Lies Below Is A New VR Survival Horror Game Inspired By Japanese Horror Manga

https://ift.tt/2PBRqrN

The unsettling narrative-driven experience launches on Oculus Quest next month followed by Rift S in April. 

Drifter Entertainment, the developer behind Robo Recall: Unplugged and the heavily-slept on Gunheart, today unveiled their latest project, Lies Below, a VR survival horror game that takes inspiration from a combination of macabre games and television, such as Silent Hill and The Walking Dead, as well as classic Japanese horror comics. 

Set in the remote mountain town of Slumber, Alaska, this disturbing narrative-driven VR game will have you fighting for your life as you face-off against hordes of unsettling creatures pulled straight out of a Silent Hill game. Disembodied succubi, zombie-like stalkers, creepy spider heads, knife-throwing psychopaths; you know, just your usual nightmare-inducing enemies. 

“Two things that we knew were really important early in development were an intriguing narrative and a unique setting,” said Executive Producer Hunter Hudspeth during an interview with Oculus. “Narrative isn’t something Drifter has focused a lot on in earlier games, and we wanted to really focus on telling a deeper story with this one. The thriller/horror genre has its own set of rules for telling an interesting story, so we’re careful about what we say explicitly vs. what we want players to deduce on their own. It’s been a really fun process.”

“With the setting, we wanted to take players somewhere they weren’t familiar with, not just in real life but also somewhere they haven’t seen in many other games. After playing with a few different ideas, we realized very early on that mid-20th century Alaska had so much potential.”

Based on the trailer it looks as though we can expect a healthy amount of gunplay and melee combat. Visually the game appears to be going all-in on the comic book look, including cel-shading animation and moving comic panels. As previously stated, the creators took heavy inspiration from numerous fictional works, including classic American and Japanese horror comics. 

“Very early on, we adopted horror comics and horror manga as our creative rudder,” states Art Director Kenneth Scott. “We looked at Bernie Wrightson’s articulate, spooky linework, Mike Mignola’s bold, graphic black and whites, Junji Ito’s stomach-turning body horror, Shintaro Kago’s savage surrealism, the painterly genius in Warren Publishing’s Eerie and Creepy anthologies, Sanjulián, Esteban Maroto, Dave McKean, Sandman, Hellblazer, DC’s Vertigo line, and EC Comics—most importantly, EC’s stamp on anthology-style narrative.”

Lies Below launches March 31st on the Oculus Quest followed by the Rift S April 14th. More info on pricing will be provided as we grow closer to the end of March.

“Drifter was founded around our collective excitement for new frontiers and emergent technologies,” adds Scott. “New toys and shiny things are always going to turn our heads and hearts, and Quest offers a lot of fun new challenges and learning as a developer. That’s our playground, and that’s where we shine.”

Image Credit: Drifter Entertainment

The post Lies Below Is A New VR Survival Horror Game Inspired By Japanese Horror Manga appeared first on VRScout.

from VRScout https://ift.tt/2wlTSvJ
via IFTTT

The Room VR: A Dark Matter Pushes VR Puzzle Games To New Heights

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

We first got the chance to try out The Room VR: A Dark Matter back at Oculus Connect 6 (OC6) late last year on the Oculus Quest, but that was just a brief show floor demo. The folks over at Fireproof Games recently sent us a multi-hour long preview build so we got the chance to dive back into this dark, mysterious world.

Suffice it to say that, from what I’ve seen so far, it certainly seems like The Room VR: A Dark Matter could quickly become the new standard by which to judge future VR puzzle games. The same way it redefined what was possible in a puzzle format on mobile devices,  Fireproof is pushing boundaries for puzzle games with the same franchise once again, but this time for the immersive format of virtual reality.

Considering the version I played was running natively on an Oculus Quest, I was extremely impressed with the visuals. That being said, everything has an almost noticeable layer of downgrades over the top compared to how vibrant and crisp games on PC VR can look, but that’s understandable.

The demo began on a balcony, which I presume is the very start of the game. It seemed like a typical police station in a tall office building at the center of a busy London street in the 1900s. After the first half-hour or so is when things start to really turn upside down, though. As it turns out, you’ve got to investigate the disappearance of a well-known Egyptologist.

The Room games on mobile were always a bit unsettling, if not a tad creepy, but because they’re mobile games that mostly have you poking around and looking for clues, the inclusion of some light horror thriller elements definitely caught me off guard. I wouldn’t go so far as to say it include jump scares or anything like that, but it’s certainly got an overwhelming sense of uncertainty wile playing it.

The Room VR is only really a Room game in name and thematic consistency since it doesn’t actually take place inside a single room or anything like that. Instead, it spans a multitude of locations and sends players on a vast supernatural journey to uncover the unknown.

Some puzzles are all about trial and error here. I have no shame in admitting that I got stuck pretty early on in the preview build. It’s always one of my worst fears when playing unreleased software for review, but thankfully this was just a preview this time. Whereas a game like Moss or Asgard’s Wrath would have you thinking like a gamer to solve game puzzles, similar to The Legend of Zelda, The Room VR is much more about environmental puzzles, leveraging items you find and use, and combining things together in creative ways.

Instead of moving some blocks around to power up a generator or something silly like that, it would be more like deciphering missing words on a code ledger to unlock a storage box. Having to think in real-world terms rather than looking at everything through the lens of VR, is pretty awesome

Admittedly I did not play the entire multi-hour demo for The Room VR that Fireproof sent me partially because I was pressed for time and wanted to get some thoughts out and partially because I’m saving the nitty gritty details.

