Ex Sony London VR team launch new VR company, Dream Reality Interactive.

Dave Ranyard his former Sony London teammates Richard Bates, Artemis Tsouflidou, Albert Bentall and John Foster, who were all integral to the development of ‘VR Worlds’ for Sony’s PSVR headset. announced the formation of his new, independent studio  Dream Reality Interactive, to focus on development of virtual reality games and experiences.

With an impressive background in creating innovative titles including ‘Singstar’, ‘Wonderbook: Book of Spells’ and ‘VR Worlds’ featuring ‘London Heist’ Dave’s experience and love of social play, VR and AR is central to Dream Reality’s development plans.

“With the availability of a range of VR headsets the question is no longer IF virtual reality will be successful, it is WHEN and most importantly, HOW? None of us really knows the answer but after a fantastic 17 years at Sony, now feels like the right time to explore the possibilities. Going independent allows me to work across all platforms and that’s very liberating.”

Dream Reality Interactive is already working on several projects and prototypes, creating its own IP in addition to developing titles in partnership with other IP owners, across a variety of VR headsets.

The long awaited John Wick VR game is out today for the HTC Vive!

Starbreeze have opened the doors of the notorious Continental Hotel with the launch of John Wick Chronicles. Developed in collaboration with Grab Games, Big Red Button and GamecoStudios, this electrifying first-person VR shooter is available today on the HTC Vive virtual reality headset for $19.99.

John Wick Chronicles puts players in the role of the legendary assassin himself, out for vengeance against the criminal underworld in a land of hired guns. The game lets fans explore and interact with the characters and locales of the Continental, an illustrious assassins’ den featured prominently in Lionsgate’s hit film John Wick, starring Keanu Reeves, and its sequel, John Wick: Chapter 2.

Players will have access to an arsenal of firepower to engage in intense firefights and boss battles against deadly crime lords and their vicious henchmen. But the player, as Mr. Wick, isn’t immortal, so when the bullets start flying, making intelligent use of dodges and cover is essential to surviving against such overwhelming odds.

John Wick: Chapter 2 opens in theaters worldwide starting on Feb. 10 and is distributed by Lionsgate’s Summit Entertainment label.

Players can find John Wick Chronicles on Steam at: store.steampowered.com/app/382360
Further information about John Wick Chronicles can be found at: www.johnwickvr.com

AltspaceVR and Cyberia are teaming up to present a free VR film festival this weekend.

 
AltspaceVR and Cyberia are teaming up to present a new kind of film festival – one taking place entirely in virtual reality VR. Styled after conventional film festivals, audience members can choose from a curated schedule of 38 short films of assorted genres from all over the world. AltspaceVR is a leading social VR platform and Cyberia has over a decade of experience planning film festivals. Attendees can register for the event here.

Please RSVP for instruction on how to join from your VR headset or in 2D mode:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cyberia-film-festival-in-vr-tickets-31304654063?aff=erelpanelorg

Presented will be a curated schedule of 38 short films of assortment of genres from all over the world. Films screen every half- or quarter-hour, with moderated filmmaker Q & A sessions following selected screenings. Conversation will be muted during the screenings, but the audience is encouraged to converse with one another between films, just as they would in a traditional theater. 
 
Cyberia VR Filmfest dates and times
February 10, 6:00-9:00 PM PST
February 11, 5:00-9:00 PM PST
February 12, 11:00 AM-1:00 PM PST
 
Films screen every half- or quarter-hour, with moderated filmmaker Q&A sessions following selected screenings. Conversation will be muted during the screenings, but the audience is encouraged to converse with one another between films, just as they would in a traditional theater. Anyone in the world can join with compatible VR equipment (Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, or Samsung Gear VR) or in display mode on PC or Mac.

