VR Typing Trainer
This educational game surfaced during an Orange County Virtual Reality (OCVR) hackathon. It tests the touch-typing abilities of the people by flinging letters at the user which must be correctly spelled out by the user. Once the words are typed, lasers are shot at them causing explosions of red pixelated spheres. This game is perfect for those who want to increase their touch-typing skills.
Temple of Shadows
Another game created during the OCVR Horror Hackathon was Temple of Shadows. It was developed within 48 hours by Alex Moro and his friend Brittany at a coworking space called PeopleSpace. At IndieCade, it was shown along with a pyramid exploration simulation at the VRLA arcade tent. Temple of Shadows was the only horror-themed game there.
Classroom Aquatic
If you have ever wanted to feel like a dolphin taking a test in an underwater school, then this Classroom Aquatic is perfect for you! It was developed by a group of students from USC and integrates elements of education and ridiculousness to create a uniquely fun stealth experience. Players must resort to cheating without being caught to pass the exam, which is quite exhilarating. The questions are ridiculous and innovative. There’s even a reference to Sixense hidden in one of them.
Stampede
Another exciting game in the VRLA VR zone was a first person tower defense demo called Stampede. Moving around the DK2 would aim the weapons at the animals that would run right at the screen. The game had elephants, zebras, rhinos, and antelope that all stampeded during the experience. If players didn’t kill them in time, they’d run right through the town, smashing it to pieces.
The Oculus Airstream Trailer
This year at IndieCade, Oculus VR drove up to IndieCade in a brand-spanking new silver trailer that was decked out with DK2s. It was gas powered and contained four headsets that people at the event could don. The experience shown on the DK2 was made by an independent game development company called Zero Transform. Their 3rd person perspective game called Vanguard V utilized the positional tracking of the DK2 which would control the directions of the virtual character that was flying through space based on head movements.
Oculus also showed off the Gear VR as well with a game that was created in-house called VR Quest. The ‘hack and slash’ underground crawler was paired with a handheld Samsung controller that was attached via bluetooth to the headset.
See Also: Oculus Drives Into IndieCade in a Shiny New Airstream Trailer
Perception Neuron
For the most part, Perception Motion was showcasing their ‘Neuron’ motion capture gloves at IndieCade. However, occasionally they would bring out a DK2 for those who really wanted to try combining the two. The gloves, consisting of IMU sensors, would pick up subtle hand gestures giving the wearer the ability to hold virtual objects.
See Also: Perception Neuron More Than Doubles Kickstarter Goal for VR Input Suit at $572,000
The Leap Motion Effect
Wherever virtual reality headsets are found, there is a good chance there will be Leap Motion controllers nearby. Leap Motion’s new VR mount makes it easy to directly connect the company’s motion controller to the front of the Oculus DK2, allowing the sensor to track user’s hands and bring them into the virtual world. These movements can be programmed to interact with virtual reality experiences in a variety of different ways. In addition, the controller has two cameras embedded into it and can capture the real-world environment, opening the door to AR experiences.
At IndieCade, Leap Motion had their own tent and were demoing simple experiences that let the users get a feel for what the technology could do. A few DK2s + Lead Motion headsets though made their way into the VRLA tent through an audiovisual experience was called Collider. This project was made by Funktronics Labs in collaboration with an award-winning Japanese multimedia artist named Baiyon who was responsible for the sound design and music for the experience.
