HTC is already killing it in 2017 with a rad showing at CES including the Vive Tracker. Also who in the hell is dotdotdash?

HTC has kicked off 2017 by showcasing new Vive accessories and services at CES that will lay the foundation for VR in 2017 and beyond.  

First up: The Vive Tracker

The Vive Tracker will ship in the Q2 of this year. The company showed off a video featuring Portland, Oregon VR design studio dotdotdash, one of the first developers to use the Vive Tracker. The company developed a camera accessory called D3-U for its VR experience called Exoplanet. I would describe Exoplanet as Pokemon Snap on Acid.

Second Up: Vive Deluxe Audio Strap.

I love my HTC Vive but I have always thought that Oculus had them beat with the way they integrated audio into the headset. HTC has finally addresses it with the Vive Deluxe Audio Strap.

The Vive Deluxe Audio Strap is designed with adjustable integrated headphones and a new customizable sizing dial for quickly adjusting the fit of the headstrap ala the Playstation VR headset. The Deluxe Audio Strap will also be available in Q2. Pricing for both the Tracker and Deluxe Audio Strap will be announced soon.

HTC also announced a collaboration with Intel to jointly bring to market a commercial-grade wireless VR adaptor. TPCast is a wireless adaptor  incubated through the Vive X accelerator program. It includes a one and a half hour battery, and latency as low as 2ms. TPCast will be shipping in Q2 2017 and will retail for $249 USD.

Lastly: Viveport & Chill?

In early 2017, Viveport will be launching a subscription service to help you navigate and find the best VR apps in the world, as well as introduce a new channel through which VR developers can monetize their content. There are currently thousands of apps available on Vive globally. Viveport’s subscription service will help people navigate this growing marketplace and discover new apps, providing access to an ever-growing library of content for a low monthly fee. 

CatsAndVR.com

The CatsAndVR.com top 5 VR compaines in 2016 (for Us). Have a Great NYE! Have a Great 2017

First of all I would like to thank all the people who supported CatsAndVR.com this year. This started of as a pet project so I could learn and immerse my self in the world of Virtual Reality. 

As 2016 started I was in a job I hated but thanks to CatsAndVR.com I was able to get a job in VR that allows me to travel, be plugged in, and also follow my passion. I have learned a lot and due to that job I have I have not been able to put as much time into CatsAndVR.com over the last month. Since the end of 2016 falls on Caturday, I am closing 2016 out with a post. 

So Happy Caturday, Happy NYE, and Happy 2017 to all of you. Here we go.

The Top 5 VR Companies for me in 2016 (in no particular order I think they are all awesome)

Number One

Unity Technologies announced a host of new partnerships and exciting updates in 2016.The dev team I work with uses Unity as our bread and butter. There is a reason it is the game engine helping to push VR into a consumer product.  

With nearly 5 billion downloads of made with Unity mobile games in Q3 alone including  Super Mario Run, Unity continues to enable developers to create content and are now using that for VR and AR.

At the end of the year they released their EditorVR for constructing environments for VR in VR. For now, if you’re building VR games and experiences, EditorVR will likely help you with laying out a scene in VR and building your own custom VR tools

Unity has helped the VR ecosystem with innovation and has made some great hires this year to help chart them into 2017 including hiring innovators such as Tony Parisi and Danny Lange.

http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/unityai

Number Two

As VR grew in the past few years, so has UploadVR. UploadVR has helped create an awareness of VR in the San Francisco Bay Area and is now helping to evangelize globally.  This growing set of influencers in the VR community known for their events and ability to connect the VR world.. Upload VR is not just a blog but a group helping to shape VR not only as a consumer product but through connecting VR to the world of art, cinema, as well as using these connections for good. 

They are also helping to push Unity by hosting Learn Unity events. I hope to take one of these in 2017 so I can better my own skill set. On a personal level I owe something to Upload VR due to the fact that they gave me tickets to their E3 Upload Party. If I had not received those tickets I may have not went to LA to try to get in to E3 as press. I was successful in getting press for CatsAndVR and thus my 2016 VR year actually seemed like a reality. 

http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/uploadvrart

http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/uploadvre3

Number Three

Mindshow is a product built from a passion for VR. Not just because VR is cool but because we were promised the future when we were kids and still seeking it. 

Mindshow is Walt Disney. Mindshow is Jim Henson. Mindshow is Steve Jobs. Mindshow is the spark in humanity that made them create characters out of the stars. Mindshow are the muppet babies playing make believe come to life. 

It was hard to try to write something about Mindshow after I first tried it at VRLA because everyone who tried it in the media loved it to some degree and has been able to post before me. What do you write to be different. CatsAndVR.com can't compete with UploadVR, Techcrunch, VRScout , and the other cool kids in resources, turnaround time, etc.