The Room VR: A Dark Matter is releasing this coming March 26th, 2020 on Oculus Quest, PSVR, and all major PC VR platforms. You can see more info on the game now at the game’s Steam page. This preview was written after playing a pre-release preview build of the game for Oculus Quest.

The post The Room VR: A Dark Matter Pushes VR Puzzle Games To New Heights appeared first on UploadVR.

from UploadVR https://ift.tt/2VAjgbQ
via IFTTT

Multiverse virtual worlds will be healthier for society than our current social networks

https://ift.tt/goU3rj

The basis of the classic James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” is an evil media mogul who instigates war between the U.K. and China because it will be great for TV ratings. There’s been a wake-up call recently that our most popular social networks have been indirectly designed to divide populations into enemy camps and reward sensational content, but without the personal responsibility of Bond’s nemesis because they’re algorithmically driven.

(This is part five of a seven-part series about virtual worlds.)

The rise of “multiverse” virtual words as the next social frontier offers hope to one of the biggest crises facing democratic societies right now. Because the dominant social media platforms (in Western countries at least) monetize through advertising, these platforms reward sensational content that results in the most clicks and shares. Oversimplified, exaggerated claims intended to shock users scrolling past are best practices for individuals, media brands and marketing departments alike, and social platforms intentionally steer users toward more extreme content in order to captivate them for longer.

Our impending cultural shift to socializing equally as often through virtual worlds could help rescue us from this constant conflict of interest between what we recognize as healthy interactions with others and how these social apps incentivize us to behave.

Virtual worlds can have advertisements within them, but the dominant monetization strategies in MMOs are upfront purchase of games and in-game transactions. Any virtual world that gains enough adoption to compete as a social hub for mainstream society will need to be free-to-play and will earn more money through in-world transactions than from ads.

from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/3advCe0
via IFTTT

To The Top Devs Encouraged For Sequel By SideQuest Reception

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The developers of the To The Top climbing game are encouraged to continue work on their sequel knowing there is a route to release on Oculus Quest without Facebook’s approval.

Last month Electric Hat Games side-stepped Facebook’s decision to not release the app on the Oculus Store for Quest and instead brought their game to the headset via the SideQuest sideloading service and indie game store itch.io for around $15.

Facebook curates what games it allows released on the Oculus Quest store. The company designed the restriction to reinforce for Quest buyers that when they spend money on games and apps the software will deliver a certain level of quality and depth. Some more unusual, risky, or experimental projects, however, are often unable to pass Facebook’s developer relations filter.

Other Quest Paths

There is a kind of loophole which allows Quest owners to freely sign up as developers and “sideload” content on to the device acquired from other places, like SideQuest. This route helps developers test their products with colleagues, friends or family before pitching Facebook.

For a growing number of developers this is also a viable path for an assortment of purposes. Some devs essentially beta test their products this way, like shooting game Pavlov Shack, while the developer of utility software Virtual Desktop offers a patch for his Oculus Store app through SideQuest that adds a major feature some people love.

In the case of To The Top, Electric Hat Games say they sold more than 500 copies of the game through this route in the first month. Daniel Dunham, chief technical officer at the studio, characterized the figure as “pretty good” compared with To The Top’s first month on Steam.

“It also helps with confidence knowing that, when developing for Quest, there is a route to take if full platform support isn’t available,” Dunham shared with me.

Taxes And Fees

The math here is pretty straightforward. $15 per copy minus taxes and fees amounts to around $6,000 in revenue from this route over the first month. Certainly the kind of figure some might scoff at, but keep in mind they released on other platforms first and are also selling additional copies on PSVR, Steam and the Oculus Store for Rift. The devs also gained experience with cross-platform development which might be useful in future work. Dunham added that their new ideas and prototypes, while not outright “approved” for store release by Facebook, do seem to be of more interest to Oculus. 

“We haven’t really made back as much as we put into the port (at least not yet, as time goes on, and if sales stay stable we will eventually),” Dunham wrote. “For us specifically, this was something that our players really wanted, so finding a way to make this happen was really important. As for what’s next, we are already working on a sequel, and this release definitely helps with understanding the market better – even if it’s just a small portion of the market that’s available.”

According to SideQuest creator Shane Harris, since the release of To The Top he saw an uptick in the number of paid projects launching on the platform.

The post To The Top Devs Encouraged For Sequel By SideQuest Reception appeared first on UploadVR.

from UploadVR https://ift.tt/3860M5v
via IFTTT

How To Factory Reset Your Oculus Quest

https://ift.tt/2PxMJ2s

The Oculus Quest is one of the most popular VR headsets on the market right now. However, as with any electronic device, one day you might want to perform a full factory reset and wipe the headset clean, allowing you to start over and set up the device from scratch. Here’s how to do it.

Reasons To Factory Reset

The Oculus Quest also only allows one user account per device. The only way to switch to a different account is to perform a full factory reset on your Quest. So if you ever want to change Oculus accounts or associate the device with someone else’s account, a factory reset is the way to go.

You might also want to perform a full factory reset on your Quest if you’re experiencing some permanent technical issue that can’t be solved any other way.

Be warned through — performing a factory reset means you’ll likely lose some of your save files and user data on your apps. While the Quest does support cloud save data, it’s up to the developers to integrate the feature themselves. Even if they do integrate the feature, there’s no clear way to determine whether a game supports cloud saves unless the developer specifically mentions it.

There are two options to perform a factory reset on the Oculus Quest.

