Google has partnered with CyArk, the non-profit studio behind VR app MasterWorks: Journey Through History (2018), to expand CyArk’s mission to 3D laser-scan the world’s historical sites and provide open access to the data. Called the Open Heritage Project, Google and CyArk aim to preserve the historical sites digitally for future generations in case disaster strikes
Both the Rift and the Vive first launched to consumers around this time two years ago, but their debut, and the games that launched alongside them, were the culmination of years of prior game design experimentation in a new medium that brought both new opportunities and challenges. Cloudhead Games, developers of Vive launch title The Gallery: Call of the Starseed, were among those leading the charge. On this occasion, the two year anniversary of modern VR headsets becoming available to consumers, the studio’s Lead Programmer, Paul White, and Narrative Designer, Antony Stevens, look back at the studio’s journey in VR development and where it has led them today.
The developers behind Modbox (2016), the VR physics sandbox for SteamVR-compatible headsets, have been experimenting with augmented reality recently, something they say is a perfect fit for the Modbox software.
HTC has announced a new set of tools allowing developers to build applications which take advantage of the Vive Pro’s stereo front-facing cameras, effectively turning the device into an AR headset dev kit. The new tools allow the cameras to capture depth, spatial mapping data, hand input, and seamlessly shift between VR and AR worlds.
Researchers at The Human Computer Interaction Lab at Hasso-Plattner-Institut in Potsdam, Germany, published a video recently showing a novel solution to the problem of wearable haptics for augmented reality. Using a lightweight, mobile electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) device that provides low-voltage to arm muscles, the idea is to let AR headset-users stay hands-free, but also be able to experience force-feedback when interacting with virtual objects, and feel extra forces when touching physical objects in their environment too.
Downward Spiral: Horus Station is an upcoming sci-fi adventure set in the lost and forgotten Horus space station. Created by Finland-based 3rd Eye Studios, the minds behind the game recently put out an extended look at some of the its atmospheric exploration and puzzles in a new gameplay video.
Following a small rash of reports from new Vive and Vive Pro users, HTC says they’re looking into issues regarding mismatched display brightness. Additionally, SteamVR’s beta branch brings a firmware update to the Vive Pro which is said to improve the initially disappointing audio quality.
Oculus Studios today revealed their latest Rift exclusive, Defector, a high-action first-person adventure from Twisted Pixel, the studio behind Wilson’s Heart (2017). Defector aims to put players in the shoes of a veritable action movie spy, with gadgets and guns aplenty.
4 I Lab, the studio behind Drunk or Dead (2017), released a trailer announcing their next game, B3, a co-op VR shooter that’s definitely borrowing some of its vibe from Starship Troopers (1997).
Tim Heidecker’s Adult Swim parody movie review show On Cinema went full 360 in its latest episode, strapping a number of Ricoh Theta 360 cameras around the set.
Turin, Italy-based developer Enea Le Fons is aiming to spend more than 30 days of extended stints in VR, and although he won’t be able to qualify for any records—he’s still eating, sleeping, and using the bathroom sans headset—Le Fons is hoping to use his time in VR to explore its long-term effects while developing applications he says will help make “VR an essential part of our daily life.”
Speaking during a session at GDC 2018 last month, Richard Forster, Senior Team Lead at Sony’s Research & Development West group, chronicled a range of explorations in advanced livestreaming and sharing features for PSVR.
Kat VR, the China-based company behind the 2015 Kickstarter-funded KAT Walk VR treadmill, announced last month that a new mini-version of the low-friction VR treadmill would be hitting Kickstarter soon, and that above all it would be “affordable.” Today the company published pre-order prices on the Kat VR website, and it’s unfortunately a bitter pill to swallow: with the lowest early bird discount of 50%, the minimum price is $1500.
Oculus is heading into its third week of ‘Rift Gold Rush’, a prize-winning extravaganza marking the two-year anniversary of Rift’s launch. To get a chance to win this weekend, just pop into a public match in Echo Arena (2017) during the specific entrance window.