Mindshow reminded me I did not start the site to do that at all but instead I started it to learn and to grow. In the end maybe this post did not fully explain what Mindshow really is or do the experience justice, but neither did the trailer. You have to experience it to really know that this is what we have been seeking in VR the whole time. You see in the end what Mindshow really is can just be described as inspiration captured and then shared for the sake of shared inspiration itself. Inspiration is what I walked away with from VRLA. Inspiration is what I walked away with from Mindshow.

http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/mindshow

Number Four

As you may know, TheWaveVR recently made headlines for raising $2.5 million to create a VR music ecosystem. http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/thewavevrfunding

TheWaveVR is a VR platform for people who love music, enabling them to view, host and socialize in live and recorded shows worldwide, anytime, anywhere.  TheWave creates a VR venue where artists can perform live music by simply importing their tracks, customizing the visuals of the venue, and sharing virtual shows. Fans can attend via most major VR head mounted displays, interact with performers, socialize with friends, dance, paint and more.

One of the major highlights of the VRLA Summer Expo was the VR Rave presented by Skullcandy, Subpac, WeLens, and TheWaveVR. Attendees like comedian Reggie Watts got to experience a next level audio visual experience that incorporated 3D visuals as well as the ability to experience it all in VR.

Number Five

Thank you everyone this year. I started this year just wanting to be part of the VR world and now I have an HTC Vive, Playstation VR, and Gear VR I can call my own. I used CatsAndVR.com to get me a paying job in VR. I have traveled all over America evangelizing VR for my day job and got to meet a bunch of pro Football players.

I watched two Warriors games from a private suite because of VR and got to travel to 3 new states due to VR. All in all I think CatsAndVR.com was a worthwhile investment. I look forward to growing, writing more, learning Unity, going to VR meetups, and being a member of the VR community. Have a safe NYE and great 2017. 

-

Bobby Venom

VR experience featuring First Lady Michelle Obama and Modern Family's Nolan Gould encourages students, parents, and educators to experience America's National Parks.

Jaunt Inc., Sub Rosa, a Manhattan-based strategy and design studio, The North Face, and Civic Nation today unveiled the brand-new Every Kid in a Park Virtual Reality Experience featuring First Lady Michelle Obama and Modern Family’s Nolan Gould, a Sierra Club Youth Ambassador. The VR video was designed to support President Obama’s Every Kid in a Park program, which provides the Nation’s fourth graders, their teachers, and their families with free admission to more than 2,000 public lands and waters for a full year.
 
Civic Nation, a non­profit organization that has worked closely with the White House to develop outreach and campaigns around the Nation’s most pressing issues, looked to design and strategy studio Sub Rosa, which oversaw creative direction, production, and writing for the new experience. To capture the bespoke VR content, Sub Rosa partnered with industry leader Jaunt Inc.
 
“Working on the Every Kid in a Park initiative this year has been an huge honor for my team,” said Sub Rosa’s Founder/CEO Michael Ventura. “From launching everykidinapark.org this past spring, to collaborating on the VR experience with Jaunt, The North Face, Nolan Gould, and Mrs. Obama, we’re proud to help nurture the next generation of environmental stewards.”  
 
The virtual reality experience begins with First Lady Michelle Obama introducing Every Kid in a Park’s mission, then follows Modern Family's Nolan Gould as he, with the help of marine biologist Kelly Moore, take viewers around the Channel Islands National Park.    
 
“We’ve been thrilled to have the opportunity to work on the Every Kid in a Park Virtual Reality Experience. It’s an incredibly important initiative that inspires kids and their families to explore this beautiful country of ours,” said Alex Pearce, Producer for Jaunt. “The filming process - working with Rangers from the Channel Islands National Park, and with the very talented Nolan Gould - was a dream from start to finish.”
 
Every Kid in a Park aims to introduce a new generation and population of students, parents, and educators to the awe-inspiring experience of learning in the living classrooms of America’s unique National Parks, public lands, waters and historic spaces; and to inspire the next generation of environmental stewards by: instilling them with curiosity about nature’s wonders, fostering their appreciation for diverse cultural heritage, and furthering their understanding of historic events. During the program’s first year, over two million passes were downloaded. Philanthropic and federally-funded transportation grants have enabled half a million fourth graders across the country to visit their public lands and waters through school field trips.
 
The virtual reality experience launches as several federal agencies signed an agreement earlier this month to keep the program running and maintain the success of Every Kid in a Park in order to give every child access to our greatest classroom – our public lands and waters – for years to come. After the program has run for 12 years, every school-age child in the country will have had the chance to explore their public lands and waters for free.
 
The seven participating federal agencies where the pass can be used are U.S. Forest Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service.
 