Please see below for the entire schedule line up:
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10TH
6:00 PM - Quenottes (Pearlies)
6:15 PM - Cycle
6:30 PM - Devil Snail/Worm Food
6:45 PM - Star Wars: The Secret of Tatooine – A Fan Film
7:00 PM - Horseshoe Theory
7:15 PM - Goutte d'Or
7:30 PM - Birds with Human heads
7:45 PM - New Soul
8:00 PM - Attractive Force
8:15 PM - dark_net
8:30 PM - Zinda – The Living Souls [followed by a Q&A with director's representative, Dr. Hassan Zee]

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 11TH
5:00 PM - The Suit [followed by Q&A with director Dave Conte]
5:30 PM - Jef Needs Ice Cream
5:45 PM - I Dare You
6:00 PM - It's a Date
6:15 PM - Lure
6:30 PM - Object [followed by Q&A with filmmakers DESCIPLE]
7:00 PM - HETJA 2 [followed by Q&A with director Michael Jordan]
7:30 PM - Zerch
7:45 PM - Three HP Lovecraft Films
8:00 PM - Kong's
8:15 PM - Story 304
8:45 PM - Smirnoff Sound Collective - Tribes (Episode 3): Dirtybird

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12TH
11:00 AM - Cruel Forgiveness
11:15 AM - Knock!
11:30 AM - Riptide Rhapsody
11:45 AM - EEL/EARWORM
12:00 PM - What If We Got Off on the Wrong Foot [followed by Q&A with director Bo! Campbell]
12:30 PM - Night of the Slasher
12:45 PM - A Spring Before Winter
1:00 PM - Harbinger
1:15 PM - Experiments in Non-Cinema
1:30 PM - Scary Little Fuckers
2:00 PM - Synchronous
2:15 PM - Qubitpunk
2:30 PM - Palmer's Pickup [followed by Q&A with director Christopher Coppola]

Immersive entertainment company The VOID, today announced it has appointed Cliff Plumer as CEO.

 The VOID, the critically acclaimed immersive entertainment company, today announced it has appointed Cliff Plumer as chief executive officer. With more than 30 years of experience spanning production, creative and technology, Plumer will lead the company effective today. He succeeds co-founder Ken Bretschneider who has transitioned to the role of committee chair of THE VOID Visions team and will continue to sit on the board of directors.
 
Plumer joins THE VOID from premiere virtual reality media company, Jaunt, where he served as president of Santa Monica-based Jaunt Studios. During his time at Jaunt, Plumer grew the creative team and worked with partners and brands on the development and production of VR content. Prior to Jaunt, he served as CEO of visual effects studio, Digital Domain and CTO of Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic where he worked closely with founder and filmmaker George Lucas in the development of new computer graphic technology and a digital cinema production and distribution system for the Star Wars trilogy.
 
“For years, people have been looking for that killer VR experience and THE VOID is it. The second I experienced it for the first time, I knew I had to be part of its success,” said Plumer. “Seeing truly is believing when it comes to virtual reality, and THE VOID’s immersive experiences are going to be the first real taste of virtual reality for consumers. I am confident that THE VOID will prove to be a leader and pioneer in the virtual reality world, inspiring mass-consumer adoption of VR.”
 
“Cliff has been an adviser to THE VOID for some time now and it's been amazing to work alongside him. I’m happy to hand the reigns of CEO over to him and trust his exceptional leadership,” said Bretschneider. “He’s an incredibly efficient CEO and more importantly, he’s a visionary. We’re really excited and lucky that he’s decided to join THE VOID.”
 
With the company’s first public installation in New York City in partnership with Madame Tussauds, THE VOID takes the unique approach of combining digital environments with physical stages and interactive elements to provide consumers with a new level of immersive entertainment, placing them directly inside the movies, games and stories they love. THE VOID consists of:

Physical Sets – Custom stages and a wide array of sensory effects, designed specifically for VOID experiences, are used to fully draw participants into the digital world that's been mapped over the physical space.
Social Experience – Unlike most VR that isolates users, THE VOID is a shared, multiplayer experience. It creates a tangible emotional bond as people play together, making THE VOID significantly more appealing for friends, families and groups.

