Looking for a Virtual Place to chill the F out post election, check out High Fidelity.

Happy moment from our celebration this morning of getting up on Steam. Come visit! https://t.co/NKrsM8nc5G

— Philip Rosedale (@philiprosedale) November 9, 2016

Just announced today the awesome Social VR platform Hi Fidelity is live on Steam Early Access today. High Fidelity is an open-source virtual reality platform that gives everyone the power to create, explore, and share virtual spaces. It works with both Oculus Rift and Vive, and you can also run it on your PC in desktop mode if you don't have a headset. 

I have recently spent sometime in High Fidelity using their client and was very impressed. The platform is super welcoming and I was greeted by a small yet amazing group of community members. My last time in High Fidelity I spoke with a Unity Dev from Seattle who basically helped me understand how to create my own avatars. There was an awesome greater that also showed me how to fly. If you are looking for a Virtual Space to laugh and chat during these current times check out High Fidelity. The world is super interactive and customizable once you understand it.

Honestly my first time in I was shocked at how social the experience really is. Basically this is the Super Sayan version of Second Life and is actually created by the visionary behind Second Life.

Check them out on Steam

http://store.steampowered.com/app/390540/

CatsAndVR.com

Lantern coming to Oculus Rift and HTC Vive next week.

To counteract the upcoming grey winter and to spread positive energy, joy and color, Lantern will be lit on November 15th. Distributed through SteamTM and other digital outlets, the relaxing game experience of Lantern is ready to engulf you in a tranquil atmosphere and ease your mind. The whole family can enjoy its landscapes, rich with colors and ambient East Asian Soundtrack.

Both Oculus Rift and HTC Vive owners will have the extra benefit of experiencing Lantern in VR.

The release of Lantern is accompanied by a contest for Lantern SteamTM keys and many other games from 1C. Take some happy photos, add a lantern, post them on the Facebook page and win! https://www.facebook.com/1CCompany/

About the game

“Once upon a time, there was a very sad princess. She felt so unloved and unhappy that everything around her became grey and lifeless, and the entire land was deprived of color and joy. Our fable begins when a single, lonely lantern was lit in a faraway village…”

Be the wind and guide a beautiful sky lantern that spreads the powerful message of everlasting love, bringing life and color back to the world around you. Enjoy four beautiful East Asian-inspired worlds, each with a different theme, nature and architecture. Fly the magical red lantern as it spreads vibrant, happy colors throughout these sad, grey lands.

The influence of the lantern’s light not only changes the color of the world, but also has various other effects, such as igniting other lamps, restoring animals to life, and making windmills start spinning. Ultimately success will come once the kingdom is full of color and happiness has returned to the land.

Bring the powerful message of everlasting love to four East Asian-inspired worlds
Create wonderful lantern festivals, spreading warmth and joy
Restful music and peaceful sounds will accompany you on your journey toward happiness
Immerse yourself in a relaxing experience – a virtual coloring book with an aesthetic atmosphere
Virtual Reality support (Oculus Rift and HTC Vive)

The NFL and Google to launch VR series on Youtube and Daydream.

The NFL and Google announced an expansion of their relationship that will allow fans around the world to see the NFL as never before in virtual reality.  NFL Films,  will produce a 9-part series that gives viewers a 360-degree perspective of life in and around the NFL – from players, to coaches, to executives, to cheerleaders, to the fans themselves – detailing how each prepares for game day in a completely new and immersive way.

The first episode of the virtual reality series will be available to watch via the NFL channel on YouTube on Thanksgiving Day.  Later this year, episodes will also be available via the NFL VR app designed for Daydream, Google’s high-quality mobile VR offering, along with other immersive content experiences.

This will be the NFL’s first foray into producing content in virtual reality, after having experimented with the technology last season.  The series will also be the first episodic sports program in virtual reality.

“We are always looking for new ways to engage with our fans.  Virtual reality is an emerging platform that enables content experiences with a truly unique vantage point that brings fans closer to the game,” said Vishal Shah, Senior Vice President, Digital Media at the NFL.  “It’s an exciting new medium to explore as we look to evolve and grow our offerings, and this partnership with Google is an important step in that direction.”

