An interesting gauge of the state of the growing VR industry has been virtual reality gatherings on the west coast. Events like SVVR and VRLA are now bursting at the seams with start-ups and VR stalwarts showing their cutting-edge wares. VRLA #4, to be held on December 13th 1-7pm at the House of Moves, LA – continues to illustrate healthy growth, adding 13 new exhibitors to it’s 40+ strong line-up
A few tickets are still left and you can secure yourself some here.
Threeonezero / Adr1ft: “ADR1FT is an immersive First Person Experience (FPX) that tells the story of an astronaut in peril.”
We took a look at developer ThreeOneZero’s Adr1ft way back in June as the Oculus Rift was beginning to ship. It’s an intriguing first person adventure which throws you into the boots of a amnesiac drifting alone in deep space, aboard a space station which has seen better days. It looks great and, the idea of being trapped alone in space, in VR is an intriguing prospect.
Double Me: “Holographic VR experiences with real time 3D modeling from regular cameras.”
Road to VR’s Brian Hart got his hands on Double Me’s capture technology and was suitably impressed.
Specular Theory: “Specular Theory is a virtual reality studio based in Venice Beach and will be showing off their latest VR live-action work.”
Specular Theory seem to be taking a unique approach to VR storytelling, judging by their appearance at September’s SVVR. The
V: “V Unites users with the games they love. Seamlessly.”
Weightless: “A meditative VR experience for the Leap Motion about inspecting space debris in a weightless environment.”
We highlighted Weightless recently as part of our Leap Motion ‘3D Jam’ round-up. It’s a great looking exploration of one’s spatial awareness, when enhanced with VR.
“Although not up for download yet, the cognitive shift that takes place from the video alone is astounding and really gives us a peek into the sort of presence that the VR community has been pining for. Weightless’ addition of lifelike objects and textures, and realistic hands from Leap Motion’s new Hand Viewer, makes this a submission one to watch out for.”
Selvz: “Selvz Profile is your Virtual Reality guide for personal growth and mindfulness.”
Avatars will become essential in virtual reality, Selvs is a 3D avatar creation pipeline which seems to allow people to create digital versions of themselves through an easy to use interface.
Sidekick Games: “In Romans from Mars, the first published VR game from Sidekick, you must defend your castle from an invading Martian army led by Mars, the God of War.”
Sidekick, a mobile game developer, are moving into VR gaming. Romans from Mars, their first VR title, is headed for the Samsung Gear VR headset.
Reel FX: “Reel FX will take participants on a journey through the “Land of the Remembered” featured in the animated film “Book of Life” and control a 200 foot tall robot from the film “Pacific Rim” in the Jaeger Pilot experience that releases internationally on the Samsung Gear VR.”
One of the 19 content partners selected to provide apps for the International Launch of the Samsung Gear VR, the SFX / Animation house was front and centre at Samsung’s IFA event this year demonstrating their commitment to the device.
Altspace: “AltspaceVR is building an online socialVR platform for natural and fulfilling communication within Virtual Reality.”
Altspace has charged itself with making the Metaverse a virtual reality as they craft interfaces that make sense of the web in VR. Ben Lang wrote this article from inside their recent AltSpace closed beta.
DodoCase: “DODOcase will be demo’ing and selling our $25 Smartphone Virtual Reality Kits.”
DODOCase were quick as lightning to spot a market niche that was created after this year’s Google I/O ‘Cardboard’ announcement, immediately working on offering an all-in-one kit for the impatient / lazy. They’ve now sold over 65,000 VR kits and are heading to Kickstarter for their newest model.
KorFX: “Put on this haptic feedback vest that simulates the feeling of footsteps, gunshots, and other effects.”
Ben Lang got his hands on KorFX earlier in the year and came away wanting a little more ‘punch’ from the haptic gaming vest. They did however blow the doors off their Kickstarter campaign target back in July.
Seebright: “Seebright will be demonstrating their latest prototype HMD and mixed reality experiences.”
Innervision (Ethereon): “Ethereon is a highly immersive virtual adventure filled with novel, puzzle-based interactions that are designed to take full advantage of the upcoming VR revolution.”
Tony Davidson, the man behind the classic Adventure game Riven, has an ongoing Kickstarter campaign for his studio’s beautiful VR adventure Ethereon. It’s one of the most striking games on the Oculus Rift and you can grab the demo right here.
Update:
VRLA also add a new sponsor for this event. Leap Motion joins the fold as it continues to develop and adapt it’s motion sensor to answer some of VR’s input requirements:
Leap Motion is developing the world’s most powerful 3D motion-sensing technology through its unique combination of software and hardware.
David Holz (CTO & Co-founder) will discuss Leap Motion’s vision for the future of VR, including the company’s prototype sensor, designed to be embedded by VR OEMs.