RAPTURE™ Hardware – THE VOID’s proprietary equipment – including a virtual reality headset, accessories and tools and a companion vest that allows environmental effects to be felt from multiple points using Haptic feedback – meld the physical and digital worlds together.
Original and Beloved Storylines – Enter unexplored worlds filled with immersive and entertaining adventures. Step beyond reality and into the world of favorite franchises, including Ghostbusters, where you track and trap supernatural foes through a New York apartment complex.

Oculus, ZeniMax, NDA's, & a bunch of money.

Oculus left 2016 with troubles and has entered 2017 with even more. A Texas jury awarded half a billion dollars to ZeniMax. ZeniMax accused  Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey to failing to comply with a non-disclosure agreement he signed.

Of the $500 million, Palmer Luckey and Brendan Iribe have to pay $50 million for false designation and Iribe has to pay an additional $150 million. Oculus as a company is responsible for the additional $200 million. 

While we wait to see how this all plays out for Iribe who recently stepped down as Oculus CEO and Luckey who has been silent and missing from the VR community ever since his support of Donald Trump vilified him to many who were early Oculus supporters. 

To the end of CatsAndVR.com, I have been a fan of Oculus for years and was an early user of their dev kits.

I don't disagree with the Zenimax Verdict but I do think this verdict will hurt a company I felt pushed for the refinement of VR. Everything from the headstrap to the design of the touch controllers are amazing. But alas this blow will hurt

I feel bad for Palmer Luckey and hope this fires him up to go out and create something better on his own and prove the world wrong. I also wonder how Brendan Iribe got so much of this verdict against him. 

ZeniMax in the meanwhile has made some move to acquire Escalation Studios. Escalation is responsible for the VR port of Please, Don’t Touch Anything! and the Oculus-published Herobound: Gladiators.

If ZeniMax goes forward with what they told Polygon this story may not be over. 

 Polygon was told  that ZeniMax  may seek an injunction to stop the sale of Oculus Rift headsets.

 ZeniMax’s Chairman and CEO, stated that “technology is the foundation of our business and we consider the theft of our intellectual property to be a serious matter. We appreciate the jury’s finding against the defendants, and the award of half a billion dollars in damages for those serious violations.”

John Carmack went on Facebook obviously and stated "I disagreed with their characterization, misdirection, and selective omissions."I never tried to hide or wipe any evidence, and all of my data is accounted for, contrary to some stories being spread," he continued.

Carmak takes issue with the accusations made by ZeniMax's legal counsel that he erased data after learning of ZeniMax's lawsuit.

“This is a really important step toward VR legitimacy: a legal case of this size substantiates the potential of VR technology,” said Stephanie Llamas, an analyst at SuperData Research

Fox & Marvel combine powers for nationwide Augmented Reality campaign for latest mutant themed show "Legion"

FX Networks announced today an AR campaign for the long-awaited February 8th premiere of Legion. Comic lovers around the country can access the headspace of one of the world’s most powerful mutants and embrace the fractured reality of this new original series through one-of-a-kind experiences presented by FX Networks. For full details, visit insidelegion.com/experience. 

Five augmented reality murals that will reveal the power of David Haller’s mind can be found in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.  Those who find the murals can download the Blippar app, then aim and frame the art to watch the power of Legion come to life. Locations for each mural are: Brooklyn, NY at St. Nicholas Avenue & Jefferson Street; New York, NY at Bleecker Street & Carmine Street; Chicago, IL at W. North Avenue & N. Western Avenue; Los Angeles, CA at Hollywood Boulevard & Vine Street; San Francisco, CA at Fillmore Street & Union Street. 