Factory Reset via the Headset

1. Hold down the power and lower volume buttons on the headset.

2. After around 20-30 seconds, the Quest will reboot and load up the boot menu.

3. Using the volume buttons, highlight the ‘Factory Reset’ option.

4. Press the button button to select ‘Factory Reset’.

Factory Reset via the Oculus App

1. Ensure your Quest is turned on and connected to the same WiFi network as your phone.

2. Open the Oculus Quest app.

3. Click on the ‘Settings’ tab on the bottom right.

4. Click on the tab that shows your Quest and press ‘More Settings’

5. Click the ‘Factory Reset’ button.

6. Confirm that you do want to factory reset your Quest.

Setting Up (again)

Your Quest will now be completely wiped.

You can then use the Oculus app to go through the headset’s initial set up process once again. You can reconnect the same Oculus account as before, or associate the device with a different account.

---

That’s everything you need to know about factory resetting your Oculus Quest. Any questions or problems? Let us know in the comments below.

The post How To Factory Reset Your Oculus Quest appeared first on UploadVR.

from UploadVR https://ift.tt/2wbVlEY
via IFTTT

Synth Riders Beats Beat Saber To Multiplayer Support

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

VR rhythm game Synth Riders might not be as popular as the juggernaut that is Beat Saber, but it just beat it to one important feature: multiplayer support.

Synth Riders this week got a free update for both its Oculus Quest and PC VR versions. Headlining the patch is a cross-platform multiplayer mode for up to five people in which players can have a dance off for the top spot. Multiplayer supports both the game’s original list of songs and custom songs too, and you can even use modifiers like ‘Sudden Death’ to up the stakes.

In Synth Riders, players throw shapes by grabbing orbs out of the air in time to a beat. It’s a slightly groovier take on the VR music genre, and one that can now be enjoyed with friends.

It’s a feature we’ve been eagerly awaiting in Beat Saber ever since multiplayer was announced in mid-2018. And developer Kluge Interactive knows it; in a prepared statement, Creative Director Abraham Aguero Benzecri said: “We are excited to be one of the first VR rhythm games with multiplayer support, it is a tribute to our community!”

Spicy.

Elsewhere, the game’s entire user interface has been redesigned to be more streamlined, there’s new sound effects, a new song and a new visual stage. Plus PC VR users get new custom-designed avatars. DLC songs are also on the way, so there’s plenty to look forward to for Synth Riders.

Will you be checking out Synth Riders’ multiplayer support this weekend? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Synth Riders Beats Beat Saber To Multiplayer Support appeared first on UploadVR.

from UploadVR https://ift.tt/2wYfH52
via IFTTT

GDC Postponed After Almost Everyone Decided Not To Come Due To Coronavirus

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The organizers of the Game Developers Conference postponed the event after sponsors, attendees, journalists, and developers decided not to come due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

In recent days some of the event’s biggest supporters including Epic, Unity, Facebook, Sony, Amazon, and many more, along with a large number of journalists and developers, pulled out of attendance at the event. Many companies encouraged their employees not to travel to the March event in San Francisco.

Here’s the statement from organizers:

After close consultation with our partners in the game development industry and community around the world, we’ve made the difficult decision to postpone the Game Developers Conference this March.

Having spent the past year preparing for the show with our advisory boards, speakers, exhibitors, and event partners, we’re genuinely upset and disappointed not to be able to host you at this time .

We want to thank all our customers and partners for their support, open discussions and encouragement. As everyone has been reminding us, great things happen when the community comes together and connects at GDC. For this reason, we fully intend to host a GDC event later in the summer. We will be working with our partners to finalize the details and will share more information about our plans in the coming weeks.

Organizers also sent out an email with answers related to questions about the event:

Q: I am a current GDC 2020 paid conference or expo registrant – now the event is not taking place in March, can I receive a refund of my pass money?

A: If you are a currently registered paid passholder, you will be receiving an email about your registration status and any next steps regarding refunds, which conference and expo attendees will be receiving in full.

Q: What is the situation with hotels if I booked through the GDC hotel website/room blocks?

A: Individuals who have made hotel reservations inside the GDC room block will not have to pay penalties or fees associated with their reservations. More information on next steps will be available early next week.

Q: What is happening to the talks that would have been presented at Game Developers Conference 2020?

A: In order to allow our conference speakers to still participate in the event, we are intending to make many of the presentations that would have been given at GDC 2020 available for free online. After speakers (optionally) contribute their talks in video format, they will be distributed on the GDC YouTube channel and the free part of GDC Vault.

Q: What is happening to the Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Choice Awards – will they still take place?

A: We also intend to stream a set of these GDC 2020 talks and the Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Choice Awards via Twitch during the week that the event would have taken place in San Francisco (March 16th to 20th), so that our community can continue to honor & celebrate its best games.

The post GDC Postponed After Almost Everyone Decided Not To Come Due To Coronavirus appeared first on UploadVR.

from UploadVR https://ift.tt/2Pxo5Pt
via IFTTT

Standalone Headsets With PC Power, Crazy New Horror Games & Win Freediver! – VRecap

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

It’s a frightening edition of the VRecap this week, with not one but two new VR horror games to talk about.

We’re not even half a year past Halloween, but Lies Beneath and Cosmophobia already have us in a spooky mood. The former is a new Oculus Studios project from Drifter Entertainment, while the latter is the latest from Dreadhalls studio, White Door Games. Both look so scary we’re not sure we’ll even have to guts to play them.

Elsewhere in the news, we’re talking about Facebook’s acquisition of Sanzaru Games, the maker of Asgard’s Wrath. They join Beat Games in the company’s growing list of owned studios. And then there’s time to touch on Qualcomm’s new VR reference design which does lots of exciting new techy stuff… in headsets you probably won’t see anytime soon.

As for releases, we take a look at Freediver: Triton Down and Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda Funky News Flash. Yep, you read that right, the first Space Channel 5 game in a really, really long time!

