After the long wait, Magic Leap, the secretive augmented reality startup, finally unveiled its first AR headset. Releasing first as a ‘Creator Edition’, the so-called ‘Magic Leap One’ AR headset is said to start shipping in 2018.
Bigscreen, the social VR app which lets users connect in a virtual environment while retaining the ability to use (and share) their own PC desktop content, now supports Microsoft’s ‘Windows Mixed Reality’ VR headsets. In 2018, the app will offer cross-play with mobile users on Oculus Go, Gear VR, and Daydream, as well as PSVR.
How about an unbreakable comb? A nylon travel tote? A loofah soaked in pheromones? No. This holiday season’s pervasive AXE bodywash bundles come with a VR headset, and while the headset in question isn’t the worst thing be thrown in for ‘free’ with a bag of teenage male-mist, it certainly isn’t the one your son/nephew/grandson really wants. But then again, you probably knew that deep down inside already anyway.
AUTO is a 360-video and morality tale available on Jaunt that takes a near-future look at the human impact of automation and emerging technology. It’s not a grotesque satire in the vein of Black Mirror, but it’s done in a more of a future realistic style that could be happening within the next 1–3 years—if not already.
Lens Studio is a new Mac and Windows desktop app from Snap Inc. for creating, publishing, and sharing augmented reality objects and experiences in Snapchat, as overlays known as ‘Lenses’. The free software has several templates for getting started, and advanced tools for experienced users and professionals.
Oculus parent company Facebook today announced it’s bringing Spaces, the company’s own social VR app, to HTC Vive.
Pavlov VR, the Early Access VR shooter from indie developer davevillz, has a new badge under the ‘VR Support’ category on its Steam page which now indicates official support for Oculus Rift. Including a few minor bug fixes, the team added the announcement that a Battle Royale mode will be coming to the game in 2018, no doubt capitalizing on the success of Players Unknown Battle Ground (PUBG).
Cloudhead Games, the studio known for pioneering several locomotion schemes during the creation of their well-received VR adventure series The Gallery, have just released a fresh demo for their latest game, The Gallery: Heart of the Emberstone (2017). The demo is a sandbox version of the Coliseum level that lets you get your hands on the game’s unique telekinetic powers before committing to the full game.
Magic Leap today revealed a collaborative AR project with Icelandic band Sigur Rós, a musical experience which fills the player’s surroundings with ethereal visuals and an interactive soundscape.
In quite the pivot from virtual tourism experience EVEREST VR (2016), Iceland-based Sólfar Studios has revealed their next VR project, In Death, a VR roguelike bow-shooter that promises procedurally generated crawling for loot and more.
Patrick Hagan is a technical specialist for the Houston Fire Department who had an opportunity to try out a VR demo by HTX Labs featuring an active shooter critical response training scenario. This demo inspired him to start collaborating with HTX Labs to see how virtual reality could be used train new firefighters, but also create atypical training scenarios for teams of firefighters.
Lytro, a leading light-field company, is positioning its light-field capture and playback technology as the ideal format for immersive content. The company is building a toolset for capturing, rendering, and intermingling both synthetic and live-action light-field experiences which can then be delivered at the highest quality playback supported by each individual platform.
L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files is the debut VR title from Rockstar Games, and a remake of unique action-detective game L.A. Noire which was released in 2011. LA Noire VR draws upon the same foundation of impressive facial motion capture that was a hallmark of the original; the remake offers up several cases from the original game that have been reworked for VR.
Electronauts is a music creation tool built within an “interactive sonic environment” where users can make, remix, and perform music, regardless of skill level. This is the third VR project from California-based developer Survios, creators of VR action games Raw Data (2017) and the upcoming Sprint Vector.
L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files launched to much excitement yesterday, but it wasn’t long before it was revealed that the game explicitly blocks OpenVR-compatible headsets other than the Vive. Luckily a free, unofficial workaround has been released which adds support for the Oculus Rift and Windows VR headsets to LA Noire VR.
