Road to VR

Wizard of Oz Narratives: Puppeting Virtual Characters with Improv Acting

By

-

Aug 2, 2016

‘Wizard of Oz’ VR experiences use improv actors to drive either a single or multiple virtual characters. This technique is commonly used within VR training applications where it’s cheaper to have a single actor puppeting multiple virtual characters rather than hiring multiple actors in order to create a sense of social presence. The ‘interactors’ driving the content of the experience are able to use a set of keyboard commands in order to drive pre-rendered gestures and animations, or they can also do more sophisticated motion capture and virtual embodiment.

First Look: ‘New Retro Arcade Neon’ Launches Today with All New Arcade Space, Multiplayer, Mini-games, and More

By

-

Aug 1, 2016

The much anticipated New Retro Arcade Neon, a totally revamped version of the lauded virtual reality arcade, finally lands on Steam today, built to take advantage of the HTC Vive.

‘Situational Knowledges’ in VR Narrative: The Role of Place & Perspective

By

-

Aug 1, 2016

Catherine Rehwinkel is working on creating a conceptual framework that enables storytellers to storyboard linear stories in VR. She’s a filmmaker who recently finished a master’s degree computational & systems thinking at NYU. She’s been inspired by Donna Haraway’s “Situated Knowledges” feminist theories that take into account how location and place impact our perspective on events, and she’s intrigued by VR stories that grow and evolve when you watch them from different locations.

‘Unlimited Corridor’ Video Shows Mind Bending ‘Infinite’ Redirected Walking

By

-

Jul 31, 2016

This video showcases a new redirected walking implementation project that creates an “unlimited” virtual corridor in a space just 5 x 7 metres in size.

New Gear VR Has a Bigger FOV and Looks Like This, Leak Suggests

By

-

Jul 31, 2016

Samsung has a special event coming up on Tuesday August 2nd at which it’s widely it’ll launch not only the latest in its ‘Note’ line of phablets, but also a brand new Gear VR headset to match. This is (probably) what it looks like.

Last Chance to Buy a UK HTC Vive Before £70 Price Hike Tomorrow

By

-

Jul 31, 2016

HTC-Vive-Headset-Consumer-Launch-Basestation-Controller-headset — HTC Vive

HTC has announced that in response to “recent currency valuation changed” the UK price of their HTC Vive VR system will see a significant £70 increase come August 1st to £759.

Hands-on: 4 Experimental Haptic Feedback Systems at SIGGRAPH 2016

By

-

Jul 30, 2016

One of the biggest limitations of current VR technology is the inability to convey a realistic and complete sense of touch. So far, the most you would feel from a modern consumer VR system, like the HTC Vive, is vibration through a controller. From what we saw at SIGGRAPH 2016, it seems that the logical next step just is to produce more kinds of vibrations, at more points around the body, all synced with proper visuals and sound in VR.

Minecraft is Finally Coming to the Oculus Rift

By

-

Jul 29, 2016

minecraft-virtual-reality — Photo courtesy C418

Minecraft is finally on its way for the Oculus Rift as the Windows 10 version of the mega hit social world-building game is due to add VR support “in the coming weeks”.

Inside the ‘DOTA 2 VR Hub’

By

-

Jul 29, 2016

Dota 2 released free DLC yesterday that lets you join a sort of multi-user VR spectator lounge where you can watch live and recorded matches from a movie theater-sized screen, or get down on the ground right in the midst of the action. Here we take a quick look to see Valve’s first public iteration of the Dota VR Hub.

HTC’s $100 Million ‘Vive X’ VR Accelerator Announces First 33 Investments

By

-

Jul 29, 2016

Today at the China International Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference (ChinaJoy 2016), HTC announced the first batch of companies to take part in their recently announced Vive X Accelerator program. The cohort of 33 VR startups, coming from across the industry, will see investments from the fund and go through a four month course to get their products into a market-ready state.

Beautiful Space Shooter ‘Everspace’ Beta Begins Today, New Gameplay Trailer

By

-

Jul 29, 2016

We’ve been keeping an eye on Everspace, the new VR-enabled space combat shooter from Rockfish, for a while now and it looks as if the company are finally ready to unleash the title on the world as the beta begins today.

Oculus Rift Components Cost Around $200, New Teardown Suggests

By

-

Jul 29, 2016

In a detailed component teardown, analysis of the components that comprise Oculus’ first consumer VR headset suggest a predictably complex design with the costs of individual parts totalling $200.

Tactical Haptics Adapts Prototype Haptic Controller for Oculus Touch

By

-

Jul 29, 2016

tactical-haptics-oculus-touch-reactive-grip — Tactical Haptics prototype adapted with Oculus Touch

Tactical Haptics, creators of the ‘Reactive Grip’ haptic technology have adapted their latest prototype for use with the Oculus Touch VR controllers.

Steam Launches First ‘VR Weekend Sale’, 181 Vive and Rift Titles Discounted

By

-

Jul 28, 2016

Steam has launched the first VR Weekend Sale giving steep discounts on VR titles for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, including a huge 20-game bundle at 30% discount.

‘Dota 2’ Releases Social Spectator Mode ‘VR Hub’

By

-

Jul 28, 2016

Dota 2 today released free DLC that lets you watch live and recorded matches from SteamVR compatible headsets. The new VR Hub adds a social component to the game that lets you and your friends watch Dota 2 together like never before—and just in time for The International.

1...509510511...735 Page 510 of 735

Latest Headlines

Features & Reviews