Tonight’s 21 finalists at the Vision AR/VR Awards are in, and the AR/VR cross-industry event in Hollywood, California will be honoring a diverse range of AR/VR content spanning 8 categories. The winners will be announced this evening ceremony starting at 8PM Pacific Time (click here for local time).
Without further ado, these are the 21 finalists:
Vision Inspire Award
Fantastic Contraption by Northway Games & Radial Games
‘Fantastic Contraption’ was originally a building game made way back in 2008. Millions of people played it obsessively and saved over 12 million contraptions. The new Fantastic Contraption has been designed from the ground up to be a room-scale VR game.
Faster Than Light by Anomaly Productions
‘Faster Than Light’ is an augmented reality monthly comic available at local comic retailers and Comixology. Our free companion AR app takes the reading experience to a new level. Watch the captain’s log, interact with aliens, read an encyclopedia’s worth of backstory and much more.
I Expect You to Die by Schell Games
Made for Oculus Rift, ‘I Expect You to Die‘ is a virtual reality (VR) puzzle game that lets you step into the world of an elite secret agent to attempt to survive a series of deadly situations. The goal is to complete the mission using brain power, cunning and a top secret device that gives you the power of telekinesis.
Best VR Experience
Fantastic Contraption by Northway Games & Radial Games
‘Fantastic Contraption‘ was originally a building game made way back in 2008. Millions of people played it obsessively and saved over 12 million contraptions. The new Fantastic Contraption has been designed from the ground up to be a room-scale VR game.
Job Simulator by Owlchemy Labs
A tongue-in-cheek virtual reality experience for motion controlled VR platforms. In a world where robots have replaced all human jobs, step into the “Job Simulator” to learn what it was like ‘to job’.
Thunderbird: The Legend Begins by Innervision Games
‘Thunderbird: The Legend Begins‘ is the first chapter in an epic cinematic series designed exclusively for Virtual Reality. Embark on an interactive journey to discover the hidden secrets of an ancient legend shrouded in mystery. This puzzle-based adventure features advanced interactive game mechanics and stunning visuals to create a deeply immersive and compelling experience.
Best AR Experience
Eleanor of Ayer by Gelly Bomb Games
‘Eleanor of Ayer‘ is a augmented reality, multiple ending mystery puzzle game that follows the murder case of Shovi, the vocalist of the fictional rock band LUNACY. Before his last breath, Shovi leaves a dying message reading “Wa”, leaving the band’s drummer Walrus to become a suspect. Customers of the cafe may request a tablet from the waiter and use it to solve various puzzles that will reveal the true murderer.
Faster Than Light by Anomaly Productions
‘Faster Than Light‘ is an augmented reality monthly comic available at local comic retailers and Comixology. Our free companion AR app takes the reading experience to a new level. Watch the captain’s log, interact with aliens, read an encyclopedia’s worth of backstory and much more.
Table Zombies by SRG United Solutions
‘Table Zombies‘ is an augmented reality, where the player plays the role of shooter from the rescue team chopper. The primary objective of the game is to stop the zombies from reaching the survivor base and you are not all alone: you have the survivors team to back you up at Ground Zero and stop the zombie infestation.
Technical Achievement Award
EasyAR Engine by EasyAR
EastAR Engine is an easy to use and free AR engine which offers cross-platform support.
Modbox by Alientrap
‘Modbox‘ is a physics sandbox game where you completely set and control your environment. You create your own Holodeck to play with, and to share with others
Residential Condominium: Architectural Visualization by Arch Virtual
‘Residential Condominium: Architectural Visualization‘ is an architectural visualization of a residential condominium, built from a Revit (BIM) model translated into Unity and built for Oculus Rift DK2 PC.
Artistic Achievement Award
Lucid Trips – Whateverland by VR-Nerds
‘Lucid Trips’ is a Virtual Reality experience which takes places in planetary dream worlds. You explore artistically designed planets with a completely new concept, defining and navigating your avatar in a distinctive way, using hand motion controllers.