The NFL Films series is currently in production and being shot using Jump, Google’s 360-degree camera and capture system.  In the first episode of the series, viewers will spend a week with the Philadelphia Eagles defensive line as they prepare for the upcoming matchup and gain exclusive access to the Eagles bench and sideline on game day.  Other episodes will give viewers the opportunity to tag along with the Miami Dolphins cheerleaders, experience the distinctive football culture in Green Bay, and take a unique look inside the San Diego Chargers organization, to name a few.

“This series will give fans an opportunity to connect with the NFL like never before, whether they are on YouTube or using Google’s virtual reality headset, Daydream View,” said Amit Singh, Vice President, Google VR.  “We’re thrilled to work with the NFL to capture the series with Jump and bring it to YouTube and Daydream.”

“NFL Films has always been known for telling great football stories and capturing the emotional essence of our sport,” said Ross Ketover, Senior Executive at NFL Films.  “Now using Google VR technology, there’s potential to do that in a whole new way and we’re excited to bring that perspective to our fans.”

New FREE Call of Duty VR content for ALL Playstation VR owners available on Nov 4

Activision announced that the The Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - Jackal Assault VR Experience will be available to all PS4 owners, not just for players who have purchased the game, as a free, added bonus on November 4.

Just head to the PlayStation VR section of the PlayStation Store, and after selecting Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare – Jackal Assault VR Experience, follow the prompts to download and install. You will need a Playstation VR to play. 

Virtual Reality Tower Defense Game Siege Hammer launched at VRDC

Virtual Reality company and development studio MyDream Interactive, Inc. (www.mydreamvr.com), today announced the early access release of its tower defense game in VR, Siege Hammer. The game is available on Steam for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive through the Oculus store. Tower defense and its variants are a top genre for PC and mobile gaming, but until now were never built with VR in mind. The MyDream Interactive team brought decades of game design experience into addressing VR’s unique challenges and immersive nature, creating a new style of play striking a balance between calm and exhilarating in the world of Siege Hammer. 

“Siege Hammer is the perfect virtual reality game for players of all ages and levels,” said Andrew Leker, the game’s designer and COO of MyDream Interactive. “It’s a whole new way to think about play in VR, combining the strategy of building defenses with the intensity of first-person attack. We’re thrilled to be offering more than fifteen hours of playtime at launch, which will be greatly expanded with the upcoming additions.”

Players take on the role of Blip, a tiny armor-clad hero, whose mission is to to defend castle realms using his mighty Siege Hammer. The game combines some of the most familiar features of tower defense, including waves of enemies and buildable defenses; however, Siege Hammer extends the genre with innovative look-to-shoot functionality, resource collecting, and a rail-based movement system that delivers a blend of cinematic vistas and in-your-face, point-blank action.  

The Samsung GearVR version of this game is slated for release in December. Subsequent releases will allow the player to engage the immersive world of Siege Hammer with additional content, a larger storyline, and multiplayer collaboration.

Pricing and availability
Siege Hammer is an early-access game, available on Steam for two weeks at a launch sale price of $9.99, and will be priced at $14.99 throughout the early access period. For more information, please go to: http://siegehammer.co/. The full version is expected to hit market in Q1 of 2017.

Unity Technologies announced a host of new partnerships and exciting updates during their Unite LA event today.

Unity Technologies announced a host of new partnerships and exciting updates during their event Unite LA today.

Unity's experimental EditorVR build will be available on December 15th. It will be completely open-source, with an open API.

An experimental EditorVR build will be available by the end of 2016! It will be completely open-source, with an open API #Unite16 pic.twitter.com/d7PrWBYLZK

— Unity (@unity3d) November 1, 2016

Facebook and Google also made some updates during the event. Facebook revealed its new dedicated PC gaming platform Facebook Gameroom and announced open beta access of their export-to-Facebook feature in Unity Editor to all Unity developers. The public preview build is available here: https://fb.me/gameroom

 
Google used  Unite LA to give us the official  street date of Google Daydream as November 10th

 
Additional news includes:

 
Support of Nintendo Switch at launch. Unity also announced that Nintendo's first game made specifically for smartphone, Super Mario Run, is made with Unity. Nintendo looked to Unity's engine and development environment to make the game a fun, graphically beautiful experience worthy of the Mario franchise.

An exclusive relationship with Xiaomi, China’s leading Android manufacturer (source: Device Intelligence) and host to one of the region’s largest app stores. As part of the agreement Xiaomi will aid Unity developers in the region’s required licensing process, making it much easier for them to enter the growing market which accounted for more than one-quarter of the 2.4 billion new unique devices seen by Unity in Q3.

