Today Sixense launched a Kickstarter for the highly anticipated STEM VR motion controller. STEM is essentially a sequel to the Razer Hydra. It cuts the cords to go fully wireless, supports up to five independent sensors for full-body tracking, and increases performance and range over the Hydra.
In a move that’s sure to make PrioVR backers and would-be backers alike quite happy, YEI Technology has announced a big price drop for both the PrioVR Lite and PrioVR Pro systems. On top of that, they’re shaving four months off of the delivery date. Good news all around, I’d say.
Last week Blue Isle Studios teased that they may be bringing Oculus Rift support to Slender: The Arrival. The studio has confirmed to Road to VR that Rift support is indeed on the way.
We talk to Karl Krantz, telepresence professional and founder of the Silicon Valley Virtual Reality meetup about Virtual Reality roots and it’s future.
With yesterday’s launch of the PrioVR Kickstarter, we had a few questions about the system. We got in touch with Paul Yost, Chief of R&D at YEI Technology, to get answers straight from the source. Read on for our Q&A.
At Gamescom this year I was lucky enough to be granted time with Palmer Luckey (Founder of Oculus VR) and Nate Mitchell (VP of Product) to talk all things VR. Here’s the video of that interview.
YEI Technology has just launched a Kickstarter campaign to fund their PrioVR project. PrioVR is an affordable VR motion capture system that will allow players to put their entire bodies inside a virtual reality environment.
It seems that Slender: The Arrival, one of the scariest games in recent history, will be getting Oculus Rift support. Tweets from the game’s developer indicate that there is a build of the game with Oculus Rift support being shown at this weekend’s PAX 2013 event.
There were few booths at Gamescom this year more hotly contended than Oculus VR’s. This year, they had multiple 1080p HD prototype units available for the gaming public to experience. Here’s a video compilation of reactions from those leaving the stand.
Apologies for the audio quality in some of this video, not only am I extremely new to this but the recording environment was challenging to say the least.
We caught up with Miguel Schiaffino, part of the team behind a new smartphone holder with integrated lenses that promises to leverage the power of the smartphone in your pocket to surround you with your favourite 3D movies, wherever you are.
Guest writer Kevin Williams stopped by the Virgin Media Game Space in London for yesterday’s launch party. The space, which functions as a place to play and develop games, features a number of Oculus Rift headsets with games like Strike Suit Zero and Team Fortress 2. Williams gives us the inside scoop!
During August, the provider of broadband, TV, mobile phone and home phone services in the UK, Virgin Media, opened a self-styled ‘Pop-Up Games Hub’ – called the Virgin Media Game Space (VMGS). The venue acts as a space to provide an environment for gamers and budding developers of all ages to come play, learn, and develop their digital skills. A mixture of a showroom of the latest commercial and indie game concepts, the environment also offered a learning space for the creation of content and ideas. The space opened as a promotional platform to coincide with the Eurogamer Expo event happening the following month, and will be open until September 21st for anyone who wants to stop by.
Capturing the atmosphere of a gallery launch or a laidback rave – the VMGS offered the opportunity to experience the latest in virtual reality gaming courtesy of Oculus Rift, as well as a chance to test yet-to-be-released indie titles such as Super Pole Riders, There Shall be Lancing, and Krautscape. It was the addition of virtual reality to the mix of VMGS that caused the biggest swirl of interest, and marked its opening with the first chance for a number of invited guests to get their hands on the eagerly anticipated hardware.
I was able to get an exclusive glimpse behind the curtain of the VMGS, and also try out the games on the Oculus Rift in detail. On display at the time for the three VR platforms set out within the space were Team Fortress 2 (2007) by Valve, and Strike Suit Zero (2013) by Born Ready Games.
Both demonstrations were presented as leap of faith; because of the pop-up style of the venue there is no real instruction on usage, unless the visitor seriously hunts down a member of the venues team. The TF2 game was pretty self-explanatory to play once the user navigated the menus – this was my first time on the game with the Rift and was impressed with the presentation, though it showed its limitations as a demonstrator rather than a fully-fledged Rift title.
The big interest for me was Strike Suit Zero – the space game was an amazing experience even taking into account a number of the imperfections and limitations of the demonstration title and development kit HMD.
Two terminals were set up at the VMGS, one with a joystick and keyboard control, while another was running on a Xbox joypad. The demonstration proved a bit of a handful as first time users became stuck passing through the game’s cinematic and training pop-up menus; but once inside the space battle, the true draw of the virtual experience was clear to see. Strike Suit Zero is very compelling game that is enhanced by the use of a HMD; and we look forward to the full release.
The team behind the VMGS had worked hard on creating a compelling experience and bringing the thrill of VR’s reemergence to a playing audience. I would personally like to thank curator David Hayward of YMPT, and Virgin Medias’ Lisa Spencer for allowing me to get to grips with the venue and the games.
It was interesting to note that VMGS is located in the heart of London’s technological innovation, ‘Silicon Roundabout’, literally a stone’s throw from the Inition basement demonstration studio, where the first London Oculus Rift / VR Meetup had been held – the event built on the success of the previous ‘AR vs. VR’ demonstration as part of the Digital Shoreditch festival also located in the Silicon Roundabout catchment.
This area becoming a hot bed in leading the discussion about the application of virtual reality – and the next London VR Meetup has just been announced by the organizers, taking place on September the 11th, 2013. The event will include a new presentation and demonstration component: WizDish will present their Omni directional motion, while there will be an exclusive presentation from Mocap Games, bringing the ‘world’s first VR motion game’ a concept aimed at the out-of-home (amusement and attraction) entertainment market.
With the inclusion of a presentation element, the VR Meetup has asked if I would be their first speaker at the event, and do a special presentation on the fascinating sector of Digital Out-of-Home Entertainment (DOE) and its love affair with virtual reality and immersive entertainment. Entitled “The Attraction of Immersion”, my half hour illustrated presentation will cover the story of immersive entertainment in the public-space, the emergence of VR applications in entertainment, and the modern applications of VR and immersive entertainment. Space will be limited at the event, so it is best to book early to attend what hopes to build on the success of the first VR Meetup.
For more information visit: http://www.meetup.com/London-Oculus-Rift-VR-Developer-Meetup/events/137288412/
About the Author – Kevin Williams has an extensive background in in the development and sales of the latest amusement and attraction applications. The UK born specialist in the pay-to-play scene is well-known through his consultancy, KWP and as a prolific writer and commentator (The Stinger Report) on the emergence of the new entertainment market. Kevin is also the founder of the association and Conference (DNA Association/DNA Conference) that focuses on the digital Out-of Home interactive entertainment sector. Kevin can be reached at – kwp [at] thestingerreport [dot] com – http://www.thestingerreport.com (both free to subscribe services)
Virtuix and Sixense will be at this weekend’s Pax Prime in Seattle to demonstrate what they’re calling the “ultimate virtual reality experience,” a platform consisting of the Virtuix Omni, Sixense STEM, and the Oculus Rift.
At Gamescom this year I was lucky enough to have the chance not only to play the latest build of EVE VR (now known as EVE Valkyrie), but I got to experience it on the new 1080p panel-equipped Oculus Rift HD prototype. These are my thoughts.
One of the pleasant surprises we found whilst poking around the vast halls was finding a booth with the latest Cyberith Virtualiser prototype being demoed by Cyberith’s founder and inventor Tuncay Cakmak. He kindly agreed not only to demonstrate the Virtualiser but to talk to me about him, the team and how the device came to be.