For our competition this week, we’ve got Freediver codes for Oculus Quest, too. Want to be in with a chance to win? Get involved with the Gleam embed below.

GIVEAWAY: Win A Free Copy Of Freediver: Triton Down On Oculus Quest!

Other Top News of the Week:

• Facebook Cancels F8
• The Room VR Arrives Next Month
• Fan-Made Death Stranding VR Game Revealed
• More Amazing Quest Hand-Tracking Demos
• Oculus Link Gets Quest Mic Support

Okay, that’s all from us; we’ve got to run off to pull out of GDC. We’ll see you next week!

The post Standalone Headsets With PC Power, Crazy New Horror Games & Win Freediver! – VRecap appeared first on UploadVR.

from UploadVR https://ift.tt/2TboitU
via IFTTT

NVIDIA Increases RTX Cards Sharpness In The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, VRChat

https://ift.tt/2wX2NUU

NVIDIA is expanding on its Variable Rate Supersampling feature by adding support for five new apps, including The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners and VRChat.

Variable Rate Supersampling (VRSS) launched back at CES in January. It’s a driver-level feature that dynamically increases the render resolution by up to 8x, but only in the center of the view (where you’re most often looking in current VR headsets).

The company’s benchmark chart claimed a roughly 50FPS increase over using regular full-view supersampling of the same quality.

VRSS has to be manually enabled for each game. It will only apply when there is enough GPU headroom left over to do so, and as such you’ll still be able to maintain refresh rate frame rate in VR (avoiding sickness).

If you want more detail on VRSS, see our article from its announcement.

This is a driver-level feature, so it doesn’t need integration by developers. However it only supports a whitelist of games NVIDIA has verified to work with it. At launch that figure stood at 24, but this week NVIDIA is adding the following 5 titles:

• VRChat
• Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency
• The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners
• Doctor Who
• PokerStarsVR

The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is arguably the hottest VR game right now, and VRChat is the most popular social VR platform.

NVIDIA claims that it will continue to test more VR games and will add them to future driver releases.

You can enable VRSS for these games, and the other supported titles, in the NVIDIA Control panel. Read our guide on how to do this.

The post NVIDIA Increases RTX Cards Sharpness In The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, VRChat appeared first on UploadVR.

from UploadVR https://ift.tt/2I79I08
via IFTTT

Facebook Fixed The Most Annoying Problem With Oculus Link Beta

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Oculus Link beta no longer requires the Quest headset and PC to be running the same version of the Oculus software.

Oculus Link is the feature which lets the Oculus Quest act as a PC VR headset via any high quality USB 3.0 cable. This gives Quest owners who own a gaming PC access to the Oculus Rift library and SteamVR.

When using Link, you’re actually using two of Facebook’s VR platforms at once, Rift (on your PC) and Quest (the headset). The PC is handling rendering, lens distortion, audio, while the Quest passes through tracking and microphone while decoding the video stream.

The Fix

Until this week’s v14 release, to use Link your Quest and Rift software had to be at the same version. But v14 relaxes that restriction somewhat, in that you can now have each, at most, one version number away from the other.

So a Quest on v13 will work with Rift software v14, but not with Rift software v15. Or put another way, a Quest on v15 should work with Rift software v14, v15, or v16.

Given that the Oculus software performs automatic updates and does not let the user roll back, this should be a welcome change for Quest owners sampling what PC VR has to offer with the Link beta. Typically, Facebook “rolls out” updates to Quest headsets over several days. So prior to this change Quest owners could be stuck in a situation where they are waiting for their software to update in order to use PC VR games again with their headset.

We’ve also noticed that Link is more stable and reliable in general in v14. Facebook’s changelog notes several bugs and glitches as being resolved.

Have you also noticed Link getting better over time? Or has it gotten worse for you? Are you happy with the pace of progress on the feature? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Facebook Fixed The Most Annoying Problem With Oculus Link Beta appeared first on UploadVR.

from UploadVR https://ift.tt/2T7uT8o
via IFTTT

Physiotherapy could be done at home using virtual reality

Virtual reality could help physiotherapy patients complete their exercises at home successfully thanks to researchers who managed to combine VR technology with 3D motion capture. via Latest Science News -- ScienceDaily https://ift.tt/2TpOyzy

RPG NPC Simulator VR Is A Simple But Surprisingly Fun Fantasy Management Game

https://ift.tt/3adKQQ7

Play the role of an NPC shop owner in this fantasy trading simulator.

Available now via SteamVR, RPG NPC Simulator VR places you in the role of an NPC shop owner tasked with keeping an endless wave of foul-mouthed “human” players stocked with all the weapons, items, and equipment they need to complete their quests. Set within a medievalesque fantasy world à la World of Warcraft, you’ll manage your very own “secret” shop, buying new items to sell, displaying goods on shelves, and purchasing items from visiting players.

It’s a slow start at first, but once business starts picking up the game quickly turns into a Black Friday simulator as your growing reputation begins to draw more powerful players. The game starts you off with a handful of weapons and items to get your business up and running, but otherwise, it’s up to you to stock up on goods, shelving, and other necessities.

Behind your shop is a menu that you can use to purchase items, alter prices, and select different shelves. You can then take your newly-purchased inside and display them on a variety of tables, stools, and shelving, each of which designed to hold specific goods. There’s also a bulletin board keeping you informed on the latest “in-game events” along with the specific weapons and items players are currently looking for. Upstairs is an unused second floor which you’ll eventually be able to fill with furniture and decorations as part of a future update.

Once you’ve generated a healthy amount of dough you can then purchase a blacksmith and forge more powerful weapons. You can also mine for additional resources and even loot fallen items off of deceased players. Occasionally, one or two shoppers will attempt to steal your goods. Luckily you’re provided with an anti-theft bow you can use to stop sticky-fingered patrons dead in their tracks. Simply pick up the weapon and reach over your shoulder to access your arrows.