 
Native integration for AR platform Vuforia to support and accelerate new content creation. Today, developers use Unity and Vuforia together to create most of the platform’s games, enterprise, and consumer 3D applications, including titles from Activision, EA, LEGO and Square Enix. To learn more, please visit: http://developer.vuforia.com/

 
With nearly 5 billion downloads of made with Unity mobile games in Q3 alone, Unity continues to enable developers to create for and deploy to the platforms, audiences, and devices that matter most, from phones to console, VR, and AR.

Three of the world’s best Google Tilt Brush artists collaborated to create a Marvel Doctor Strange promotion.

In collaboration with RealD 3D, three of the world’s best Google Tilt Brush artists collaborated to create alternate realities inspired by Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange. Artists Stuart Campbell, Steve Teeple and Danny Bittman traveled to New York, London and Hong Kong to let fans expand their minds, exclusively in Tilt Brush by Google. 

Though I would love to actually experience this in Tilt Brush, that is not an option. You can strap on a Google Cardboard and check out the 360° Video below. You can also check it out on your desk to moving with your mouse. 

Rika Muranaka known for her work with the music of Metal Gear Solid 1-5, gets into game development with her new VR company .

Rika Muranaka known for her work with the music of Metal Gear Solid 1-5, gets into game development with her new company VR Innovator.

Rika Muranaka  is a brilliant pioneer who created the first interactive CD-ROM and set the music industry standard two decades ago integrating film composition with video gaming including the world famous franchise "METAL GEAR SOLID" 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 selling over 40,000,000 videogames. Ms. Muranaka's soundtrack was voted the 11th all-time greatest soundtrack for video games by Forbes.

Co-founder  Damien "E-Love" Matthias  is a renowned multi-platinum award winning writer, producer, and director, selling more than 35,000,000 records. Best known for co-producing LL Cool J, Def Jams Records' first artist. Mr. Matthias was instrumental in launching Def Jam Records' historically successful marketing campaign, in collaboration with Russell Simmons, in 1985 consisting of innovative pre-internet strategic planning. 

 Matthias and  Muranaka joined forces to fuse virtual reality gaming and Hip Hop pop culture, setting trends for consumers in an unparalleled, affordable, high quality ecosystem, including Virtual Reality commerce. In addition, their first Virtual Reality racing game, "Fearless D", features the iconic Keiichi "Drift King" Tsuchiya, a former F1 Driver and founder of Drift Driving which has been popularized in the world famous franchise, "Fast and Furious". 

VR Innovator is also developing a new business platform, within the Virtual Reality experience, where gamers can order food delivery, pays bills, and purchases an array of consumer items - a real customer service experience using Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, and Mixed Reality. 

VR Innovator is also in collaboration with the University of California, Los Angeles Medical Team to develop Virtual Reality with Head Mounted Displays, Augmented Reality experiences and Virtual Reality sound software.  

Obduction, the spiritual successor to Myst and Riven now available in VR.

Cyan, Inc., the legendary indie studio that established the adventure exploration genre with the beloved and best-selling games Myst and Riven, today released the VR version of its critically-acclaimed sci-fi thriller, Obduction, on Oculus Rift. Reviews have raved that Obduction’s jaw-dropping vistas, breathtaking sounds and masterfully integrated puzzles will blow your mind in virtual reality, calling it the most rewarding experience of 2016. 

“We’re so excited to ship Obduction VR this Halloween as we celebrate the 19th anniversary of our blockbuster Riven,” said Rand Miller, CEO of Cyan. “It’s been Cyan's tradition to make the most immersive worlds possible by pushing the boundaries of advanced graphics technology. We're grateful for the incredibly robust development tools of Oculus, NVIDIA, Apple, Epic and other partners that have enabled us to create Obduction.”

Obduction players can now immerse themselves in VR on Oculus Rift, or on a traditional monitor. Also being added is NVIDIA HDR support and NVIDIA Ansel, which allows players to capture stunning 3D 360 panoramic screenshots in super resolution, customizable with post-process filters and shareable with friends. Details on how to view the screenshots can be found on the NVIDIA GeForce blog:  http://www.geforce.com/whats-new/articles/nvidia-ansel-for-obduction-available-now

This updated Obduction version is available for PC and Rift on the  Oculus Store,  Steam,  GOG, and  Humble Store, for the introductory price of $29.99 (and coming soon to Mac). NVIDIA will be giving away $50,000 of Obduction codes on November 2. For a chance to win, register at  http://www.geforce.com/geforce-experience/giveaways .