SENS by Red Corner
‘SENS‘ is the first project to ever adapt a comic book into VR. ‘SENS’ tells us – without a word – about a man’s initiatory trip. The anonymous wanderer roams in a stripped down yet labyrinthine universe. All around him, arrows in ever changing shapes show him the way to go. His adventure is an invitation to question the unknown and let go of codes to perceive beyond the limits… of a page, of an angle or of imagination.
TECHNOLUST by IRIS VR Inc
‘TECHNOLUST’ is a Virtual Reality Adventure set in a near-future Cyberpunk world. The world and style of TECHNOLUST are inspired by 1980’s and 90’s Cyberpunk fiction like Blade Runner, Neuromancer and Robocop. Join the resistance and help bring down the oppressive corporations… or just hang out at home and watch a movie with your artificial intelligence. Go to the arcade and experience new worlds or hack into secure networks and fight to set the truth free. As in the real world, the choice is yours.
Best Game
Budget Cuts by Neat Corporation
‘Budget Cuts‘ is a VR stealth game, putting you in the shoes of a spy at a company undergoing budget cuts.
Classroom Aquatic by Sunken Places
‘Classroom Aquatic‘ is the world’s first trivia/stealth game for the VR Headsets. Players play as an exchange student in a school of dolphins, taking a test that the player is in no way prepared for. They must resort to cheating in order to pass it!
I Expect You to Die by Schell Games
Made for Oculus Rift, ‘I Expect You to Die‘ is a virtual reality (VR) puzzle game that lets you step into the world of an elite secret agent to attempt to survive a series of deadly situations. The goal is to complete the mission using brain power, cunning and a top secret device that gives you the power of telekinesis.
Best Film/Interactive Story
Apollo 11 VR by Immersive VR Education
‘Apollo 11 Vr Experience‘: On July 20, 1969 Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the moon. You can now experience this event by becoming Neil Armstrong and boarding the Saturn V Rocket which is still to this day the most powerful machine ever created by humans.
The Fabulous Journeys of Teo & Leonie by Kenzan Studios, Switzerland
‘The Fabulous Journeys of Teo & Leonie‘: Lost in the middle of the Renaissance following a bizarre incident, two young children from the early 20th Century want above all else to find their way back to their own time and their parents. Greatly moved by their quest, Leonardo da Vinci takes them under his wing and tries to return them to where they belong, some 400 years later. However the brilliant inventor occasionally makes mistakes, and all three characters will be drawn into gripping adventures that will place them right at the heart of some of the great events that changed the course of history.
The Shoebox Diorama by Daniel Ernst
‘The Shoebox Diorama‘ is an ongoing series of interconnected fantastical dioramas for VR devices. Each diorama is a fantastical handpainted place to visit in which Interaction is used to enhance the sense of presence and tell a story, not to go from point A to B or save a princess. The series consists of ‘Blocked In’, ‘Der Grosse Gottlieb’ and ‘The Marchland’.
Best Live-Action Experience
Get Barreled in Tahiti with Samsung Gear VR by Rapid VR
‘Get Barreled in Tahiti‘ is a new 360˚ VR film created in partnership with the World Surf League (WSL) and Samsung featuring former WSL World Champion CJ Hobgood, via agency Cheil Worldwide. Directed by renowned surf filmmaker Taylor Steele at legendary surf break Teahupo’o, Tahiti, the immersive film features incredible footage that transports viewers right into the heart of Teahupo’o’s most dangerous barrels, giving them the opportunity to experience the thrill of surfing one of the deadliest waves in the world.
Sinking by Maren Demant
‘Sinking‘ is a short film that has no linearity rather than a self-controlled view on an environment that can discovered differently each time. The viewer can find a representation of its own body in the media. The viewer find itself in an empty cinema from where he dives into the screen, from day to dawn, from surface to subsurface, while a choreography of life culminates in its climax. It is an experiment of a poetic storytelling, where the viewer is driven by music and actions from all sides.
U2 Song for Someone – Vrse by Chris Milk, U2, Apple, Universal Music Gropu, Vrse Inc., and Vrse.Works
Chris Milk and U2 came together to create a revolutionary new visual interpretation of U2’s “Song For Someone.” Milk takes singers from across the world and joins them together to create this reimagining of the music video.
