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Hello people of the real world. My name is Ben Lang. If you’re reading this message, you’re reading words composed and published from within virtual reality.
DreamWorks Reveals Glimpse of 360 Degree ‘Super Cinema’ Rendering for VR Films (video)
On stage at Samsung’s 2014 developer conference last week, Warren Mayoss, Head of Technology Product Development at DreamWorks Animation, spoke about the company’s initial work with virtual reality on the Oculus Rift and Gear VR. Though they’ve produced several real-time VR experiences, the studio’s bread and butter is high-fidelity pre-rendered CGI. But how to bring that level of quality to virtual reality? One approach may be pre-rendered 360 degree 3D CGI footage which the company calls ‘Super Cinema’.
Paul McCartney’s ‘Live and Let Die’ Performance is Jaunt VR’s First Publically Available Cinematic VR Content
Jaunt VR, the company creating tech for capturing 360 degree 3D VR experiences, has today finally revealed their first publically available content: a performance taken from Sir Paul McCartney’s recent Candlestick Park gig in San Francisco earlier this year.
South Park Takes on the Oculus Rift
South Park’s episode last week, Grounded Vindaloop, has zeroed in on the beloved Oculus Rift, along with some longstanding fears surrounding virtual reality. The episode, which dives into a meta virtual reality, also pokes fun at outsourced customer service. If you missed the episode, it’s available in full right here.
DODOcase Sells More Than 65,000 Cardboard VR Kits, Now Kickstarting New Version and Open-source VR Tools
DODOcase is probably known by most for their phone and tablet cases, but the San Francisco-based company jumped on an opportunity to get Google Cardboard VR kits into the hands of a VR-hungry public. To date, the company has sold more than 65,000 of the kits and has now launched a Kickstarter campaign to spur what they’re calling a “DIY Virtual Reality Open Source Future,” which includes open software components for VR web development and a newly designed version of Cardboard that has a Leap Motion mount and greater smartphone compatibility.
News Bits: GTA V Publisher on VR Support “.. we’ll be first in line to give it to [customers]”
Take Two Interactive, publishers of the phenomenally successful Grand Theft Auto franchise have gone on record stating that if there is customer demand for virtual reality support in their games, it’s ready to provide it.
VRLA #4 Heading to House of Moves on December 13th, Big Names in the VR Scene Exhibiting
The VRLA Meetup is holding its forth event come Saturday December 13th. To be hosted at House of Moves, a well known motion capture firm based in Los Angeles, California, 26 exhibitors will be present at the event, including many big names from the VR scene: CastAR, Sixense, Jaunt, Samsung, Unity, and Epic Games among them.
Sixense Shows off STEM Tracking With Impressive Ping Pong Demo
Sixense, creators of the tracking technology in the Razer Hydra, have been hard at work over the last year developing Hydra’s successor, STEM. The company has also recently announced that STEM will be compatible with Samsung’s Gear VR for both positional tracking and motion input. The company’s latest demo, a ping pong experience, shows off the accuracy and latency of the motion input system.
News Bits: Palmer Luckey Wins at the 2014 World Technology Awards
Oculus has caused a stir in the technology world, a statement riddled with understatement perhaps. The company and it’s founder Palmer Luckey have walked away with countless industry awards since the appearance of it’s Oculus Rift DK1 in late 2012. Now, the company can add one more to it’s trophy cabinet, the World Technology Awards for Entertainment.
5 Insights for New VR Developers from DreamWorks Animation Head of Technology Product Development
At Samsung’s 2014 developer conference last week, Warren Mayoss, Head of Technology Product Development at DreamWorks Animation, took to the stage during the second day keynote to talk VR. Mayoss shared some of the initial work that DreamWorks has done with virtual reality, including five insights for new VR developers.
PrioVR Reveal New Designs as They Prepare for Manufacturing
YEI, the company behind the PrioVR motion capture suit for virtual reality applications, has revealed its latest designs as the company prepares to manufacture and ship to its Kickstarter backers.
13 Samsung Gear VR Titles Shown at SDC 2014
Samsung officially showed off 13 Gear VR titles at SDC 2014 last week. The titles, which varied from games to 360 video experiences, were being showcased on the second floor in the Game Zone area of the event. Eight Gear VR units were available, each housing a unique set of demos. After circling through the lines a few times, here are our first impressions.
Gear VR UK ‘Register Your Interest’ Page Online – Questions Over Note 4 CPU Variant Performance
At this year’s Samsung’s Developer Conference in San Francisco, Samsung finally announced it’s Oculus and Note 4 powered Gear VR headset would be available in early December. A page was launched simultaneously for US enthusiasts to register their interest in the so called ‘Innovator Edition’. It seems there’s also a UK version of this page too.
Exclusive: Preview 3 of Jaunt’s VR Cinema Shorts (video)
Jaunt has been busy shooting several made-for-VR experiences which the company says will be released for VR in trailer form “imminently.” Road to VR has the first look at three of Jaunt’s forthcoming cinematic VR experiences.
Play ‘The Worst VR Game Ever’ and Support a Great Charitable Cause
It’s not the moniker most developers would relish being attached to their work, but in the case of the developers at Shiny Shoe, creators of Desert Bus VR, it’s entirely appropriate.