Despite its rough appearance and simple game mechanics, RPG NPC Simulator VR does an impressive job of keeping you invested in the success of your fledgling fantasy business. I experienced a small handful of hiccups during my time with the game, the most noticeable being a glitch that allowed customers to walk into my shop despite both doors being shut — but otherwise, I thoroughly enjoying my time managing the needs of some truly annoying customers.

• 

• 

• 

• 

In an effort to better simulate the behavior of human players, each character comes with their own unique speech balloon. Some of these quotes are so realistic I forgot they were NPC’s: 

• “Wish I didn’t have to wear my clothes.”

• “Have you seen my kid? Oh wait, I don’t have one…”

• “NOOO! My icecream got stolen!”

• “Skank.”

Here are a few tips to help get you started satisfying these vulgar patrons:

1. Take a stroll around the map before opening your doors! A quick three-minute lap will reveal a handful of dead players, some of whom carrying valuable high-level weapons. This will give you a little extra doe to help with your grand opening.
2. Pay attention to the event board! This will provide regular updates on the types of items players are currently in need of, allowing you to fill your shelves with the right inventory.
3. Buy items off visiting players! Sometimes players will try o sell you items they’ve collected during their quests. Supplies and weapons offered by players are often significantly cheaper than the ones available through the main catalog, so don’t be afraid to make some quick under-the-counter deals.
4. Hike up those prices! You can’t make a profit if you don’t upsell. Experiment with prices to see just how much customers are willing to pay for each item. You’d be surprised how much dough some of the higher level players are willing to part with.

RPG NPC Simulator VR is 10% off ($8.99 $9.99) now until March 3rd via SteamVR.

Image Credit: Odooh Games

The post RPG NPC Simulator VR Is A Simple But Surprisingly Fun Fantasy Management Game appeared first on VRScout.

from VRScout https://ift.tt/2VCuc93
via IFTTT

Lies Beneath Is A Silent Hill-Inspired VR Horror Game For Quest + Rift

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Following teases earlier this week, Gunheart developer Drifter Entertainment just announced its next VR game, Lies Beneath.

As the initial trailer alluded to, Lies Beneath is a horror game, though today we learned it’s published by Oculus Studios and coming to Oculus Quest first, followed shortly thereafter by Oculus Rift. It’s inspired by the likes of Silent Hill and the Resident Evil series as well as horror comics and TV shows like The Walking Dead. Check out another new trailer below.

Set in the fictional town of Slumber, Alaska (which Drifter has mocked up a fun travel website for) Lies Beneath casts players as Mae. Returning from college, she discovers her home overrun with monsters and takes the fight to them in hopes of saving her father (certainly you can hear a little of Silent Hill in that premise). Alongside the action — which looks to have a mix of both melee and ranged weapons — there will be puzzles and exploration elements, too.

For Drifter, it will mark a turning point in VR development with a narrative-focused game. According to the Oculus blog, it’s been in development for nearly two years. The studio cut its teeth on Quest with an excellent port of Epic Games’ Robo Recall, so we’re excited to see what it can do making its very own game for the platform.

Lies Beneath will launch on Quest on March 31st and then follow on Rift on April 14th. Check back for more on the game in the coming weeks. Looking for more VR horror games? The developer of Dreadhalls just announced its latest title, Cosmophobia.

The post Lies Beneath Is A Silent Hill-Inspired VR Horror Game For Quest + Rift appeared first on UploadVR.

from UploadVR https://ift.tt/3a83TLI
via IFTTT

High-Tech Chicago Exhibit Puts Visitors Eye-To-Eye With MLK

By The Associated Press from NYT U.S. https://ift.tt/2PyRPLC
via IFTTT

Dreadhalls Quest Currently Selling More Than Gear, Go, PSVR & PC VR Combined

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Plenty of VR developers are seeing success having launched their games on Oculus Quest. Dreadhalls developer White Door Games is one of those studios.

Nearly five months on since its release Dreadhalls Quest is selling more than all of its other versions combined. White Door’s Sergio Hidalgo confirmed as much in an interview with Gamertag TV to promote the studio’s new game, Cosmophobia. There was some initial confusion as to if the developer meant the game had already sold more than other platforms combined or if it was currently selling more than the other versions. We reached out to Hidalgo, who confirmed it was the latter.

“It still has a way to go before it reaches the accumulated units of Gear/Go, or even Rift + SteamVR,” Hidalgo clarified.

Even so, this remains an impressive feat; Dreadhalls is currently available on Gear VR, Oculus Go, PSVR and PC VR headsets. Granted older versions have been available for years, but the Quest version outselling against around five other headsets is still quite a thing.

Dreadhalls was actually one of the first ever VR games to launch on a commercial headset, hitting Facebook and Samsung’s Gear VR device all the way back in 2015. It’s since amassed over 4,000 user reviews on the Oculus Store and also released fairly early on PSVR and PC VR too.

Quest’s standalone design seems to be proving popular in the fledgling VR industry, with plenty of other developers reporting similar success to White Door Games. The studio’s next game is a sci-fi horror very similar in nature to Dreadhalls, though it will be appearing on PC VR devices first. Quest and PSVR versions could happen after that.

The post Dreadhalls Quest Currently Selling More Than Gear, Go, PSVR & PC VR Combined appeared first on UploadVR.

from UploadVR https://ift.tt/3cl1v6u
via IFTTT

The Immersive Reality Revolution Is A New Book Exploring The Future Of VR/AR/MR

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

How about a little light VR/AR reading for the weekend? Immersive Perceptions’ Tom Ffiske just launched a new book.

