GDC 2015

Today you can watch the entirety of the super-packed massive session "The Dawn of Mobile VR" as presented by Oculus VR's John Carmack at GDC 2015. This VR headset talk was a whopping one hour and 30 minutes long, including a question and answer session - and it really jammed in deep with the virtual reality ecosphere, especially in mobile applications. Developers jammed themselves in person-to-person for this talk during GDC 2015 in a hall that was capped to capacity - now you can watch it all from the comfort of your own home.

Continue Reading

Back in late 2013 we had our first opportunity to bring a magical experience to our living room with the PS4 game "PlayRoom." This game worked with the PlayStation 4 Camera, showing us our living room onscreen with augmented reality characters and objects galore. This week we've been given our first glimpse of what PlayRoom will look like in virtual reality, with Project Morpheus in 2016. These demos were the last part of the collection of early visions we were shown by Japan Studio, the same group of developers that made The PlayRoom.

Continue Reading

It's time we got up close and personal with the pre-Alpha of Unreal Tournament 4, do you think? We got the opportunity to do so this week with Epic Games, they being prepared to show the game in this pre-alpha stage to the public, showing the game in a state that is indeed very, very early - but already mightily impressive to behold. The game mechanics are simple, and multiplayer is limited, but already the game is extremely fun to play with - and of course to take in.

Continue Reading

Earlier this week, Epic Games announced that WETA Digital had created a VR experience for The Hobbit. This collaboration is called "Thief in the Shadows", and was the combined efforts of Epic Games, WETA Digital, NVIDIA, and Oculus, and it'd bring the wearer to the Lonely Mountain, put in place of Bilbo Baggins as he (the wearer of the Oculus VR headset) encounters the dragon Smaug for the first time. Oh, Stupendous One, how awesome it is to look upon your face from such a realistic perspective.

Continue Reading

When we first got our hands, head, and eyes on the first OSVR Hacker Developer Kit earlier this year, Razer had just a few mini-demo pieces of software to show with it. Tossing fireballs in a forest was just about all we were able to do. Fast-forward to March of this same year and we've already got some extremely serious developers onboard with the OSVR (open source virtual reality) organization. The game Radial-G by Tammeka is a great example of what's possible in this headset, adjustable lenses, VR sound, and high-powered display included.

Continue Reading

Earlier this week at GDC 2015, Microsoft's Head of Xbox Phil Spencer announced competitive action game Gigantic would be coming to Xbox One. This game was previously revealed to be coming to Windows 8 and Windows 10, and it'll be rolling with Xbox One at launch as well. We got the opportunity to go hands-on with the game this afternoon, in full team-based battle warrior form. This game will be cross-play and cross-advance, meaning basically everything will cross over, platform to platform, device to device.

Continue Reading

This week we've had the opportunity to take a peek at the newest in virtual reality computing and entertainment at GDC 2015. Oculus VR is working with multiple content creators and game engine-makers - one of the most impressive of which is Crytek. Utilizing the newest in new - Oculus VR's Crescent Bay VR headset - Crytek implements a CryEngine demonstration called "Back to Dinosaur Island" for the masses. This demonstration works with the full Crescent Bay headset / motion camera setup - and it's mildly terrifying.

Continue Reading

Late last month, the virtual reality specialists at NextVR successfully tested out transmission of an NHL game with Live VR. This means that no matter where you are - just so long as you have an internet connection - you'll be able to watch the game. Not just from whatever perspective the standard camera wishes you to view - but from the perspective of someone who's down in a front-row seat. This week we had a chat with the co-founders of NextVR about how they made headway at a 2015 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series LA Kings vs. San Jose Sharks Game.

Continue Reading

Virtual Reality might have just gotten a wee bit weirder. Or fancier, depending on your take. Neurotechnology company MindMaze is growing out of its roots in the medical industry and stepping into the games biz. At GDC 2015, it just revealed what could be the evolution of VR platforms, even while VR platforms are still at a growing phase. MindLeap, as it is called, may look like a regular head-mounted display, but you won't need controllers or even gloves to use it. All you need is to think.

Continue Reading

It seems that smart eyewear maker Vuzix has found a new market to wade into. At GDC 2015 this week, the company has announced its latest venture, one that takes it into a new world. A virtual reality world, that is. But the IWear 720 isn't just your regular virtual reality head piece that are quite the fad these days. For one, it embraces not just VR or 3D content but almost anything that you want to view in a different way. And for another, you won't need an extra pair of earphones to go with it either.

Continue Reading

Sony's virtual reality presentation this week at GDC 2015 was delivered to the public in several tiers. First there was the Project Morpheus release date and updated specifications for the headset. That bit was revealed during a press conference. Then came the demoes and the data on what's next. That came in a developer-aimed talk that we're about to show you the juicy bits of right this minute. Here we've seen some of the awesome possibilities with Sony's VR headset Project Morpheus - some of the best of which include Augmented Reality interactions with your PS4's controller, the DualShock 4.

Continue Reading

This week at GDC 2015, Oculus Rift's John Carmack suggested that the company would be going full-on consumer release within Samsung's next release cycle. This does not necessarily mean that Oculus Rift will be released inside Samsung's next release cycle, but that Samsung's next Gear VR would be released in a big way. That very likely means that the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 will have a Gear VR released right alongside the smartphone. So look to the Samsung Gear VR 2 - for Galaxy S6, revealed this week - to get an idea of where you're going later this year.

Continue Reading