Rev VR Podcast

After our Gear VR Roundtable Chat last week, I was informed that not everyone in the VR community had the same warm and fuzzy feelings that were conveyed in our discussion. I felt the need to allow a few others to voice their opinions in this latest episode of the Rev VR Podcast.

After our Gear VR Roundtable Chat last week, I was informed that not everyone in the VR community had the same warm and fuzzy feelings that were conveyed in our discussion. I felt the need to allow a few others to voice their opinions in this latest episode of the Rev VR Podcast.

In this special edition of the Rev VR Podcast, I am joined by Ben Lang, E McNeill, Justin Moravetz, and Cymatic Bruce. This was actually streamed LIVE over Google Hangouts shortly after the announcement of the Samsung Gear VR headset. We talk about the potential impact this will have on the VR community, and get some inside scoop on how this will pan out in the future. To watch the stream on YouTube, check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSuZHMRKDD8

In this special edition of the Rev VR Podcast, I am joined by Ben Lang, E McNeill, Justin Moravetz, and Cymatic Bruce. This was actually streamed LIVE over Google Hangouts shortly after the announcement of the Samsung Gear VR headset. We talk about the potential impact this will have on the VR community, and get some inside scoop on how this will pan out in the future. To watch the stream on YouTube, check out: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mSuZHMRKDD8

Justin Moravetz, known by the VR community as the developer responsible for Proton Pulse and Vanguard V, joins me in this episode of the Rev VR Podcast. We examine the outcome of our Kickstarters and give some tips for those thinking of doing their own campaign. We are calling this episode, "Adventures in Kickstarting".

Justin Moravetz, known by the VR community as the developer responsible for Proton Pulse and Vanguard V, joins me in this episode of the Rev VR Podcast. We examine the outcome of our Kickstarters and give some tips for those thinking of doing their own campaign. We are calling this episode, "Adventures in Kickstarting".

Aaron Lemke of Unello Design joins me on this episode of the Rev VR Podcast. He is responsible for the game Eden River, and the latest Eden River HD. We also discuss the importance of music in the gaming industry and how it affects our emotions. http://unellodesign.itch.io/eden-river---a-virtual-reality-relaxation-experience

Aaron Lemke of Unello Design joins me on this episode of the Rev VR Podcast. He is responsible for the game Eden River, and the latest Eden River HD. We also discuss the importance of music in the gaming industry and how it affects our emotions. http://unellodesign.itch.io/eden-river---a-virtual-reality-relaxation-experience

Jamie, Dave, Mark, and Ivan from VRcade join me in this episode of the Rev VR Podcast to discuss their role in the VR industry, their recent Kickstarter, and the future of VR Out-of-Home entertainment. Not every virtual reality experience is possible in the home. Even with all of the upcoming technology that will be entering the consumer market soon, there will still be a need for larger, more complicated experiences. That is where the folks at VRcade have focused their attention. Untethered, wireless technology, and a spacious arena provide VRcade patrons with an immersive experience that is unlike anything they can get in their home. For some, this will be their first taste of virtual reality and that will certainly help paint the VR industry in a positive light. On Friday, the VRcade team launched a Kickstarter for "The Nightmare Machine", a four player haunted house game that takes advantage of their proprietary setup that will deliver "an intense horror experience", hosted at the iconic EMP Museum. VRcade is also hosting numerous Game Jams where developers are encouraged to create unique experiences that can take advantage of the VRcade setup. To learn more about "The Nightmare Machine", check out this page: http://nightmaremachinevr.com/ or to back the Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vrcade/vrcades-the-nightmare-machine?ref=nav_search For more information about VRcade, visit their website: http://vrcade.com/ I want to thank the guys at VRcade for being such amazing guests.