Launching Friday, January 27 through Sunday, January 29, Legion Where?House opens to the public featuring a mind-bending three-day art exhibit in Brooklyn.  The gallery presented by FX is inspired by the unpredictable world of Legion at Villain warehouse in Brooklyn, New York.  The three-day exhibit will challenge audiences and bring the unfathomable power of the Legion to life with art installations inspired by the series’ themes, including: 

Forced perspective art piece by Michael Murphy
Found materials installation by Clemens Behr
Light and shadow installation by Kumi Yamashita  
Legion Key Art Mural by David Flores
Multimedia installation inspired by the series
 
In addition, fans nationwide who want to take the art home can head to 56 participating comic book stores across the US including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and more, that will be giving away the limited edition posters (while supplies last).  Go to insidelegion.com/experience for the full list of locations.

About Legion

Legion, the highly-anticipated new drama series from Noah Hawley, will premiere on FX on Wednesday, February 8 at 10 PM ET/PT. Hawley serves as Executive Producer, along with Lauren Shuler Donner, Bryan Singer, Simon Kinberg, Jeph Loeb, Jim Chory and John Cameron. Legion is the latest project from Hawley and Cameron, two of the executive producers of the Emmy® and Golden Globe®-winning FX limited series Fargo.

Legion, based on the Marvel Comics by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz, is the story of David Haller (Dan Stevens), a troubled young man who may be more than human. Diagnosed as schizophrenic as a child, David has been in and out of psychiatric hospitals for years. Now in his early 30s and institutionalized once again, David loses himself in the rhythm of the structured regimen of life in the hospital: breakfast, lunch, dinner, therapy, medications, sleep. David spends the rest of his time in companionable silence alongside his chatterbox friend Lenny (Aubrey Plaza), a fellow patient whose life-long drug and alcohol addiction has done nothing to quell her boundless optimism that her luck is about to change. The pleasant numbness of David’s routine is completely upended with the arrival of a beautiful and troubled new patient named Syd (Rachel Keller). Inexplicably drawn to one another, David and Syd share a startling encounter, after which David must confront the shocking possibility that the voices he hears and the visions he sees may actually be real.  

A haunted man, David escapes from the hospital and seeks shelter with his sister Amy (Katie Aselton).  But Amy’s concern for her brother is trumped by her desire to protect the picture-perfect suburban life she’s built for herself. Eventually, Syd guides David to Melanie Bird (Jean Smart), a nurturing but demanding therapist with a sharp mind and unconventional methods. She and her team of specialists – Ptonomy (Jeremie Harris), Kerry (Amber Midthunder) and Cary (Bill Irwin) – open David’s eyes to an extraordinary new world of possibilities
Legion is produced by FX Productions and Marvel Television, with FXP handling the physical production.

With little fanfare the Pokémon Company launches Pokémon Duel into app stores and into our hearts.

The Pokémon Company International announced today that Pokémon Duel is now available for download at no charge on the App Store and on Google Play. With much less fanfare than the Augmented Reality hit Pokemon Go we get a new Pokemon mobile game. 

Pokémon Duel is an exciting mobile strategy game in which fans deploy digital Pokémon figures and battle based on strategic moves to reach a goal in the opponent’s territory. Pokémon Duel gameplay details follow:

By strategically assembling their team of six Pokémon, each with its own strengths and a set number of steps it can take, players can take different routes to rush toward the goal or block the opponent’s Pokémon from advancing.

When two Pokémon from opposing teams meet, a battle commences, and the players spin each Pokémon’s Data Disk to see which Attack each Pokémon will use.

In addition to moving Pokémon and battling, players will also be able to use a plate at the start of their turn. These plates have various effects, including swapping positions of Pokémon in play and giving their Pokémon various battle enhancements for that turn.
The player who reaches their goal first wins the duel.

Players can duel against real opponents at any time by tapping League Match on the Home screen. They will then be automatically matched, according to skill, with other players around the world.  A variety of items, including Pokémon figures, can be earned through Time Boosters that are unlocked with every League victory. Winning League matches also increases the player’s rating and provides a chance to get different Pokémon figures as they compete in higher-level leagues.