The Immersive Reality Revolution sets out to explain “How virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) will revolutionise the world”. It aims to introduce people to the increasingly complicated world of immersive reality, with all of its various terms, and analyze the different ways in which it’s being utilized.

Topics in the 106-page book include the tech’s use in education, movies and employee training, as well as the prospect of AR glasses and, towards the end, the ethics of both VR and AR.

“My motivation for this book comes in two parts,” Ffiske told me over email. “One, I have covered the industry since 2016 and have collected a bundle of opinions, views, and stories over that time. I’ve come across independent developers who are pushing the boundaries of storytelling. I’ve met art curators who see it as a new art form. I’ve seen companies use the technology as a gimmick, to activate the launch of a whiskey brand when it could have gone elsewhere. The book is a collection of my thoughts and insights on it all.”

Ffiske’s second motivation for writing the book, however, is sourced around a “frustration” with frequent misunderstandings about the nature of these technologies. “I’ve read the torrent of inaccurate articles about ‘when’ VR will go mainstream, or the misdirection that goes on in LinkedIn, and I had enough,” he said. “The industry deserves better reporting, with an honest view of what is happening.”

But, as much as the book is concerned with championing the industry, it also aims to issue a word of caution. “We are entering a new stage where we are investing and using VR and AR, without yet properly considering the impact it will have on people,” Ffiske adds. “How will social interactions change when people wear AR glasses? Can scientists use VR for experiments on patients, or should there be certain rules? While tech companies investigate how we can communicate with our minds, what regulations should we place on them?”

You can get the book via Kindle or paperback from Amazon.

The post The Immersive Reality Revolution Is A New Book Exploring The Future Of VR/AR/MR appeared first on UploadVR.

from UploadVR https://ift.tt/2T8sg6v
via IFTTT

If virtual worlds are so popular, why don’t we have them yet?

https://ift.tt/goU3rj

If virtual worlds are so enticing, why haven’t we already shifted to them as our online social hubs?

The thought of virtual worlds for socializing evokes Second Life (launched in 2003), where users created unique avatars to socialize, build and trade with each other. Contemporaneous press hype told us that our entry into the metaverse appeared imminent, and a 2006 cover story in BusinessWeek magazine featured an analyst who predicted that Second Life could displace Windows as the leading PC operating system.

That didn’t happen.

Granted, Second Life is still around, albeit with only a few hundred thousand active users. Eve Online is another long-running, open-world MMO where the experience is shaped by users’ contributions and social interactions. It’s been the subject of numerous studies on economics and psychology, given the depth of its data on human interaction, but it remains niche as well.

The popularity of Roblox, which surpassed 100 million MAUs and 40 million user-created experiences in August, and Minecraft, which surpassed 112 million MAUs, shows this movement gaining traction in a bigger way among the youngest generation of internet users.

There are both technical reasons and cultural reasons why participation in virtual worlds will finally go massively mainstream in the next few years.

On the technical side, most consumers have lacked the high-performance hardware necessary to meaningfully participate in advanced MMOs while going about their daily lives. And even if they had the right hardware, they weren’t entering one shared virtual space with all other users, they were just entering one instance of that world which was limited in scope and player count by the capabilities of a single server.

(This is part four of a seven-part series about virtual worlds.)

A multiverse, not the metaverse

That’s all in the process of changing:

from TechCrunch https://ift.tt/32B5Lu7
via IFTTT

The VR Download E16: FB Acquires Asgard’s Wrath, Quest VR Power, Qualcomm XR2 Headset, Xbox VR

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

The post The VR Download E16: FB Acquires Asgard’s Wrath, Quest VR Power, Qualcomm XR2 Headset, Xbox VR appeared first on UploadVR.

from UploadVR https://ift.tt/387Joxp
via IFTTT

How a Downtown Bar Baron Spends His Sundays

By Robert Simonson from NYT New York https://ift.tt/3cimuGH
via IFTTT

The Room VR Releases March 26 On All Major VR Platforms

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Announced last year at OC6, the latest entry in The Room puzzle game series is a VR title and will launch next month on March 26.

The Room VR will be available on Oculus Quest, PlayStation VR, and SteamVR, and Rift headsets. Unlike many other games, The Room VR will have a simultaneous launch on all major VR platforms, which means that the vast majority of VR users will be able to play the game on the day of release.

The series has traditionally appeared on mobile platforms making this latest installment the series’ first VR title. However, although The Room series hasn’t ventured into VR before, the developers behind it have. Fireproof Games released Omega Agent in 2016, back in the early days of modern consumer VR. The Room VR is designed for virtual reality from the ground up and will be set in the British Museum in London, where players will investigate the disappearance of an Egyptologist.

While at OC6, David Jagneaux from UploadVR went hands-on with the game and enjoyed the demo, noting that the game had “a strong mysterious flavor” that should entice fans of the genre and the franchise. “Similar to the mobile line of The Room games, or even just physical Escape Rooms and VR-themed Escape games you might have played, it’s just as much about interpreting the objects you’re given as it is filling in the blanks,” wrote David.

We also got to interview Barry Meade, the Co-Founder and Director of Fireproof Games, while David ran through his demo in the background, which you can watch above.

Are you looking forward to The Room VR? Which headset will you be playing it on? Let us know in the comments.

The post The Room VR Releases March 26 On All Major VR Platforms appeared first on UploadVR.

from UploadVR https://ift.tt/2vdPgYI
via IFTTT

Facebook Cancels Developer Conference as Tech Companies Respond to Virus

By Reuters from NYT Business Day https://ift.tt/32uK66L
via IFTTT

How Will Tech Help in a Time of Pandemic?