About Obduction:

Obduction is a sci-fi adventure puzzler from Cyan, Inc., legendary creators of the award-winning titles Myst and Riven. Kickstarter-backed by 23,000 devoted fans and lovingly built by Cyan's small, innovative team using Unreal Engine 4, Obduction is now available for PC and Rift on the Oculus Store, Steam, GOG, and Humble Store for the introductory price of $29.99 (and coming soon to Mac). For more information, visit  www.obduction.com  

Microsoft pushing both VR and AR closer to mainstream acceptance.

Microsoft’s will partner with  HP, Dell, Lenovo, Asus, and Acer to ship a new line of virtual reality headsets to take advantage of Windows 10’s VR and holographic capabilities. Microsoft said that the headsets will start at $299 and will include inside-out tracking sensors, obviating the need for external cameras or laser systems like those on the current Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. 

This month Oculus made some waves when the showed off their Santa Cruz prototype that also uses inside-out tracking sensors. It looks like Microsoft will be getting into the VR game finally and at a very attractive price. 

Microsoft also made sure to showcased more of what the company's augmented reality (AR) headset, the HoloLens, was capable of.

In one of the most detailed looks Microsoft has given of the HoloLens in action the company displayed how its own AR headset and other third-party VR headsets interacted with the updated version of Windows 10.

Eyefluence joins Google!

Today a blog was posted on the Eyefluence site stating the company has joined Google. I have yet to see an official announcement from Google or any other press on this. If this news is true I want to go ahead and congratulate Jim Marggraff and the entire Eyefluence team. I have had a chance to check out some of the latest developments they have made and I am very excited. 

Here is the content of that post. http://eyefluence.com/eyefluence-joins-google/

"In early 2013, our journey began with a mission to transform intent into action through your eyes. We recognized an opportunity to create a more natural, intuitive way to interact with augmented and virtual reality displays. Over the last three and a half years we have built an incredible team, advanced our eye-interaction technology, and created strong partnerships that have lead to the development of a completely new language for eye-interaction.

Today, we are excited to announce that the Eyefluence team is joining Google!  With our forces combined, we will continue to advance eye-interaction technology to expand human potential and empathy on an even larger scale.  We look forward to the life-changing innovations we’ll create together!

We would like to thank our partners, investors, advisors, and world-class team of problem-solvers for your amazing support. Onward!"

About Eyefluence: Eyefluence has created the world’s first eye-interaction solution for augmented, virtual, and mixed reality HMD equipment. A quantum leap forward from current input methods, the Eyefluence™ iUi synchronizes biology and technology to deliver the preeminent vision-driven user interface for head-mounted display (HMD) sets with the power and speed to transform the way we interact with technology, information, and each other.

Cats And VR

Crows Crows Crows and Rick & Morty co-creator Justin Roiland release Accounting for the HTC not THC Vive.

Accounting is out now on Steam. It was created by Crows Crows Crows and Rick & Morty co-creator Justin Roiland during a short trip to Los Angeles. Justin’s studio Squanchtendo is also VR-Positive.

I will have a full review for you when I figure out how to get out of the first area of the game.

Apparently the team pissed of some one at HTC with their launch email, they sent out an apology email a little while ago.  

Get your game on with SportsBar VR for Playstation VR. Out Today.

Another VR game has come out for the Playstation VR for those looking for some additional content for your library. This may actually be the best title for those who work for a VR but need a break from the office but it's like 2 in the afternoon. 

Perilous Orbit and Cherry Pop Games released today their VR-enabled collection of pub games, SportsBar VR , for Sony's Playstation®VR in North America. SportsBar VR drops players into a fully immersive VR pub, where they can hang out with other players while battling in multiplayer pub pastimes like pool, darts and skeeball.

Much more than a collection of popular pub games, SportsBar VR gives players the ability to interact with the 3D world around them -- and to get rowdy! All set within an interactive virtual sports bar, SportsBar VR enables up to six players to play games ranging from air hockey to pool to darts, hang out, chat, roam the bar, or even make up their own challenges -- like throwing cue balls, smashing bottles and much more. Loosen up in the virtual bar without ever drinking a single drop of beer!