Students, parents, and educators can log onto the everykidinapark.org to find resources like:
The new Virtual Reality experience.

An online resource guide, including information on how download the free pass and plan your trip!

An online community of individuals dedicated to furthering the movement.
A chance to officially pledge and share a commitment to Every Kid in a Park on social media through a digital badge, designed by Sub Rosa.

Information on how to become a Community Ambassador, with access to tools, resources, and support to help spread the word.

Everykidinapark.org is now available in Spanish!
                                                                       
To view the Every Kid in a Park Virtual Reality Experience, visit www.everykidinapark.org, as well as the Jaunt VR app available on Daydream, iOS, Android, Gear VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and major desktop browsers.       

Construct Studio are on the cutting edge of VR storytelling with The Price Of Freedom. Update: The Price Of Freedom is now free on Steam.

UPDATE: The Price of Freedom is available for free on Steam. 

Link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/561080/

ABOUT THIS GAME

Ask not what this country can do for you
January, 1960. The US is deep in Cold War with Russia, and nuclear war seems eminent, when Benjamin Miller breaks into CIA research facilities, stealing valuable Chemical Weapons research. Your mission: assassinate Miller and protect this information from falling into enemy hands. What seems like a straight forward mission soon takes a dark turn as you learn the truth behind Miller's motives. 
Become part of the story in this thrilling interactive Room-Scale VR narrative, inspired by true events.

Recently CatsAndVR.com had the opportunity to check out a preview of Construct Studios upcoming interactive VR experience "The Price Of Freedom". The Price Of Freedom is Construct's first interactive room-scale VR storytelling experience. The experience is inspired by Project MKUltra, a Cold War era mind control experiment which has been the inspiration for the recent Netflix hit "Stranger Things". 

You may be familiar with the previous work of two of the founders of Construct Studio "Imago" from my post on how that 360° experience made me cry.

 http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/imago

Guests in attendance were able to check out IMAGO as well as The Price Of Freedom and both were well received. Being a huge fan of IMAGO it was great to see how both Chuck, Tsung-Han Lee and Joel Ogden were able to build on their experience on that product as well as their own personal journey in VR to build Construct Studio into a team to watch for the future of VR story telling. Personally I like to look at both Chuck and Joel as the Tarantino and Rodriguez of a new medium, blazing a trail through hard work, guerrilla filmmaking techniques, and pure DIY punk rock determination. 

Tony Parisi, Head of AR/VR at Unity was in attendance and not only gave me his impressions on Construct Studios latest but also a great story on Chuck's determination to learn and grow in the VR space. 

Chuck, Tsung-Han Lee

Anyone who meets Chuck will tell you he is a humble dude and is one of the people to watch for in VR Storytelling. I had met Chuck before but this time around I also met one of his collaborators on IMAGO and now CEO of Construct Studio, Joel Ogden. 

Speaking with Joel I understand a bit on how Chuck and Joel work so well together and making an assumption that the whole Construct Studio team is just as bright, enthusiastic, and cutting edge with their perspectives on VR. Everyone in the room seemed taken back by The Price Of Freedom in which Joel was the Director. I was able to get some interview time with Joel who happens to be a very funny dude. 

Below is a video from Construct Studio highlighting the experience people had with The Price Of Freedom. 

The Price Of Freedom is just the latest project from Construct Studio and it is a great first step for them.  Dealing with subject matter like MK Ultra brings to question many of the same questions in VR of What is reality? What is real? My experience with The Price Of Freedom has wet my appetite and I am looking forward to the official release to this amazing episodic series and this up and coming VR storytelling team. 

My.com launches its first Virtual Reality game VR INVADERS on Steam December 15.

Global publisher My.com is launching their first virtual reality PC game, VR Invaders via Steam VR on December 15.. VR Invaders takes place in the near future and thanks to global corporations, virtual reality programs offer the perfect distraction from life’s hardships.

To the delight of the corporations, some people spend almost all of their life logged into the VR programs. However, not everyone stays logged in voluntarily. Sometimes a VR user can’t disconnect because of a software bug or a virus. Corporations often hire freelance hackers called Divers to protect their profits and extract the “Stuck”.?

VR Invaders is developed by My.com’s in-house studio and delivers a story driven dive into Virtual Reality for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift & Touch owners. Build on Unreal engine 4, VR Invaders puts the player in the role of a Diver. They are special members of a virtual reality rescue force that plunges into VR when dreams turn into nightmares. During a routine operation to rescue a “stuck” user, the player will have to fight back unexpected hordes of droids created by a vicious virus program. Equipped with a blaster that has multiple firing modes and a time-bending energy shield, players can rush through a variety of levels with challenging bosses at the end of each level. Players will be able to use power ups to slow time or even equip dual blasters, which will significantly help in critical situations that are created by the virus program. 

