasser der Wasserfälle mit den Controllern manipulieren. Auf der PlayStation 4 Pro dürfen sich Spieler darüber hinaus, über eine detailliertere Darstellung, dichtere Wolken und eine schönere Umgebung freuen.
Die Unterstützung der Motion Controller wird natürlich auch für die HTC Vive und die Oculus Rift umgesetzt. Außerdem werden HTC Vive und Oculus Rift Besitzer auch von einer hübscheren Darstellung profitieren, die mindestens auf dem Niveau der PlayStation 4 Pro Version liegen sollte.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg | Photo courtesy Facebook
Facebook’s 2017 F8 developer conference has seven scheduled sessions dedicated to VR. The company’s annual two-day event is dedicated to exploring the future of Facebook’s family of apps and services (including Oculus), and how businesses and developers can leverage them.
With sessions covering topics such as research, analytics and artificial intelligence, as well as their major acquisitions Instagram and WhatsApp, Facebook has scheduled seven sessions relating to Virtual Reality. Since their purchase of Oculus in 2014, Facebook has attempted to methodically ease itself into the space, with the ultimate vision of social networking in VR. In the last 12 months, the Facebook brand has become increasingly visible and involved with the Oculus subsidiary.
Although CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently posted pictures of himself testing new hardware technologies in the Oculus Research lab, which highlights their long-term commitment to the medium, the essential focus in the short term is content. Looking through the list of VR-related sessions at F8, it is clear that Facebook is encouraging creativity, and ensuring developers are hitting the right notes for social features, intelligent narrative design, and building cross-platform content for the web.
F8 takes place at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, starting April 18th. Oculus and virtual reality are expected to be key part of the conference’s keynotes, and the further VR session schedule follows:
Tuesday, April 18
Crafting Compelling Narratives in VR
Sit down with best-in-class VR filmmakers to learn what it takes to create amazing VR experiences. Whether you’re working on a 360 video or real-time rendered content, these tips will help you to understand best practices from the cutting edge of VR.
WebVR: Enabling Developers to Build Engaging Cross-Platform VR Content
Web-based frameworks such as React VR are making it easier than ever to create VR content that can be distributed across VR, mobile, and web. Join us as we showcase the potential of React VR across verticals such as travel, news, commerce, and more.
Bringing VR Experiences to Everyone: Scripting, Producing and Planning
Learn how to develop a VR experience, and take a project from creative idea to a piece ready for prime time. Gain best practices and tips and tricks for producing experiences, how to approach acting and directing in VR, and distribution.
VR Together: Adding Social Components to Your VR Apps
Interactive and fun social experiences foster greater consumer engagement in VR. This talk will focus on the APIs and features that Oculus provides to add a social layer to your app, including the Avatar SDK, VoIP, Invites, and Oculus Rooms.
Wednesday, April 19
Creating Social Presence in VR
Achieving social presence in VR presents a host of fascinating challenges, from designing avatars that avoid the “uncanny valley” to determining what kind of tools and spaces best facilitate interaction.
VR 201: Lessons from the Frontlines of VR Gaming
We will share some of the roadblocks that engineers will encounter as they ramp up in VR development with practical lessons and case studies to overcome them. Attendees can expect insights on everything from code samples to tools to design tips.
React VR: Build amazing VR experiences using React
Learn how React VR builds upon React Native, and how the supporting layers and libraries interact. We will take you through a sample VR web app built with React VR, and show how easy it is to create immersive experiences across VR, mobile, and web.
HTC veröffentlichte vor Kurzem ein Dokument, dass aufzeigt wie der neue Vive Tracker funktioniert. An den kompakten Apparat kann man an eine Vielzahl von Objekten und Accessoires befestigen. Dadurch kann man Waffen, Tischtennisschläger, ein Telefon oder eine Kamera in die virtuelle Welt nehmen. Dem Nutzer sind keine Grenzen gesetzt.