SportsBar VR Gameplay Features:

Tons to Do: Darts, pool, air hockey, skeeball and more. Just about every classic pub game is here… All in beautiful, realistic 3D VR.

Go on, Make a Mess! Had enough of being a good sport? Then enjoy throwing bottles, cue balls and sticks around – nobody gets hurt and nobody has to clean up!

Hang with Friends: A fully immersive social setting enables you to simply hang out and chat.

An Amazing VR Experience: Sports Bar VR is developed from the ground up for VR. Experience a fantastic VR environment, right from the comfort of your own living room.

The long awaited PLAYSTATION®VR OUT TODAY with the amazing launch title ACE BANANA! Used for Scale

So the Playstation VR is officially out today and hopefully Best Buy gets the delivery soon cause I am going BANANAS waiting for it. Ace Banana that is! 

Ace Banana, has launched. Developed exclusively for VR, Ace Banana is a first person arcade archery game where players wield a bow to protect their banana stash from a host of marauding monkeys. The light-hearted shooter features a mix of over-the-top fun supported by native VR controls, which allows players to quickly get into the action.

“ Ace Banana is a great game for the PlayStation VR launch with its fun and unique gameplay offering,” said Alen Wu, Business Director at Oasis Games. “Players will find themselves stepping into a colorful world, armed with a bow and variety of fun ‘arrows’ to protect their tasty bananas from waves of attacking monkeys – the fun is quick and the experience is immersive.”

In the game, players assume the role of a skilled Banana Archer, the world-famous protectors of innocent bananas. In opposition are hordes of mischievous monkeys who are dressed in a variety of different costumes and approach you using different techniques and moves that add to the surprise factor and excitement of the game. As these meddling monkeys arrive in waves through 16 stages, players must use the PlayStation®Move controllers to mimic drawing, aiming and shooting their bow with an arsenal of quirky arrows ranging from plungers to rubber fish and even cute pandas! Players will need to stay alert and be aware of their virtual surroundings as when all their bananas are stolen, the game is over!

Ace Banana is developed by TVR (Time of Virtual Reality) and is published by Oasis Games in North America, Europe and select countries in Asia for the PlayStation®VR.  From October 13, 2016 through October 27, 2016, there will be a 10% discount off the base price of $14.99 and a 20% discount for PlayStation®Plus members.

Forget that Batman hype and get Bananas man!

Oculus Connect 3 Developer Session Videos are now up to view.

If you were not able to make Oculus Connect 3 this year here is a Youtube playlist with 32 videos from the event included:

I was able to attend quite a few and some highlights for me include the sessions below. Check them out to really get a great understanding of not only what Oculus and Facebook are doing with VR but how the industry is developing as a whole. 

The proliferation of 360 content coupled with the new WebVR standard promises to bring a wave of fresh content to VR. Using familiar tools such as WebGL, three.js, and React, developers can easily create interactive 3D and 360 experiences.

Virtual reality has changed how we create. From games and movies, to experiences and tools-we're just beginning to see what's possible. But what happens when you take traditional artistic methods and transfer them to VR? Learn how Oculus is creating new tools, specifically for Touch, to help more people express themselves.

VR has become a powerful empathy machine. What is it about this new medium that's so effective at connecting humanity? This panel discusses how we can continue to harness the power of VR for positive social change.

What went under the radar (Other than Palmer Luckey) from Oculus Connect 3.

Well last week was Oculus Connect 3 and it was a pretty inspirational time for VR. Attending connect as both press and in a biz dev role had me in a position where most of the super exciting news had been reported on. Well I am still going to post about it but I am also going to mention some stuff that I felt fell under the radar. OC3 was actually a very big event for Oculus and Facebook in that they showed that this is not a fad for them and they were bringing the big guns to show. The keynote featured perhaps one of the biggest tech guns of them all, Mark Zuckerberg.

They did not hold back from showing how social Facebook want VR to be with Avatars and social interactivity rooms. I wonder if companies like AltSpaceVR  are pretty much f'd right now. How do you compete with Facebook on Social VR? They are bringing VR emojis that will use body language to show emotion in your virtual avatar. Just WOW!