More plates and Boosters can be purchased at the Shop within the app. Materials collected from purchased Boosters can be traded for desired Pokémon. In-game currency known as Gems can be purchased at the Shop or earned in several ways, such as by playing Pokémon Duel daily and clearing missions.

Resident Evil® 7 biohazard is out now for Playstation VR

Resident Evil® 7 biohazard is now available both digitally and at retail across North America and Europe. This latest entry in the renowned Resident Evil® series, which has sold over 71 million units worldwide to date, is available on PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system (the full game is also available to play via the included optional PlayStation®VR Mode), Xbox One and Windows PC (Steam and Windows Store). The Resident Evil series which first coined the “survival horror” term some twenty years ago, innovates the genre yet again as Resident Evil 7 biohazard delivers an incredibly realistic horror experience updated with modern gameplay systems.

Resident Evil 7 biohazard introduces players to Ethan Winters, who has been led to Dulvey, Louisiana in search of his missing wife. There he comes upon a sinister and supposedly abandoned plantation. Upon entering the property it becomes clear that there are secrets to unveil and all is not as it seems. Ethan soon encounters the mysterious Baker family, who have been missing from the area for some time. Will Ethan ever be reunited with his wife? Players will unfold all the secrets behind the mysterious plot as they embark on this truly terrifying and unpredictable survival horror experience.

Resident Evil 7 biohazard features the signature explorative and atmospheric gameplay from the critically acclaimed series that fans across the world have loved for years. The innovative and immersive horror gameplay delivers a disturbingly realistic experience that challenges players to face untold fears, up close and personal, thanks to the dramatic shift to first person view. Powered by Capcom’s original RE Engine and working in tandem with industry leading audio and visual technologies, Resident Evil 7 biohazard promises to define the next era in horror entertainment.

Capcom will continue to support the release of Resident Evil 7 biohazard after launch with optional downloadable content. Available shortly after launch, Banned Footage Vol. 1 and Banned Footage Vol. 2 will each deliver two further scenarios and an extra bonus mode for players to dive even deeper into the terrifying game world. Following those, an additional story episode, Not a Hero, will be released for free to all players in spring 2017 and will introduce players to a new separate storyline away from the mysterious drama they’ve already unveiled with Ethan Winters. The Banned Footage Vol. 1 and Banned Footage Vol. 2 content, along with an additional downloadable story episode are available via the Season Pass and deluxe editions of the game. These downloadable contents will also be available for purchase separately with more details to be shared soon.

Google Makes Tilt Brush even more of a killer VR app with Tilt Brush Toolkit.

One can say Google’s Tilt Brush is still virtual reality’s closest thing to a killer app and one of the first demos anyone using a HTC Vive will ever try. 

Artists around the world have been able to create amazing works in Tilt Brush and then capture video to share their creations. Even Marvel/Disney has gotten down with the Tilt Brush.

Google has recently announced the release of the open source Tilt Brush Toolkit, a tool that allows Tilt Brush creators to export their creations into Unity, and animate them. Tilt Brush Toolkit makes exporting your Tilt Brush paintings easy and gives them the ability to come to life using Unity, one of the most robust game development tools on the market.

The toolkit being open source means that developers can optimize and create new tools. This also means that Oculus owners can use Tilt Brush to create as well.

Along side with Unity's recent VR workspace update it looks like the future is very bright for using VR to develop for VR.

The Tilt Brush Toolkit includes Python scripts and a Unity SDK with everything you need to make movies, interactive stories, video games, music videos, or other projects using assets created in Tilt Brush. A few example projects are given in the Github link including a Car and exploration game all built in Unity using Tilt Brush assets. https://github.com/googlevr/tilt-brush-toolkit

HTC Vive and Viveport are bringing some of my favorite VR experiences to Sundance.