Jamie, Dave, Mark, and Ivan from VRcade join me in this episode of the Rev VR Podcast to discuss their role in the VR industry, their recent Kickstarter, and the future of VR Out-of-Home entertainment. Not every virtual reality experience is possible in the home. Even with all of the upcoming technology that will be entering the consumer market soon, there will still be a need for larger, more complicated experiences. That is where the folks at VRcade have focused their attention. Untethered, wireless technology, and a spacious arena provide VRcade patrons with an immersive experience that is unlike anything they can get in their home. For some, this will be their first taste of virtual reality and that will certainly help paint the VR industry in a positive light. On Friday, the VRcade team launched a Kickstarter for "The Nightmare Machine", a four player haunted house game that takes advantage of their proprietary setup that will deliver "an intense horror experience", hosted at the iconic EMP Museum. VRcade is also hosting numerous Game Jams where developers are encouraged to create unique experiences that can take advantage of the VRcade setup. To learn more about "The Nightmare Machine", check out this page: http://nightmaremachinevr.com/ or to back the Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/vrcade/vrcades-the-nightmare-machine?ref=nav_search For more information about VRcade, visit their website: http://vrcade.com/ I want to thank the guys at VRcade for being such amazing guests.

Rev VR Podcast (Ep.74): The One Year Anniversary Special One year ago today, I started a quest to become a voice in the VR community. I sat down in front of my sad little laptop and recorded my very first podcast. It was awful. It took me several episodes before I found the right tone and momentum. Now, for this very special anniversary episode, I decided it was time to have a guest host. For the first time in the history of the Rev VR Podcast, someone else has taken the helm. Apieceoffruit, a well known member of the VR community and fellow podcaster, has gracefully stepped up to interview ME about the Project Torus Kickstarter and my other endeavors in the VR space. The rest of the episode is a glance back at all of the good, bad, and controversial episodes of the Rev VR Podcast. What was your favorite? A big surprise at the end of the episode. When will the silly lawsuits end? To listen to the Left-Handed VR Podcast check out their website: http://vrnews.tv/ To support the Project Torus Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1172145560/project-torus-multi-platform-vr-game

Rev VR Podcast (Ep.74): The One Year Anniversary Special One year ago today, I started a quest to become a voice in the VR community. I sat down in front of my sad little laptop and recorded my very first podcast. It was awful. It took me several episodes before I found the right tone and momentum. Now, for this very special anniversary episode, I decided it was time to have a guest host. For the first time in the history of the Rev VR Podcast, someone else has taken the helm. Apieceoffruit, a well known member of the VR community and fellow podcaster, has gracefully stepped up to interview ME about the Project Torus Kickstarter and my other endeavors in the VR space. The rest of the episode is a glance back at all of the good, bad, and controversial episodes of the Rev VR Podcast. What was your favorite? A big surprise at the end of the episode. When will the silly lawsuits end? To listen to the Left-Handed VR Podcast check out their website: http://vrnews.tv/ To support the Project Torus Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1172145560/project-torus-multi-platform-vr-game