Palmer Luckey was absent from the Oculus Connect 3 Keynote, perhaps due to the controversy surrounding the Oculus founder as a result of the revelation that he had supported a pro-Trump online campaign. In fact it was rumored that Luckey was the one that was originally going to do the Oculus state of the union that Zuckerberg ended up delivering. Despite the controversy I was a bit sad to not see him in his trademark Hawaiian Shirt and flip flops, especially during the reveal of Oculus's high end wireless prototype, Santa Cruz.

But enough about that,  if you want more info just check out the recorded Keynote bellow.

I want to talk about some things I felt did not get enough media coverage. Lets start with TheWaveVR. Not only was TheWaveVR crew in attendance, Grimecraft played the OC3 afterparty...with Oculus Touch controllers. This is news because every time I have seen TheWaveVR demoed or showed off it has always been on an HTC Vive. This was the first time I had seen the platform used with Oculus Touch controllers in a public setting. 

Something else that went under the radar was the first mass scale public demo of Kingspray VR Graffiti Simulator. I have been hyped for this since May but after releasing a few trailers the team pretty much went dark with no word about development. At OC3 I got a chance to not only try out the game but talk with one of the members of the Infectious Ape development team, Nolan Cunningham. Nolan was super cool but and said I could interview him but did not want to be recorded. Mostly because he is just a cool dev making cool content not frigging Kanye West. 

Funny enough publicity may have been what led the Infectious Ape team to go dark for a little bit. Nolan said the team put out some videos in May, had some congratulatory drinks, and then woke up to way more attention than they wanted at the time. The Infectious Ape dropped off the radar and surprisingly showed up at OC3 with a demo for Oculus Touch. Once again another company who started of with a HTC Vive focused product showing up on Rift before an official Vive launch. 

I also have to give a huge shoutout to High Voltage Software, a company I have followed and supported for years. https://www.destructoid.com/eric-stoll-of-high-voltage-software-reveals-conduit-3ds-196245.phtml

High Voltage was featured heavily during the Oculus Keynote and both the critically acclaimed Damaged Core and their new card battle game Dragon Front were given high praise during the keynote. http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/damagedcore

I had a chance to speak with High Voltage Software's Chief Creative Officer Eric Nofsinger who stated that between him going from the Keynote to the press area there was a significant increase in new users. I am very happy for the HVS team and look forward to seeing what VR excellence they will bring in the years to come. 

Lastly I have to point out the CatsAndVR 9/9 Lives Game Of The Show.  ARKTIKA.1 is a highly immersive, action-packed, first-person shooter designed exclusively for Oculus Touch. 

Nearly a century in the future, the world has fallen into a new ice age in the aftermath of a silent apocalypse. Only the equatorial regions are still habitable, yet pockets of humanity survive in small numbers all over the planet, hanging onto existence in the resource-rich territories to the north and south-- resources that everyone wants to control.

Cats And VR

The Simpsons teamed with Google to produce the virtual reality experience for their 600th episode Treehouse of Horror XXVII.

Fox Broadcasting Company (FOX) and THE SIMPSONS worked closely with the Google Spotlight Stories team to create a special Virtual Reality (VR) experience for THE SIMPSONS couch gag, “Planet of the Couches,” airing in the milestone 600th episode of the animated series, the all-new “Treehouse of Horror XXVII,” on Sunday, October 16, on FOX.

“At first we had concerns about working with Google because we didn't know who they were, but then we googled the company and were very impressed,” said Homer Simpson.

“It’s a thrill to be associated with Google and not only because they have perfected the quality of their cafeteria food, especially those little sausages,” said James L. Brooks.

“Spotlight Stories is all about pushing the boundaries of interactive, mobile storytelling. Having a chance to build an immersive story with one of the most iconic and beloved shows of our time was an honor and thrilling challenge,” said Jan Pinkava, Creative Director, Google Spotlight Stories.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with THE SIMPSONS and Google Spotlight Stories on this milestone virtual reality experience. This is another example of how FOX is able to leverage innovation to deepen fan engagement and strive to bring interesting opportunities to our production partners,” said Angela Courtin, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, FOX.

Produced with Google Spotlight Stories, “Planet of the Couches” will be available on October 16 through the Google Spotlight Stories app on Android and iOS. View it with any Google Cardboard viewer for the full VR experience. The couch gag will kick off the milestone 600th episode, and will be available as a VR experience via the app.