By Unknown Author from NYT Opinion https://ift.tt/2veWT10
via IFTTT

Cut Aliens’ Hair In ‘Bizarre Barber’, Available On PC VR Now

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Bizarre Barber truly lives up to its name – the game sees you see play as a barber who cuts aliens’ hair in the middle of a seemingly abandoned subway platform. The game was developed by Synesthetic Echo, supported by Oculus and the NYU Game Center Incubator, and is available for PC VR now.

As you can see from the embedded gameplay and trailer, the game takes place in a surreal and saturated world, with gameplay set to the beat of some funky yet fittingly unusual music beats. You’ll be chopping the locks of some bizarre-looking creatures as they float past you — there’s no barber’s chairs here. “Players will make perfect cuts, dodge dangerous obstacles, catch speed boosts and power-ups, and even earn money to unlock new tools and new worlds,” according to Synesthetic Echo.

The developers stated that Bizarre Barber was a “labour of love” and inspired by their experience immigrating to New York, 5 years ago. “Subways! Hairstyles! Beautiful people! New music, food and smells everywhere! But also: pollution, never-ending hustle, capitalism at its worst (is there even the best?), daily struggle to define oneself in the place with millions of souls. We reflected on all our experience in the game, by making it loud, joyful, weird, surreal, sometimes challenging and even scary!”

The added context frames the quirky game in a whole new charming light. Bizarre Barber features 7 unique worlds and 13 levels, which the developers say should take you around 60-80 minutes to complete. Each level is only 2-3 minutes long, but can be replayed and mastered before moving onto the next.

The title is a grant winner from the 2018 Oculus Launchpad program and is now available on Steam, the Oculus Store and Viveport. According to Synesthetic Echo, a PSVR release in the future is likely and they’re also considering an Oculus Quest release, pending Oculus’ approval.

The post Cut Aliens’ Hair In ‘Bizarre Barber’, Available On PC VR Now appeared first on UploadVR.

from UploadVR https://ift.tt/2TkNxsy
via IFTTT

Facebook Cancels F8 Conference Over Fears Of A Coronavirus Outbreak

https://ift.tt/395Z4mf

The company announced that Oculus will be backing out of GDC over similar concerns. 

As fears of a Coronavirus pandemic continue to dominate the news cycle, Facebook today confirmed that the company will not be holding its somewhat-annual F8 developers conference this year over concerns of a potential outbreak. 

Originally scheduled to take place May 4th through the 6th at the McEnery Convention Center in San Jose, California, Facebook states in an official blog update that it will be canceling the in-person element of the conference in order to remain inclusive to the many international developers who make their way to the event each year. 

“This was a tough call to make — F8 is an incredibly important event for Facebook and it’s one of our favorite ways to celebrate all of you from around the world — but we need to prioritize the health and safety of our developer partners, employees and everyone who helps put F8 on,” states the company in the official release. “We explored other ways to keep the in-person part of F8, but it’s important to us to host an inclusive event and it didn’t feel right to have F8 without our international developers in attendance.”

In lieu of an in-person conference, Facebook states that it will be providing many of the same programs and services it normally would during F8 through a combination of locally-hosted events, videos and livestreams, educational workshops, charitable donations, and other F8-inspired experiences. 

“Every year, we donate a portion of F8 ticket sales to an organization working to diversify the tech industry,” adds Facebook. “This year, we’re doubling that donation amount to $500,000 and will prioritize organizations serving local San Jose residents.”

Facebook’s decision to cancel F8 comes on the heels of news that Oculus would be backing out of this year’s Game Developers Conference over similar concerns. The company will instead make a series of digital announcements remotely. Sony, Microsoft, EA, and several other major names are reportedly skipping this year’s conference as well.

Besides live events, the coronavirus has had a significant impact on the production of numerous VR headsets as well, including the Oculus Quest and Valve Index. 

“With Half-Life: Alyx coming March 23rd, we are working hard to meet demand for the Valve Index and want to reassure everyone that Index systems will be available for purchase prior to the game’s launch,” stated Valve in the official release. “However, the global Coronavirus health crisis has impacted our production schedules so we will have far fewer units for sale during the coming months compared to the volumes we originally planned. Our entire team is working hard right now to maximize availability. To receive a notification as soon as the Valve Index is back in stock, please visit Steam and click “Notify Me.””

This week it was reported that cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed on every continent excluding Antarctica, with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention reporting 72,314 coronavirus cases in mainland China alone as of February 11th. With Japan having already closed all its schools for the next month over concerns of an outbreak, COVID-19 is proving to be a major global concern.

For more information on how to keep yourself protected, check out these tips from the World Health Organization.

Image Credit: Maurizio Pesce/Wikimedia Commons, Valve Corporation

The post Facebook Cancels F8 Conference Over Fears Of A Coronavirus Outbreak appeared first on VRScout.

from VRScout https://ift.tt/384uTdL
via IFTTT

Facebook Cancels F8, Unity and Epic Pull Out From GDC Over Coronavirus

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Facebook cancelled the physical portion of its F8 developer conference which was slated for May due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, COVID-19.

Unity and Epic, the companies behind the two biggest videogame development toolsets, also cancelled their appearances at the Game Developers Conference in March. Earlier Facebook, Sony and a growing list of developers cancelled plans to attend.

We’ve made the tough decision to cancel our on-the-ground activity at GDC 2020, due to current conditions with COVID-19. The health and safety of our employees, partners and friends is our top priority. More info to come on what we’ll be sharing online. https://t.co/xkujzb4v5c

— Unity (@unity3d) February 27, 2020

Mobile World Congress in Barcelona was completely cancelled due to COVID-19 concerns and plans for future events and travel are changing on a daily basis as a growing list of public events are affected by health concerns.