Cats And VR

HTC Launches Vive Studios and debuts studios first title Arcade Saga.

HTC today announced Vive Studios as the company's internal development and publishing initiative for virtual reality content. Vive Studios will bring to market VR content created by HTC's internal studios as well as through publishing partnerships with external developers. Also announced today is the launch of "Arcade Saga," the debut title from Vive Studios. The fast-paced VR game is a first-party title for HTC Vive developed by internal studio 2 Bears Studios.

"We're excited to formally unveil Vive Studios as a new pillar in HTC's initiative to drive persistent growth for VR," said Joel Breton, VP of content at HTC Vive. "Vive Studios' aim is to nurture and discover development talent and help create content that will continually push the boundaries of the kinds of experiences VR can deliver."

Vive Studios will use a publishing model similar to console games, where the label will produce first-party content through internal developers, such as 2 Bears, as well as partner with external developers. For external developers, Vive Studios is now a partner they can turn to for development funding as well as publishing and marketing support on VR content. Vive Studios is actively creating content across key categories for VR including games, education, cinematic, design, social, real-estate and sports, as well as tools and applications that can revolutionize areas such as media, retail, healthcare, and location-based entertainment centers and arcades.

Added Breton, "The VR ecosystem needs a persistent flow of exciting experiences and AAA content that can help grow our audience. We're excited to mark our launch with the debut of our first internally developed title 'Arcade Saga', a game that represents the kind of deeper and more challenging experience we believe VR enthusiasts are ready to embrace."

"Arcade Saga" is a fast, colorful VR game inspired by arcade games but with a twist, where players find themselves taking on the role of A.I. fighting threats developed by humans. Designed to enslave CPUs, these threats represent firewalls and viruses that manifest as three distinct challenges – Fracture, Smash, and Bowshot – each taking inspiration from arcade classics such as Breakout, Galaga and Arkanoid. The game play introduces new and exciting VR mechanics, combining the physics and physicality of games such as pinball, table tennis and archery with design and art direction drawn from the soul of a retro arcade. "Arcade Saga" is designed for all ages, with three difficulty modes that allow for family, casual and hardcore play. The game delivers more than 84 levels to master, with an upgrade system to gain new weapons and abilities, and massive boss fights to overcome.

"'Arcade Saga' delivers exciting and deep VR game play painted with strokes from classic arcade games that people will instantly remember," said J. Epps, Creative Director at 2 Bears Studios. "By combining an homage to familiar games with our backstory putting players in the role of a CPU fighting humans, 'Arcade Saga' is the VR equivalent of not just walking through an arcade but getting inside the game."

2 Bears Studios is led by game veterans from Microsoft Game Studios, Rockstar and Midway who have now joined senior engineers at HTC Vive to develop the next generation of VR experiences. As with their debut title "Arcade Saga," 2 Bears' aim is to tap into the enthusiasm in VR for richer experiences that are custom made for room-scale and push the capabilities of the Vive.

"We have entered a golden age of virtual reality content creation with incredibly powerful game engines, toolkits, and development kits at the fingertips of talented content creators worldwide," said Breton. "With Vive Studios, we're going to support the global VR development community as we work together to make virtual reality the next mass medium."

Arcade Saga" is available now for the Vive virtual reality system on Steam http://store.steampowered.com/app/464000/

SLIVER.tv Launches VR Live Cast and Live Replay Platform to Stream Top eSports Tournaments in 360 Virtual Reality

SLIVER.tv, a next-generation eSports 360º virtual reality entertainment platform, is officially launching its VR Live Cast and Live Replay platform for tournament and league operators to live stream top eSports titles, including Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends and Dota2 in full 360 Virtual Reality.

VR Live Cast utilizes patented “Virtual Camera Array” technology that transports the viewer into top eSports games, real-time rendering the 3D game world in a fully immersive 360 VR video experience.

The company has been Beta testing its turnkey solution for the past two months, working closely with ESL ONE NY in October and IEM Oakland in November. The most recent event drew over 130,000 unique viewers across SLIVER.tv’s platform and drove 40% greater engagement and 13x more video content consumed over the first event.

Stuart Ewen, Product Manager ESL, said: "SLIVER.tv's VR Live Cast technology helped us introduce live VR spectator experiences in eSports at ESL One New York and Intel Extreme Masters Oakland in impressive fashion. Broadcasting Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and League of Legends in-game footage in a VR environment is something that would not have been possible without SLIVER.tv's expertise. We're looking forward to watching this technology grow and evolve as we broadcast more and more events in VR."