There will be 25,000 limited edition Google Cardboard viewers available for order on a first-come, first-served basis, featuring one of the five main characters from THE SIMPSONS – Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie – with a customized 600th episode “Treehouse of Horror XXVII” slipcover, beginning today at simpsonscardboard.com in the U.S. only.

“Planet of the Couches” takes the viewer on a completely immersive VR experience. In this VR “couch gag,” the world of THE SIMPSONS is extended 360 degrees, an augmentation of THE SIMPSONS’ 600th episode, unprecedented in television history. The audience is able to enter and explore the universe of THE SIMPSONS with multiple viewings yielding different results. Truly a groundbreaking event.

“Planet of the Couches” in VR was developed by Google Spotlight Stories in conjunction with executive producers James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, Al Jean, Matt Selman and director David Silverman.

The cute follow up to Baobab's INVASION is here and its full of ASTEROIDS!

Announced today at OC3 and available in the Gear VR store is the continued story of the two menacing and bumbling aliens, Mac and Cheze, from INVASION! who are now on a dangerous mission, venturing into an asteroid field in outer space, with two playful robot sidekicks. 

This first look at ASTEROIDS! follows Mac and Cheze and their fun robot sidekicks into outer space on a dangerous mission. In between the daily chores of life on a spaceship, Mac shares a heartwarming moment with Peas, his robot sidekick, before the unexpected happens.

ASTEROIDS! like INVASION!, will show Baobab's approach to putting you in the story in a way that enables you to emotionally connect with the characters and story. ASTEROIDS! will have universal appeal as the story, which always comes first, will be intriguing and fun for all audiences.

VR at TwitchCon!

Seems like nowadays I can say "this will be a big week for VR" as it seems like everyday there is a major announcement of something or product that will help define the VR ecosystem. I mean yesterday Google gave us a better idea of their new phone and Daydream hmd, today starts the annual Oculus dev event Oculus Connect, and next week the Playstation VR launches. 

Those are all big names and they are trying all trying to show that VR is here to stay and not a passing fad...mostly cause they have money invested in it. Not long ago many people thought that Video Game streaming was a fad. Well last weekend the company that basically helped create an ecosystem of its own had their second annual TwitchCon. 

Funny enough that little site that was once considered a fad is where you can watch a live stream of Oculus Connect this week. https://www.twitch.tv/oculus

VR was limited but their was still enough out their to show that by maybe next years TwitchCon VR will also no longer be viewed as a fad. 

I got a chance to check out the upcoming multiplayer shooter World Wide Toons using a Playstation VR. World Wide Toons will be a PSVR launch title.   www.catsandvr.com/blog/worldwidetoons

That was followed up by finally getting to try a Virtuix Omni virtual reality motion platform. That was a very interesting experience that was a workout. I think this product will be big as VR develops. I am looking forward to seeing a future iteration as well as an Ice Hockey simulator that supports it. Virtuix has been very smart with their partnerships and have already created partnerships in China that will allow them to be an essential part in the development of mass scale VR arcades. www.catsandvr.com/blog/virtuixchina

Ubisoft also had a VR presence at TwitchCon, although I am surprised they did not bring Eagle Flight along, a game that has a competitive element to it and is super fun. They did bring Werewolves Within, a game I have questioned a few times as to who would play it. Well the game is fun and with the right group of people is a very interesting social game. In its current iteration it does feel a little bare bones but I do really like the mechanics of the game. 

Although it may not have looked that that VR was in full effect on the TwitchCon floor, it was still very present. LaserType was presented on the TwitchCon main stage and VReal, the VR streaming platform had a chance to discuss how to streamVR. VReal also held an event that showcased seveal upcoming VR games including Serious Sam VR.   http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/vreal

Watch live video from on www.twitch.tv

MSI announces VR game Jam with over $80,000 in prizes.

The game jam features some great prizes including a VR ready laptop that I have had experience with. I use the same laptop to demo VR around America.  This looks like an exciting opportunity for some up and coming game devs, but just make sure you read the fine print about who was the rights to the ip.

SUBMISSION SCHEDULE
Step 1- Registration & Pitch Submission: 31st October, 2016 

Step 2-Screenshot Submission: 20th November, 2016 

Step 3-Trailer Video: 10th December, 2016 

Step 4-Final Submission: 15th December, 2016