Double Fine, the studio behind cult classic Psychonauts (2005), last year announced a PSVR exclusive, Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, a direct continuation of the original story. Now the company has set the game’s release date and released a new 360 trailer.
‘Everest ’53’ Will Take Viewers on a Historically Accurate Journey of Mountain’s First Summit
In 1953 Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary were the first to successfully summit Everest, the world’s tallest mountain at 29,029 feet. Now, VR content house CGO Studios is teaming up with descendants of those first summiteers to recreate the momentous trek to be experienced in a historically accurate real-time VR experience.
‘Rec Room’ Studio Raises $5M “to continue to build the future of Social VR”
Seattle-based VR studio Against Gravity has today announced they have received $5M in seed funding to continue to build Rec Room, the studio’s social VR platform.
Apple’s New Patents Mark More Territory in AR Hardware and Software
Steve Jobs once said to a gathering of senior advisers that when it came to the first iPhone, “we’re going to patent it all,” (New York Times reports). While Apple has certainly changed in the years since Job’s passing, the company has undoubtedly continued to aggressively pursue patents, sometimes racking up hundreds of filings in a single month with inventions spanning everything from touch-sensitive smartwatch bands to 3D environmental mapping. This week however, the company was granted two patents that establish basic hardware and software solutions not only pointing towards a prospective Apple AR device, but marking out some fundamental territory in the process.
Nintendo Might Add VR Functionality to Switch Once “Users Can Play for Hours”
Nintendo is looking to add VR functionality to their upcoming home-and-portable console, the Switch. Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima recently stated that it could be added once they solve some VR-specific issues.
Verdict Analysis: Why the Jury Awarded ZeniMax $500 Million in Oculus Lawsuit
Following the news of a $500 million plaintiff award in the ZeniMax v. Oculus lawsuit, a detailed breakdown of the verdict reveals the jury’s specific findings, and who is responsible to pay for the damages.
‘Project CARS 2’ Leaked Footage Shows Progress on Sequel to VR-capable Racing Sim
New footage from upcoming racing simulator Project CARS 2 for PC, PS4 and Xbox One has surfaced on YouTube. Slightly Mad Studios’ new game is expected to launch later this year with support for virtual reality like its predecessor, and hopes to address the criticisms of the 2015 original.
Watch: Epic’s Robo Recall is Coming, New Developer Diary Charts its Evolution
This latest video developer diary from Epic gives a very brief, but insightful overview of how Oculus Touch and Rift tech demo Bullet Train became fully fledged release Robo Recall, and what the developers learned along the way.
ZeniMax v. Oculus Lawsuit Awards $500M to Plaintiff, Verdict Detailed in Court Documents
While it wasn’t the $4 billion slam dunk ZeniMax was hoping for, a Dallas, TX jury today awarded $500 million to ZeniMax after finding that Oculus founder Palmer Luckey had breached nondisclosure agreements. However, Oculus was not found to have misappropriated trade secrets, a key claim made by ZeniMax in the case.
Mindshow VR’s Collaborative Storytelling Platform & Celebrating VoVR’s 500th Episode
There are a number of immersive storytelling innovations Sundance 2017 in a number of experiences including Dear Angelica, Zero Day VR, Miyubi, and Life of Us, but Mindshow VR’s collaborative storytelling platform was the most significant long-term contribution to the future of storytelling in VR. I first saw Mindshow at it’s public launch at VRLA, and it’s still a really compelling experience to record myself playing multiple characters within a virtual space. It starts to leverage some of virtual reality’s unique affordances when it comes to adding a more spatial and embodied dimension to collaboratively telling stories.
I had a chance to catch up with Visionary VR’s CEO Gil Baron and Chief Creative Officer Jonnie Ross where we talk about how Mindshow is unlocking collaborative creative expression that allows you to explore a shared imagination space within their platform. We talk about character embodiment, and the magic of watching recordings of yourself within VR, how they’re working towards enabling more multiplayer and real-time improv interactions, and they announced at Sundance that they’re launching Mindshow as a closed alpha.