Here at Epic we were excited about participating in GDC 2020. Regrettably, uncertainty around health concerns has made it unviable to send our employees, and so we have made the difficult decision to withdraw attendance.

Stay tuned for Epic news and more through other channels.

— Unreal Engine (@UnrealEngine) February 27, 2020

Production of both the Valve Index and Oculus Quest VR headsets were also affected by the coronavirus and questions are being raised about a growing list of products and events planned throughout 2020.

Facebook in particular is expected at some point to accept submissions to its store for its experimental hand tracking while also planning to launch the Horizon social networking service. Those are both software-based advances which could conceivably move forward in the coming weeks and months.

“In light of the growing concerns around COVID-19, we’ve made the difficult decision to cancel the in-person component of F8 this year, in order to prioritize the health and safety of our developer partners, employees and everyone who helps put F8 on. We plan to replace the in-person F8 event with locally hosted events, videos and live-streamed content,” a statement from Facebook explains.

The global effects of the coronavirus continue to cascade in unexpected ways and cause plans to change on an almost daily basis. We’ll keep you updated with future developments.

The post Facebook Cancels F8, Unity and Epic Pull Out From GDC Over Coronavirus appeared first on UploadVR.

from UploadVR https://ift.tt/387tMtA
via IFTTT

Company Turns Employees’ Memories Into An AR Vinyl Record On Instagram

https://ift.tt/3caLpMu

A new Instagram AR filter transforms data into a symphony of notes.

HUSH, a company designing innovative ways to connect digital technology with physical spaces, has created an AR filter for Instagram that leverages a collection of data composed of experiences and nostalgia from its own employees to deliver a really cool interactive experience that employs both sound and physical motion.

HUSH/LISTEN reimagines the idea of vinyl records, a classic form of analog sound storage in which a finely-tipped stylus moving through a set of physical grooves to emit audio. Instead of a physical stylus and record, however, HUSH/LISTEN has you dragging your finger across your smartphone screen to unlock a symphony of soothing chimes that can be played forward or backward. 

Because this AR filter uses sound, I highly recommend using your headphones for the most immersive experience possible. You can use the speakers of your smartphone, though it will be a significantly less impactful experience.

To release the notes you will need to open the AR filter on Instagram Stories and line up your camera with this image of a digital data “record”. When the experience begins, move your finger in a circular motion over the record to unlock the concert along with AR animations that transform the filter into a visual experience as well.

As a data-driven experience, HUSH wanted its Instagram experience to have meaning. The company turned to its own employees and explored their geographical and musical history to compose a “record” that could be built using Spark AR. 

In an interview with Trust Collective, HUSH Partner David Schwarz said, “The idea to connect the places we’ve called home with the music that defined those times was a simple methodology to bring back old feelings, and to piece together the places and sounds that formed who we are,” adding, “Since both of those things – places and sounds – are discrete and quantifiable information, we knew they would be a great input into the design process that would provide data points to into something special.”

The company wants to inspire humanity by building experiences that merge the physical world with cutting-edge technology. For example, HUSH previously worked with Instagram to create a “Light Forest”, a custom-built space designed to transport visitors into a three-dimensional audio-visual experience that also became a photogenic environment. According to HUSH, it was an “infinite loop.”

HUSH also worked on transforming environments for Google, Capital One, Chobani, and other companies. According to the HUSH website, the Instagram filter is inspired by actual vinyl records to provide a “unique audiovisual experience, one which HUSH intends to evolve and expand beyond the data of its internal team.”

To check out the HUSH/LISTEN experience, use this link to open the Instagram AR filter and then aim it towards the record graphic found here. 

Image Credit: HUSH/LISTEN

The post Company Turns Employees’ Memories Into An AR Vinyl Record On Instagram appeared first on VRScout.

from VRScout https://ift.tt/2vkEDDa
via IFTTT

You Can Grab HandSpace On SideQuest With Your Tiny Finger Hands

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Your fingers are fitted with tiny hands in the new SideQuest app HandSpace.

The hands can also become floppy, long, small, big, wrong, or kaleidoscopic. The new controller-free hand tracking app from Daniel Beauchamp, aka viral sensation @pushmatrix on Twitter, offers perhaps the most mind-bending use yet of Facebook’s experimental Oculus Quest hand tracking.

We’ve covered a number of Beauchamp’s experiments as the VR/AR development lead at Shopify rapidly prototypes new ideas on the standalone Quest. Each new concept draws massive attention on Twitter, where he first published videos showing the ideas. There was finger walking — an interesting gesture concept that would enable simulated movement by “walking” your fingers from one hand across your other hand’s palm. And there was the detachable hand you could throw across the room and it would “walk” to a destination like the Addams Family’s Thing. In recent days we’ve seen a yo-yo, fingerboarding and more.

HandSpace is the first piece of Quest hand-tracking software you can actually download from Beauchamp. Like most controller-free hand tracking software on SideQuest it is just a small experiment to play around with. You’ll simply clap your hands to switch between different hand styles, including affixing all 10 digits with tiny versions of your matching hand pose.

For those of you with Oculus Quests here is the link to the software on SideQuest and instructions for sideloading content onto the standalone headset from a PC here. For those of you without the headset, or afraid of the strange finger hands, here’s a video I captured showing how it works:

And here are videos of some of Beauchamp’s previous experiments:

 

The post You Can Grab HandSpace On SideQuest With Your Tiny Finger Hands appeared first on UploadVR.

from UploadVR https://ift.tt/2T47MeX
via IFTTT