SLIVER.tv’s unique VR Live Replay patent pending technology utilizes machine vision and algorithms to identify exciting moments, such as multi-kills in League of Legends, and automatically generates slow-motion or bullet-time special effects with close-up and fly-by camera angles. This instant replay is spliced back into the SLIVER.tv live 360 VR stream, and optionally made available to tournament and league operators to incorporate into existing broadcasts to other platforms including Twitch.

Mitch Liu, Co-founder and CEO of SLIVER.tv, said: “We’re truly excited about our VR Live Replay platform as it delivers a new and dynamic perspective on eSports spectating beyond today’s current static streaming experience.  By leveraging our virtual camera array technology, we’re able to generate both immersive 360 and regular video highlights, replays and special effects from angles that’s never been seen before.  We hope to deliver an out of this world experience to eSports fans worldwide.”

http://www.sliver.tv

To watch re-streams of the live IEM Oakland event, visit the SLIVER.tv website or download the SLIVER.tv Android and iOS apps to view Panorama-360 video or using Google Cardboard. For a premium experience, users can download the SLIVER.tv Samsung GearVR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive apps to watch in full VR.

Unity Hires Dr. Danny Lange away from Uber to be VP of AI and Machine Learning

Unity announced that it has hired Dr. Danny Lange as VP of AI and Machine Learning. He joins from Uber, where he was head of machine learning.

At Uber, Lange led the efforts to build the world’s most versatile Machine Learning platform to support Uber’s hyper growth.  As head of machine learning, Lange will lead Unity’s efforts around AI (Artificial Intelligence) and Machine Learning.

“Danny’s deep, technical background and expertise in Machine Learning align perfectly with the needs of our developers in the rapidly changing world of games and AR / VR,” said John Riccitiello, CEO of Unity Technologies. “We look forward to Danny creating innovative technologies our developers can use to help them optimize engagement and revenue for their products.”

Previously, Lange was General Manager of Amazon Machine Learning -- an AWS product that offers Machine Learning as a Cloud Service. Before that, he was Principal Development Manager at Microsoft where he led a product team focused on large-scale Machine Learning for Big Data. Lange spent 8 years on Speech Recognition Systems, first as CTO of General Magic, Inc., then through his work on General Motor’s OnStar Virtual Advisor, one of the largest deployments of an intelligent personal assistant until Siri. Danny started his career as a Computer Scientist at IBM Research.

He holds MS and Ph.D. degrees in Computer Science from the Technical University of Denmark. He is a member of ACM and IEEE Computer Society and has several patents to his credit.

Source: Unity Press Release.

Cats And VR

Looking for some Werewolves Within! Ubisoft launches its newest cross platform Social VR title.

Ubisoft continues to do its part to unite the fragmented virtual reality market by bringing it's newest VR title Werewolves Within to Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Playstation VR with cross platform online play. 

http://store.ubi.com/us/werewolves-within/57c169e46b54a406218b4567.html

Available right now, Werewolves Within originally started as a VR prototype from Ubisoft Red Storm after they stopped working on the studio's Rainbow Six game. 

Senior creative director David Votypka had this to say about the game in a recent Gamastura interview. 

"We wanted to try and capture this social experience you get from playing games around the table, especially social deduction games,"

"So that's why our prototypes typically involved a traitor of some sort, and having to figure out information about other players. I guess that's where the impetus came from."

I had a chance to try the game out at Twitch Con and was immediately enamored by the social VR elements of the game. Werewolves Within represents the early phase of social VR gaming as how Wolfenstein 3d formed a templet for first person shooters for decades to come. 

Werewolves Within is one of the first VR games to truly capture the social dynamic of table top games such as Settlers Of Catan. We will be seeing a lot more social experiences in VR coming in 2017 but Werewolves Within is actually a good glimpse at what companies like Facebook are going to use to create both user experience and retention. 

Facebook Social VR

I have to give Ubisoft some credit for taking a risk on this game to help grow the social VR ecosystem and hope to see some players taking a chance on it so I can get a few games in. I logged in this morning and could not find 4 players to play but did still have an interesting social VR experience with another person waiting for players. I do hope to see a few people on there to really see how far Werewolves Within can grow. Ubisoft is really trying to bring cross platform social gaming to VR and has already integrated this in both Eagle Flight and the upcoming Star Trek: Bridge Crew. 

Cats And VR

The awesome VR physics-based puzzle game Bounce developed by Oakland CA based Steel Wool is on sale now and has a free demo.

Bounce is a VR physics-based puzzle game for HTC Vive for Oakland CA based developers Steel Wool Games. Bounce is super fun, has a great soundtrack, is currently on sale until Dec 7, and has a FREE demo for you to try first. 

http://store.steampowered.com/app/464400/

Under the supervision of H8-Bit and 2Bit, two robots tasked with overseeing security of the intergalactic spaceship, players must help D1G-B, their spherical robot companion, traverse levels using an array of gadgets at their disposal to exit each level’s portal. With moving obstacles, laser gates, gravity wells, and multi-floor levels obstructing the path of D1G-B, players will have to use their creativity to construct solutions.