Realistische Simulationen durch den Vive Tracker
Der Tracker ermöglicht extrem realistische Simulationen für unterschiedliche Aktivitäten. Auf der CES 2017 in Las Vegas wurden verschiedene Demos für das Gerät vorgestellt. In Exoplanet verbindet man den Tracker mit einer Kamera zum virtuellen Fotografieren auf dem virtuellen Planeten. Cover Me kombiniert Tracker, Smartphone und eine Pistole zum Shooter. Die Demo ROM hebt das Niveau an, denn aus der Pistole wird ein Maschinengewehr und statt Smartphone taucht man per VR-Brille in den Shooter ein. Mit Manus VR und Noitom verknüpft man den Tracker mit Handschuhen und kann dadurch virtuelle Objekte anfassen und bewegen.
Der Tracker bringt VR Games auf ein neues Level, dass für eine neue Ära an Arcadespielen sorgen könnte. So könnten statt eines Controllers in Zukunft Baseball Schläger in einem virtuellen Stadion verwendet werden. Ein weiterer Vorteil des Geräts wäre in der Ausbildung von professionellen Fachkräften. Diese könnten ihren Beruf zukünftig in Virtual Reality üben.
Vorteile für HTC Vive Besitzer
Für alle Besitzer einer HTC Vive gibt es ein paar Extras. Der Tracker ist kompatibel mit der Basisstation und dem VR-Headset. Zusätzlich wird ein Add-on mitgeliefert, dass per USB am PC angeschlossen wird, um eine kabellose Verbindung des Geräts zu ermöglichen.
Dadurch sollen Tracker und Accessoires für die meisten Haushalte relativ einfach zu verbinden sein, da man nicht erst die vorhandenen Controller entfernen muss, um die neuen Teile zu verbinden. Das USB Add-on ist aber nicht notwendig, wenn man auf den traditionellen Controller verzichtet.
Wir dürfen gespannt sein, inwiefern sich die VR durch die neue Technologie verändert. Der Vive Tracker wird in den kommenden Monaten veröffentlicht.
Within premiered their first real-time rendered, interactive experience at Sundance New Frontier this year with Life of Us, which is the story of life on the planet as told through embodying a series of characters who are evolving into humans. The experience is somewhere between a film and game, and ends up feeling much like a theme park ride. There’s an on-rails narrative story being told, but there’s also opportunities to throw objects, swim or fly around, control a fire-breathing dragon, and interact with another person who has joined you on the experience. You learn about which new character you’re embodying by watching the other person embody that creature with you, and the modulation of your voice also changes with each new character deepening your sense of embodiment and presence.
LISTEN TO THE VOICES OF VR PODCAST
I had a chance to catch up with Within CTO and co-founder Aaron Koblin at Sundance to talk about their design process, overcoming the uncanny valley of voice modulation delays, how the environment is a primary feature of VR experiences, and how their background in large-scale museum installations inspires their work in virtual reality.
Koblin also talks quite a bit about finding that balance between the storytelling of a film and interaction of a game, and how Life of Us is their first serious investigation into that hybrid form that VR provides. He compares this type of VR storytelling to the experience of going to a baseball game with a friend in that this type of sports experience is amplified by the shared stories that are told by your friends. This is similar to collaborative storytelling of group explorations of VRChat, but with an environment that is a lot more opinionated in how it tells a story.
Life of Us is a compelling way to connect and get to know someone. The structure of the story is open enough to allow each individual to explore and express themselves, but it also gives a more satisfying narrative arc than a completely open world that can have a fractured story. Life of Us has a deeper message about our relationship to each other and the environment that it’s asking us to contemplate. Overall, Koblin says that our relationships with each other essentially amount to the sum total of our shared experiences, and so Within sees an opportunity to create the types of social & narrative-driven, embodied stories that we can go through to connect and express our humanity to each other.
Here’s a trailer for Life of Us:
The Life of Us experience should be released sometime in 2017, and you can find more information about Within website (which links to all of their platform-specific apps), or their newly launched WebVR portal at VR.With.in.