HTC Vive and Viveport is heading to Park City, Utah during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival to exhibit at “VR on the Mountain,” a virtual reality hub for festival attendees taking place January 20-22. HTC Vive and Viveport are bringing a lineup of apps including two of my favorites of 2016, Mindshow and The Price Of Freedom.

I'm actually in a promotional video for The Price Of Freedom but that is because it is super rad.

I am also a huge fan of Mindshow and have been hanging in the Alpha for a bit.

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. 

Vive is also highlighting new content from Baobab Studios, a studio that brought its impressive animation pedigree to VR last year with “Invasion!,” an award-winning title launched last year.  Headed by veterans from Pixar and DreamWorks Animation, including “Madagascar” writer-director Eric Darnell.

The Viveport exhibit is part of HTC Vive’s sponsorship of “VR on the Mountain” during the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. “VR on the Mountain” will be held January 20-22 at Firewood, one of newest venues located on Main Street in Park City, Utah. Attendees will be able to experience all of the titles listed for the duration of the exhibit with the exception of “Asteroids,” which will debut on January 21.

Trump In VR- An Art Piece For A Modern America.

" To mark the Inauguration of the 45th President of the United States MacInnes Scott invite you to step into the Oval Office and meet President Trump. This historic site has been recreated down to the smallest detail and President Trump is the most photo-realist human you will see in virtual reality today. Explore what it feels like to be in the space where America's destiny has been shaped for the last 78 years and come face to face with the man who will determine America's fate for the next four."-MacInnes Scott

This Virtual Reality Art Piece entitled Wide Awake was created by the firm MacInnes Scott, a group out of LA consisting of former Call Of Duty devs. They are doing some very cutting edge work and have added the new Pres to that body of work. macinnesscott.com

It’s 2am in the Oval Office.  The phone is ringing but nobody is picking up. President Trump is vigilent  against the encroaching darkness. His focus is intense. Is he leaning against his desk in contemplation or pushing off towards an unknown future?  

“VR is a new medium with the potential of being a movie or video game, a combination of both or something completely new,” says John MacInnes. “We see Trump In VR as art - a tableau vivant, in the American tradition of artists like Edward Hooper in painting, Gregory Crewdson and Cindy Sherman in photography. Unlike a painting and photography, you can interact with the art in virtual reality.”

MacInnes Scott's proprietary digital human 'maximum resolution' replication system utilizes HTC Vive's room scale and Epic's Unreal engine to render the character and environment in real-time 3D.

 Wide Awake will be at the VR Society’s Art In VR exhibition with Sotheby’s in New York City this June.

The MacInnes Scott team recently added an update to Wide Awake.

Check it out over at Viveport https://www.viveport.com/apps/c6947061-124e-4315-ab0b-6208c1bb77f9

Jaunt VR's 2017 scripted content agenda Includes remake of cult classic THE LAWNMOWER MAN

Today at Sundance revealed five key content deals that are in development and slated to go into production in 2017. Each conceived to be an original, scripted, multi-episode series, the deals span new and existing relationships with Creative Artists Agency (CAA), William Morris Endeavor (WME), Park Television Productions and Triton Media Inc.
 
“As we continue to develop more immersive, cinematic VR content with high production values and longer run-times, it solidifies for us that VR is fast-becoming a mainstream staple within the entertainment industry,” said George Kliavkoff, president and CEO of Jaunt. “2016 was the final year of experimentation and every indication is that 2017 will be the year of action and adoption. We’re excited to be in development on all five of these series alongside some of today’s top talent.”
 
THE LAWNMOWER MAN - Revival of a Cult Classic
A new VR series based upon the 1992 cult classic feature THE LAWNMOWER MAN. Partnering with rights holders Jim Howell and Rupert Harvey, Jaunt will develop and produce a reimagination of the film that kick started the VR conversation 25 years ago.
 