StarBlood Arena announced for PSVR during Playstation Experience 2016

StarBlood Arena is a futuristic flight combat shooter developed for use with the PlayStation VR headset. Players navigate battle pods in 360-degrees-of-freedom through underground arenas in close-quarters competitive and co-op multiplayer gameplay for 2 to 8 players.

In tournaments set up across the galaxy by the StarBlood Network, players compete for fame, fortune, and survival. Successful competitors will unlock ship modifications and customization options and battle through the ranks of the online leaderboards.

Key Features

Four modes of online competition – Carnage: A free-for-all battle, Team Carnage: team deathmatch, Gridiron: team goal-scoring game, and Invaders: a 4 player co-operative endless wave defense.
Single player – Single player skirmish mode as well as per-pilot tournaments.
Nine pilots – each with their own unique weapons, tactics, and play style.
Customizable vehicles – all APEX Battle Pods can be customized with paint schemes, visual attachments, and gameplay altering Mods.
360 degrees of freedom – Battle pods can strafe, roll, and boost in any direction while independently aiming weapons using the PlayStation VR head tracking.
Party on – easily connect with and fight alongside your online friends in both Ranked and Private matches.

Happy Thanksgiving! Also help out Planned Parenthood and ACLU by buying video games like Catlateral Damage! Here is how.

Happy Thanksgiving to all the people who have helped me out and supported me this year in life, especially on the gaming and VR side. Lets take this time to think about how we can give back and give thanks. 

A bunch of indie video game creators have done that and are sharing their works to combat some of the ugliness in our world. For between $2-$20 dollars you can get up 151 indie video games with 100% of the proceeds from this bundle will be split 50-50 between the ACLU ( American Civil Liberties Union) and Planned Parenthood. 

https://itch.io/b/149/a-good-bundle

 $2 will get you 89 video games, like Zoe Quinn’s Depression Quest.  At $8, you will get 36 additional titles, such as Vectorpark’s Metamorphabet. At $20 you get access to everything in the bundle, including some top titles and also some of my personal favorites like Catlateral Damage, Gone Home, and the super excellent cyber punk adventure Read Only Memories.  

Keep in mind these are not VR games and more than 25 of the titles are browser-based. However the games are all high quality and made by developers who not only care about the medium but how they can use it to help the world. The games are playable on Linux, Mac and/or WIndows PC.

The bundle will be available until 3 p.m. ET on Nov. 29. So if you feel the need to buy something on Black Friday A Good Bundle is a good deal for a good cause.

2K Announces NBA® 2KVR Experience Available on November 22

2K today announced NBA® 2KVR Experience , the first virtual reality basketball game immersing players in a new, entertaining NBA environment filled with the sights and sounds of fun mini-games and challenges. Available beginning on November 22 on PlayStation®VR, HTC Vive ™, and Samsung Gear VR, the new experience continues the dominance of the NBA 2K series.

“Our team consistently looks for new ways to deliver unique, fun experiences for the gamer,” said Greg Thomas, President of Visual Concepts. “NBA 2KVR will give fans even more access to our franchise and test new skills across entertaining VR challenges.”

In the NBA 2KVR Experience , players will join NBA 2K17 cover athlete and All-Star Paul George, as they step onto the court at the Indiana Pacers’ stadium, Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Paul George will also provide commentary and guide the player by offering tips to help improve their skills in mini-games and features including three-point shootout, a speed and accuracy skills challenge, the buzzer beater countdown. Players who can earn a variety of Gatorade boosts that will aide their shooting acumen, speed, recovery and more to help reach the top of the leaderboards

Calling all developers for the Samsung Gear VR Killer App Contest

Samsung is searching for the next killer GearVR app and is incentivizing devs with an app challange. If your app has not been published for Samsung Gear VR yet, send them yourdemo/app experience created in the Oculus SDK with Unity or Web VR. It doesn’t have to be a complete app or experience. It doesn’t have to be a game also. Apps previously published to other platforms since this September are also eligible. Samsung is looking for diverse and amazing uses of Samsung Gear VR, and want to help promote them to the world.

Don't waste anytime cause the deadline is November 23 2016 and the prizes are pretty good.

EVE: VALKYRIE NOW AVAILABLE ON STEAM FOR HTC VIVE

CCP Games today announced that EVE: Valkyrie™, the virtual reality (VR) multiplayer dogfighting shooter celebrated by Wired.com as "a soaring example of VR as the future of gaming" is available now on Steam for play with the HTC Vive VR headset.

