3rd Eye Studios is a new VR developer team formed from Remedy Entertainment alum and they’re working on a new, original made-for-VR anthology inspired by 70’s sci-fi television shows. Here’s an exclusive first look at some of the first art for the game.
One of VR’s Best Party Games Now Supports Rift & Vive Motion Controllers
Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is an undeniably fun VR party game that you can play together with a big group with only one VR headset. Now the game has added much requested support for both Vive and Rift’s VR controllers.
Researchers Demonstrate 100° Dynamic Focus AR Display With Membrane Mirrors
Achieving a wide field of view in an AR headset is a challenge in itself, but so too is fixing the so-called vergence-accommodation conflict which presently plagues most VR and AR headsets, making them less comfortable and less in sync with the way our vision works in the real world. Researchers have set out to try to tackle both issues using varifocal membrane mirrors.
HTC’s VP of Design Leaving to Join Google’s VR Team
According to a report by The Verge, HTC’s VP of Design is leaving the company to join up with Google’s Daydream VR team.
Vive President Says Next-gen VR Headsets Likely to Come in 1 to 3 Year Cycles
Over the course of the last 50 years, capital markets have significantly codified a generational model approach consumer technology products. New “generations” of products are expected to come at a regular pace and provide increased features and reliability at the same prices. But depending upon the product type, the typical life cycle from one generation to the next can vary greatly. With the first wave of VR headsets now available to consumers, the time will come for the next generation to be announced and eventually launch. But when?
‘RaceRoom’ Racing Sim Gets Initial Rift and Vive Support Through SteamVR
RaceRoom Racing Experience has received a major update that introduces Vive and Rift support through SteamVR. The update also includes a number of improvements and adds new content to this often underappreciated racing sim.
Animated Short ‘Pearl’ is VR’s First Oscar Nominated Film
Pearl (2016), a 360 animated short film from director Patrick Osborne and Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects group (ATAP), has landed an Academy Award nomination for this year’s best animated short film, making it the first VR film in the running for an Oscar.
HTC Opens Applications for Free Vive Tracker Dev Kit
HTC announced earlier in January that they’d be giving away 1,000 Vive Trackers to developers. Applications to get your hands on one of the Trackers are now open through February 7th.
Developer Owlchemy Labs Talks Keys to Early VR Indie Success
Owlchemy Labs recently announced that Job Simulator has grossed over $3 million, making it one of the most successful indie VR titles to date, and so it’s worth reflecting on some of the design principles of agency and plausibility that have proven to be some of the key affordances of the virtual reality medium. I had a chance to talk to Owlchemy Labs’ Cy Wise at PAX West where she shared with me some guiding principles for Job Simulator as well as some of the more existential reactions from users questioning the nature o reality.
‘SUPERHOT VR’ Getting New Challenge Modes in February Update
Superhot VR is one of our favorite Oculus Touch launch titles. Like many of the best VR games so far, the thing we craved the most was more. A new update will extend the replayability of the game with several new modes that amp up the challenge.