“The original movie was a film of unsurpassed imagination and creativity with its ground-breaking use of VR back in 1992,” said Jim Howell. “Together with Jaunt we look forward to a contemporary team bringing to life a whole new world of VR; a world of immersive entertainment and communication. We are very excited to be working with Jaunt to create a VR realization of the film.”
 
LUNA - Action-Thriller Series
A 12-episode sci-fi suspense series created by Adam Cooper & Bill Collage (ASSASSIN’S CREED, EXODUS: GODS AND KINGS) to be directed by Robert Schwentke (The DIVERGENT Series: ALLEGIANT and INSURGENT, FLIGHTPLAN).  LUNA follows an ensemble cast navigating an abandoned lunar base which results in them experiencing fear unlike anyone has felt before.
According to the creators, “Immersive 360-degree storytelling is the movement of the future. The opportunity to launch such a massive franchise in this groundbreaking new medium is a humbling dream come true. Whereas traditional narrative filmmaking brings the story to the viewer, LUNA brings the viewer into the story.”
Specific to the story, they added, “Around the globe, one thing we all share in common is a fascination with what it might be like to experience life on the moon — so as writers, we couldn’t think of a better way to engage this new medium than with something that’s at once unifying and germane to all human curiosity — yet simultaneously, tense, thought-provoking and hopefully, inspiring to us all.”
 
THE ENLIGHTENED ONES - Political Sci-Fi Series
An episodic VR series written and produced by Tye Sheridan (X-MEN: APOCALYPSE, READY PLAYER ONE) and Nikola Todorovic of Aether, Inc. THE ENLIGHTENED ONES is set in an alternative present where a device is discovered bringing immortality to the human race. After the general public is given access to this technology, the world’s governments form an organization to control the crisis of overpopulation. Season one follows Enlightened One JL57, an employee at the company, as he is pulled into the underbelly of a resistance movement, discovering that this utopian technology may not be all that it seems.
 
“The entire Aether team is excited to begin development in collaboration with Jaunt on THE ENLIGHTENED ONES,” said Sheridan. “It’s always refreshing to bring great stories into a new medium of storytelling. This is not just a story about good vs. evil. We wanted to truthfully explore what would happen if we discovered a technology that could prolong human life and make war and illness obsolete; would we allow everyone to use it knowing that the earth would overpopulate?”
 
BAD TRIP - Stoner Comedy Series
A six-episode comedy series from writer/director Todd Strauss-Schulson (HAROLD AND KUMAR 3D). The series will place the viewer in the hyper-visual and uncomfortable situation of taking various drugs in environments that are less than ideal.
 
“VR is the future.  It's a fascinating new form of storytelling that can create a potent feeling state and a personal subjective experience,” said Strauss-Schulson. “You know what else can do that? Drugs. Drugs have the power to create hilarious, pride swallowing humiliations. I'm pumped to dive into the VR world where I can apply my visual ideas to this medium putting the viewer inside these hallucinatory rollercoaster rides. And I'm excited to be partnered with a team as bold as Jaunt, they are truly on the cutting edge of VR content.”
 
MISS GLORIA - Sci-Fi Action-Adventure Series
A multi-episode series from New York Times Bestselling author, Daniel H. Wilson (Robopocalypse, How to Survive a Robot Uprising). Set in the distant future, the series situates the user in several distinct points of view as a “Robot Hero” tracks down a young girl who has gone missing during an uprising.
 
"I wrote MISS GLORIA from the ground up to take advantage of the unique strengths of storytelling in VR,” said Wilson. “It's a deeply emotional exploration into how we internalize the voices of our teachers and mentors, and how we continue to carry those people with us forever. My first career was as a roboticist, so I’m incredibly excited to combine art and science by crafting thrilling sci-fi for a cutting edge technological medium."
 