EVE: Valkyrie launched in March for Oculus Rift and in October for the PlayStation VR. It is the world's first three-platform multiplayer VR game, as well as the first ever to offer cross-platform play. Players on all three platforms fly with, and against, each other online.

"EVE holds a special place in PC gaming, and EVE: Valkyrie is a superb entry into the growing VR gaming space. We're thrilled that HTC Vive owners can experience it from today on Steam, and will be able to enjoy an incredible cross-platform multiplayer experience," said Jon Goddard, European Marketing Director, VR at HTC.

CCP has already delivered two free updates for EVE: Valkyrie, most recently with the Joint Strike release, which added features like a new co-op game mode, a new single-player story mission, quick chat options, and more. The next free update is coming in early December, and CCP will continue to deliver new maps, modes, ships, and other free content updates to the game over time, working closely with the game's Founders.

For a limited time, CCP is offering a special promotion on Steam that awards all EVE: Valkyrie Founder's Pack purchasers with a free copy of the company's best-selling VR arcade shooter, Gunjack.

ABOUT EVE: VALKYRIE

EVE: Valkyrie is an award-winning multiplayer dogfighting shooter that harnesses the very latest advances in virtual reality technology. It is an accessible and immersive experience that fulfills the fantasy and thrill of being a real spaceship pilot in the midst of combat. USA Today noted that EVE: Valkyrie is "perhaps the greatest showcase of virtual reality's potential."

Developed by CCP Games' Newcastle studio, EVE: Valkyrie is the boldest realization of virtual reality space combat, combining immediate visceral action and tactical depth. The EVE: Valkyrie Founder's Pack is available for purchase on Steam for $59.99.

More information about EVE: Valkyrie can be found at https://www.evevalkyrie.com/ .

Obduction coming to Playstation VR

Cyan, Inc., the legendary indie studio that created beloved and best-selling games, Myst and Riven, today announced that their critically-acclaimed sci-fi adventure puzzler, Obduction, will be getting its first console reveal this holiday season at PlayStation Experience, December 3-4, at the Anaheim Convention Center.

"After nearly 20 years, we're thrilled to be heading back to console. With its massive player base and rich PSVR experience, PlayStation is the perfect platform to introduce Obduction's meticulously-crafted worlds to millions seeking to magically transport themselves elsewhere," said Rand Miller, CEO of Cyan. “Cyan has seen the future and we're all in on VR."

Fans who attend PlayStation Experience will be the first to get their hands on Obduction PS4 with guided tours by Cyan’s dev team. Additionally, there will be a special conversation with Rand Miller at the Obduction booth on Saturday, December 3, 3pm, on Cyan's vision for PSVR and beyond.

Having recently announced Obduction for HTC Vive, Cyan has already begun work adding support for hand controls and room scale. Hand controls will allow players to interact directly with objects in the world - buttons, levers, doors, valves, etc. - even picking up objects to examine them. These new features will provide an even more immersive experience to players with the appropriate capabilities (Vive, Oculus Touch, and PSVR).

Obduction is available for PC and Rift on  Oculus Store,  Steam,  GOG, and  Humble Store, for the introductory price of $29.99, coming soon to Mac. Obduction for PS4, PSVR and Vive coming 2017.

Futuristic war-themed VR shooter Overkill VR launches on HTC Vive today.

Today, VR-specialized publisher Game Troopers is launching Overkill VR, the ultimate futuristic VR shooter exclusively available for HTC VIVE on Steam. In this game you will experience what 360º VR playability is about: cover yourself from enemy attacks as if you actually were in the fighting field and accurately aim your targets all over the scenario!

With Overkill VR you will lead the Resistance into victory over the evil Faction forces and their brutal killing machines. In order to succeed you will have to customize and upgrade your weapons —you will find classic shotguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, machine guns and super-powered firearms— as you travel through ever-changing environments, from hostile deserts to abandoned cities and industrial complexes.

“With Overkill VR we pursued maximizing the capabilities of the HTC VIVE headset” says Jesús Bosch, CEO at Game Troopers. “Overkill VR is the first VR shooter made exclusively for HTC VIVE which brings you the look and feel of future war”.

Steam Link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/518720

The Obama administration launches competition to harness the creativity and ingenuity of the VR and AR developer community on behalf of America’s students.

“I’m calling for investments in educational technology that will help create. . . educational software that’s as compelling as the best video game. I want you guys to be stuck on a video game that’s teaching you something other than just blowing something up.”
 President Obama,

The Obama administration has launched a new competition to harness the creativity and ingenuity of the VR and AR developer community on behalf of America’s students

Utilizing the  U.S. Department of Education the administration has  launched the EdSim Challenge for next-generation educational simulations that will prepare students for the globally competitive workforce of the 21st century. The department is looking for immersive-learning experiences to help bolster career and technical skills of American youth. The DOE is incentivizing the competition  with $680,000 in cash prizes and additional sponsor prizes from IBM, Microsoft, and Samsung.

