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Valve’s Tom Forsyth and robotics scientist Steve LaValle join Oculus team

Oculus VR — Thu, 23 May 2013 00:50:18 +0000

The Oculus team just got bigger by two, with software engineer Tom Forsyth, formerly of Valve, and robotic scientist Dr. Steve LaValle of the University of Illinois both jumping on board. Forsyth previously worked alongside Joe Ludwig and Michael Abrash on Valve’s Team Fortress 2, which has a VR mode specifically designed for the developer version of the Rift…

Immerse yourself in fear: how Oculus Rift could change horror games

Oculus VR — Mon, 13 May 2013 19:24:59 +0000

Disunion is a guillotine simulator for the Oculus Rift. Like many of the demos available for the fledgling virtual reality headset, it’s a bit rough: The crowd is nothing more than cardboard cutouts and the entire experience lasts just a few seconds. It also makes far less of an impact the second time you try it, since you know what to expect. But Disunion shows the frightening potential of the Rift. While the device can be used to recreate incredible experiences, like flying through the air or piloting a spaceship, its added realism can also make you very, very uncomfortable — which could just make it the ideal platform for horror games…

Euro Truck Simulator 2 gets even more gritty ‘n’ real with the Oculus Rift

Oculus VR — Mon, 13 May 2013 19:15:49 +0000

My most favorite of sims just got even more realistic! We’re not talking about toytown SimCity or ArmA 3′s eagle-eye tactical simulation here, oh no. We’re talking about the most mundane of what life has to offer times a hundred, thanks to the ultra-clarity of an Oculus Rift headset. We’re talking about something that’s human, dramatic, believable. You guessed it — we’re talking about Euro Truck Simulator 2!

The high-scoring goods-delivery sim has been undergoing Oculus Rift experiments the past few days, according to developer SCS Software’s blog. “Looking around the cabin freely is incredible,” they say. “It almost feels like being in there!”

Oculus Rift And Sony Help CCP Games Expand EVE Universe Beyond Online PC Gamers

Oculus VR — Sat, 11 May 2013 19:34:15 +0000

What I’m most excited about when it comes to EVE (and I have to admit I don’t play the PC game, which is very complex) is the virtual reality dogfighting game. CCP Games had Oculus Rift running the EVR game at its recent Fanfest event in Reykjavik, Iceland. The game allows up to six players to engage in full VR space combat running on the world’s first affordable gaming VR system…

Norway’s Crown Prince And Princess Talk Startups And Try Out The Oculus Rift

Oculus VR — Fri, 10 May 2013 20:40:11 +0000

I interviewed Haakon and Mette-Marit at Norway’s Innovation House Silicon Valley, a co-working space in Palo Alto for Norwegian startups looking to enter the US market. The couple saw demos from several startups — the prince even tried on some Oculus Rift virtual reality goggles — it was part of Making View‘s demo of its technology for capturing and exploring 360-degree video footage. (He said it was “pretty awesome.”)

Half-Life 2 officially supported on Oculus Rift, beta gets shipped to developers

Oculus VR — Fri, 10 May 2013 19:13:59 +0000

Gordon Freeman, in your head. Well, that’s the plan, with Oculus now offering official beta support for a headset-based Half-Life 2. There’s a few known issues to iron out already, including an overly-dim UI and issues with the zoom. But even at this early stage, it appears to lack any gameplay deal-breakers we’ve seen elsewhere…

Minecraft lands unofficial Oculus Rift support

Oculus VR — Wed, 08 May 2013 18:56:28 +0000

If you’re looking for more virtual worlds to explore using the Oculus Rift, MTBS3D forum user StellaArtois has developed something that might strike your fancy: a Minecraft mod dubbed Minecrift that bakes in support for the virtual reality headset. The modification still needs refining, but it already incorporates head tracking and warping. Not only did the intrepid forum goer grapple with the OpenGL API to devise the solution, but they also created the altered software before their own Rift dev kit arrived, relying on others to provide feedback for tweaking…

Going to space: how the Oculus Rift will change both how we game in and explore our virtual worlds

Oculus VR — Tue, 07 May 2013 19:35:23 +0000

When my son comes into my office and I’m wearing the Oculus Rift, he doesn’t ask what I’m playing. He asks where I am. When I bring the development kit to a friend’s house we don’t say that we’re going to put it on, we say that we’re “going in” or “coming out” when we take it off. The vocabulary of play changes when you’re wearing the headset and a pair of headphones. Right now I’m floating around a space station…

Among the Sleep adds support for Oculus Rift, playable alpha coming soon

Oculus VR — Tue, 07 May 2013 19:04:48 +0000

From our first encounter with it, we’ve billed Among the Sleep as a horror adventure game told through the eyes of a child. Now, thanks to the Oculus Rift, you can really play through the eyes of a child. The team at Krillbite has already implemented some simple Rift support in Among the Sleep and captured the results on video. As you can see, the Rift really drives home the scale of the game, as players see grandfather clocks tower high above them, or look down and marvel at their own tiny infant body…

Watch heads roll in this guillotine simulator for Oculus Rift

Oculus VR — Mon, 06 May 2013 19:19:14 +0000

While we’ve seen plenty of experiments showing the potential for utilizing the upcoming Oculus Rift technlogy to fully immerse a player in a game world, we haven’t seen anything quite like this.

Disunion is a guillotine simulator created over 48 hours as part of the Exile Game Jam. Players take up position knelt down with their head over a block, and are subsequently “beheaded” with spectators watching…