OptiTrack at GDC last week showed off a demonstration of their enterprise/commercial tracking technology which is capable of accurately tracking hundreds of objects simultaneously in real-time. For those building out of home applications with VR, OptiTrack now has available a set of add-ons and a suite of tools for tracking of Rift and Vive headsets, bodies, and props, including a SteamVR plugin.
We weren’t certain the PSVR title Golem would ever see the light of day after its lengthy delay. It wasn’t until the studio assured us late last year that yes, the game was still in production well after its prospective March 16th, 2018 launch date had come and gone. Now it appears PAX East-goers will get a fresh whack at the game, which was unveiled way back in 2015.
Nintendo’s upcoming Labo VR Kit for Switch includes a trove of creative VR content along with six ‘build it yourself’ cardboard accessories which are paired with VR experiences that work together with them. One of the accessories might look like a goofy ‘elephant’, but a closer look reveals a genius makeshift 6DOF controller made from some cardboard, stickers, and the Switch’s Joy-Con controllers.
Valve’s resident experimental psychologist Dr. Mike Ambinder took the stage at GDC 2019 today for his talk on the state of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) and how they’ll inform the future of game design. In his talk, Ambinder put forth a near future where VR/AR headsets are kitted with non-invasive electroencephalogram (EEG) devices that could one day provide data to game designers so they can create a new generation of smarter, more reactive games. The long-term view is definitely trending towards neuronal implants, Ambinder says, but we’re not there yet.
None among us can deny Nintendo’s penchant for creativity. The limited VR specs of the Switch don’t exactly inspire, but the company’s creative array of accessories and content in the Labo VR Kit just might. Nintendo has shown off a unique set of games based on the DIY cardboard peripherals (there’s a freaking bird attachment), along with 64 mini-experiences which can be deconstructed and experimented with in the ‘Garage VR’ scriptable programming tool.
Asgard’s Wrath is an upcoming combat RPG from Sanzaru Games, the studio that created Rift exclusives Marvel Powers United VR (2018) and Ripcoil (2016). It’s slated to launch on Rift and the newly unveiled Rift S in 2019, although to whet our appetites in the meantime the studio released some fresh footage at their public GDC 2019 debut this week, showing off what to expect from the game’s combat and puzzle-laden quests.
While to some Oculus’ announcement of the Rift S represents the newest and best version of a good VR headset, to others it’s a far cry from what they hoped Oculus would be able to deliver three years after the first Rift. Facebook’s top priority with Rift S is clear: jumpstart a sustainable ecosystem for developers, even if that means drawing ire from its base of loyal enthusiasts.
Oculus announced its next iteration of Rift this week at GDC, Rift S. While there’s a few key differences about the upcoming hardware specs-wise, it seems the company has also taken a page out of Go’s playbook by including an open-ear integrated audio solution in the headstrap of Rift S. To that end, Oculus says they might bring out a bespoke audio accessory in the future.
Coatsink, the studio known for VR games Augmented Empire (2018) and the Esper series, unveiled a new puzzle game at GDC 2019 this week that’s slated to be a day-one launch title for Oculus Quest. We got a chance to go hands-on with the room-scale puzzler, and it’s poised to be another clever and well-realized entry from the studio.
Epic Games today announced at GDC that the company is set to turbo-charge their long-running developer grant initiative with ‘MegaGrants’ and the largest pool of funds yet, $100,000,000.
Ubisoft is getting ready to launch its next big foray into VR with the multiplayer shooter Space Junkies, which is set to launch on March 26th. But first, users on PSVR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Windows VR will have a free crack at it leading up to launch.
Oculus today announced the new Rift S headset which ditches external tracking sensors in favor of a five-camera inside-out tracking system. The headset also gets a slight bump in resolution over the original Rift while moving from OLED to LCD displays. A brand new head mount design revamps the headsets ergonomics with a ‘halo’ style strap and top strap. Rift S will be priced at $400 at launch this Spring.
Oculus has finally taken the wraps off of Rift S, its first PC VR headset release in three years. But there’s a reason the company is calling this Rift S and not Rift 2; the changes are mostly for the better, but not improvements across the board.
At a special GDC Oculus media event this week we got a chance to go hands-on with Sanzaru Games’ upcoming Norse-themed action adventure game Asgard’s Wrath, presented on Oculus’ newly unveiled ‘Rift S’ headset. It’s beautiful, difficult, and will definitely require time to master, as enemies are both difficult and also require a specific style of interaction to slay—something that may not be entirely intuitive at first.
Oculus has announced Rift S, the headset’s fabled hardware refresh that brings with it a modest spec bump and a few other changes to the original Rift that the company hopes will appeal to new entrants in PC VR gaming. With the standalone headset Oculus Quest and Rift S both selling for the same $400 price tag and coming at some point this Spring, you might want to know what sets the two apart.