The administration has long felt that game developers have a way to reach the youth that current educators may not. In 2014, the Administration held the first White House Education Game Jam and in 2015 the U.S. Department of Education held the first Games for Learning Summit with Games for Change.

Information provided by WhiteHouse.gov

https://www.edsimchallenge.com/

https://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2016/11/15/new-prize-challenge-virtual-and-augmented-reality-learning-tools

VR Retreat releases a Hillary Wins VR experience....yep cause you know escapism is a thing.

Yeah so that election was doozy right and will have major ramifications for not only the next 4 years but may destroy any progressive reforms that may have happened in the history of America. I am a bit numb and don't really want to write about VR for a bit but hey some one made a Hillary Wins VR experience. I figured I would share...cause lets keep the pain going am I right...anybody? Here is a video and a link from VR Retreat

 http://vr-retreat.com/hillary-wins-vr/

From the VR Retreat website:

"Let’s be honest. Few people expected what happened last night. Maybe it is time to retreat from reality and continue our lives in virtual reality from now on.

The Hillary Wins VR Experience gives people a sneak peak at the best reality that we can now only experience in VR. When all it takes is to have the best words to win an election, why not opt out of reality completely? We are here to help.

We also build a mindfulness based and psychedelic VR game for people who want to escape reality on all those days without shocking election results."

If you guys want some Trump stuff here is a Video Jaunt VR did showing what is inside Trumps head...cause no one thought this would happen.

AltspaceVR today announced VR Capture, the first integrated solution for the capture, distribution, and playback of live VR performances and events

 AltspaceVR today announced VR Capture, the first integrated solution for the capture, distribution, and playback of live virtual reality (VR) performances and events.  VR Capture will debut November 10th at 11:00 am PST / 7:00 pm GMT and again at 7:00 pm PST / 10:00 pm EST with a live demonstration in AltspaceVR hosted by CEO Eric Romo. For more information or to attend go here. 

“VR Capture is an important breakthrough for the development and growth of VR as a medium,” said Eric Romo, CEO, AltspaceVR. “Being able to capture and playback anything that happens in AltspaceVR will encourage artists, creators, and performers to leverage their talents and better satisfy a growing VR market that is hungry for content.”

Most other forms of electronic communications—telephone, radio, video, video conferencing, television—depend on the ability to record and replay content. VR Capture brings an analogous capability to the VR market. 

With VR Capture, performers and select others are recorded in full VR, including their avatar, movements, voice and music. Audience reactions are captured in the form of emojis so attending an encore presentation feels just like the original experience. Unlike 360 video with its fixed viewing location, VR Capture offers the full live experience where users can move throughout the event space, experiencing the show from any angle. While VR Capture opens the door for a variety of creative applications, AltspaceVR will initially be using it for the capture and playback of live events, making them more available for audiences around the world.

Recent live events in AltspaceVR have featured Drew Carey, Duncan Trussell, Justin Roiland, Al Roker, Chuck Todd, and Reggie Watts. Using VR as a medium eliminates cost, time, and other barriers related to travel, distance, and venues. People can easily join, but scheduling for fans located across different time zones is a challenge. Now, for the first time, this content can be captured and then scheduled for a fully immersive VR experience at a later time for groups of any size. Content creators can maximize the value of their content with multiple showings and fans get more opportunities to experience live events. 

VR content typically is synthesized from a variety of methods, requiring specialized equipment, software, post-processing and technical skills.  Until now, the best option to capture a live VR event was to record and watch it as a “two-dimensional” video. With AltspaceVR, capture and playback is easy and provides a fully immersive social VR experience:

It does not require special equipment, editing software or high-end computers
There is no intermediate processing, so the VR Capture is available for immediate replay
The VR Capture is streamed from the cloud, removing concerns about time, storage space, or security of downloads.

In contrast to other VR experiences, VR Capture provides social, shared experiences, allowing an unlimited number of people to join (when used with AltspaceVR FrontRow™ technology)

AltspaceVR is rolling out its use of VR Capture with an all-day marathon of VR shows on November 11 and is developing a regular schedule of content designed for its users in all time zones. VR Capture is now available to support live events by AltspaceVR partners.  Learn more here. 

AltspaceVR supports Facebook’s Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Samsung Gear VR in full VR mode, as well as PC and Mac in “two-dimensional” desktop mode. 

For more information about AltspaceVR, please visit altvr.com.