Building on the successful launch of INVISIBLE – a 2016 scripted supernatural drama series created in partnership with Director Doug Liman, Screenwriter Melisa Wallack, Producer Julina Tatlock, Condé Nast Entertainment (CNÉ), and Samsung – these deals are the latest big Hollywood cinematic endeavors from Jaunt. Each project will be overseen by Jaunt’s Head of Content, Tom Vance, and his team of directors, editors and sound engineers at Santa Monica-based Jaunt Studios.
 
As an Official Partner of the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, Jaunt will be operating The Jaunt VR Lounge at 580 Main Street, Park City, UT 84060. The lounge will be open daily from 10:30 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. featuring content demos, VR production workshops with Radiant Images and Adobe, charging stations, after-hours events and more. The lounge will host daily screenings of 20 different VR experiences including exclusive and award-winning VR content from RYOT, Lily Baldwin and Saschka Unseld, Conservation International and more. Marquee screenings and premieres include:
 
Through You – Official Sundance Selection – Lily Baldwin and Saschka Unseld bring audiences a love story over a lifetime in virtuality. Explore love, rage, passion and mortality spanning several decades, from the early 1970s to the late 1980s and beyond.
Bashir’s Dream – Exclusive Premiere at Sundance – From the award-winning RYOT team comes the story of Qusai Bashir Masaama, a 14-year-old Syrian refugee living in Jordan who was shot in the back by a sniper while on a candy run. As a result, Qusai became a paraplegic. He is confined to a wheelchair, but dreams of playing basketball and traveling abroad for better care and education. Filmed entirely in Jordan, this film juxtaposes live action documentary filmmaking and animation as it explores a childlike attitude to a war-torn reality.
Under the Canopy – Limited Private Screening – Developed with Conservation International, this virtual reality film allows you to explore the extraordinary landscape of the Amazon River basin guided by the indigenous peoples and local communities who are essential to its protection.
What Do You Desire? – A globe-spanning journey set to the thought provoking words of philosopher Alan Watts.
OMW – A constantly changing 360° music video for Yung Jake’s OMW (On My Way) brings viewers inside his Tesla Model X, where no two rides are ever the same.
Circa 2345 – Daniel Arsham is known for transforming everyday objects and experiences and making them act in ways they shouldn't. His VR film CIRCA 2345 combines footage from one of his gallery exhibitions as well as his studio process. The experience is narrated by a fictional archeologist in the future who is looking back at the objects from our own era with confusion and wonder.

Reddit user reaches out to the VR community to help with his fathers Alzheimer's...and receives it!

“I’m losing my dad to Alzheimer’s. Every day that passes I can tell that there is less and less of him here with us. It breaks my heart,”  “We’ve tried all the traditional medicines to slow the progression but nothing seems to be helping him at all.”

The above was part of a recent Reddit post by user Porspellar in which the user turned to VR developers for help with an app to help his fathers Alzheimer's.

The reason the Reddit turned to VR developers was due to some promising research out of  MIT that showed that a flashing light pulse of 40hz for an hour was shown to noticeably reduce the beta amyloid brain plaques associated with Alzheimer's in mice (the mice had been genetically engineered to have Alzheimer's-type damage).

Porspellar did end up being helping out by another user. Samuel Sekandagu of Overflow Games who developed a prototype within hours.

You can see the exchange below.

Sekandagu did release the code via Github but for safety reasons we will not post it at this date,

This is a prototype and the original poster did say he would consult his fathers physicians before trying it. This was not the only person to try to help the user.

The original poster ended up being contacted by company's called Rendever , an MIT company that takes a human-centered design approach, applying the latest MIT research to deliver affordable, customized virtual reality experiences for people who receive and provide eldercare.

http://www.rendever.com

We here at CatsAndVR.com commend both Sam and Rendever on reaching out to help this Reddit community member. I recommend purchasing Overflow Games VR title Adobe as well as checking out what Rendever is currently working on.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/548340/ 

The answers may not be here now but with people caring enough to search for them maybe they are not far away. VR is not just a fad or new form of entertainment, it can help change the world.

The Future Iz Meow.

Cats And VR

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.