We already knew about Nick, aka RedofPaw, from his amazing work with My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away. When he heard about Oculus Connect happening later this year, he knew that he would not be able to afford it with out a little help from his friends. This is where Kickstarter came to save the day. "RedOfPaw's Big Crazy Stupid VR Adventure and American Pie" is Nick's solution for raising the funds needed to send him to Oculus Connect. He is designing a VR experience with all sorts of fun assets and gameplay that is being influenced by his Kickstarter contributers. It is a novel and obviously successful idea. By the time you listen to this podcast, Nick will have already surpassed his funding goal, and is on his way to making an amazingly zany video game for his fans. Now, it is my turn. When I attended the SVVR Conference & Expo earlier this year, I had a chance to try out the latest prototype of GameFace. I immediately realized that for mobile VR to work, we would need loads of content. So many developers were focusing on desktop VR experiences, but there wasn't much for mobile. To take it even further, there was absolutely nothing out there being developed for ALL platforms. Now there is. Project Torus is a shooter at its core. Imagine a stadium with a UFO flying around it trying to kill you by throwing orbs at you. Your goal, destroy the UFO before it destroys you. Seems simple, but when you are being bombarded in 360 degrees, you quickly see how difficult it is to focus all of your attention on the UFO without suffering impending death from the attacking orbs. What makes Project Torus unique is that I am designing it with mobile in mind first. You cannot take a great desktop VR game and just compile it for mobile and expect it to work. The mobile platform is not ready to handle those graphically intensive experiences yet. You have to design for mobile, then go to desktop. Because of this roadmap, I have been able to create an experience that is fluid and fun on all platforms. What about input? The best arcade style games have simple input. Project Torus requires two things, your head, and one button. Whether that button be on a mouse or a controller, or simply tapping on a screen, there is no need for complicated control schemes. The only movement you make in Project Torus is with your head, aiming the gun turret at your intended target. Because of this simple gameplay, you can focus more attention on mastering the game, instead of learning it. Why Kickstarter? Unfortunately, I suffer the same fate as Nick. I do not live in California, and the cost of travel to all of these conventions is quite a bit. Like Nick, by offering a VR game on Kickstarter with a reasonably attainable goal, I am trying to gather the necessary funds to attend Oculus Connect, as well as complete my game. With some luck, and the support of the VR community, I will be able to achieve this goal. I really appreciate all of you who have supported me and my podcast for the last year. If you feel like giving a small piece to help me complete my game, you can go here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1172145560/project-torus-multi-platform-vr-game Plus, if you can make it before it completes, check out Nick's Kickstarter as well: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/106674254/redofpaws-big-crazy-stupid-vr-adventure-and-americ A big thanks to Nick and to the entire VR community!

We already knew about Nick, aka RedofPaw, from his amazing work with My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away. When he heard about Oculus Connect happening later this year, he knew that he would not be able to afford it with out a little help from his friends. This is where Kickstarter came to save the day. "RedOfPaw's Big Crazy Stupid VR Adventure and American Pie" is Nick's solution for raising the funds needed to send him to Oculus Connect. He is designing a VR experience with all sorts of fun assets and gameplay that is being influenced by his Kickstarter contributers. It is a novel and obviously successful idea. By the time you listen to this podcast, Nick will have already surpassed his funding goal, and is on his way to making an amazingly zany video game for his fans. Now, it is my turn. When I attended the SVVR Conference & Expo earlier this year, I had a chance to try out the latest prototype of GameFace. I immediately realized that for mobile VR to work, we would need loads of content. So many developers were focusing on desktop VR experiences, but there wasn't much for mobile. To take it even further, there was absolutely nothing out there being developed for ALL platforms. Now there is. Project Torus is a shooter at its core. Imagine a stadium with a UFO flying around it trying to kill you by throwing orbs at you. Your goal, destroy the UFO before it destroys you. Seems simple, but when you are being bombarded in 360 degrees, you quickly see how difficult it is to focus all of your attention on the UFO without suffering impending death from the attacking orbs. What makes Project Torus unique is that I am designing it with mobile in mind first. You cannot take a great desktop VR game and just compile it for mobile and expect it to work. The mobile platform is not ready to handle those graphically intensive experiences yet. You have to design for mobile, then go to desktop. Because of this roadmap, I have been able to create an experience that is fluid and fun on all platforms. What about input? The best arcade style games have simple input. Project Torus requires two things, your head, and one button. Whether that button be on a mouse or a controller, or simply tapping on a screen, there is no need for complicated control schemes. The only movement you make in Project Torus is with your head, aiming the gun turret at your intended target. Because of this simple gameplay, you can focus more attention on mastering the game, instead of learning it. Why Kickstarter? Unfortunately, I suffer the same fate as Nick. I do not live in California, and the cost of travel to all of these conventions is quite a bit. Like Nick, by offering a VR game on Kickstarter with a reasonably attainable goal, I am trying to gather the necessary funds to attend Oculus Connect, as well as complete my game. With some luck, and the support of the VR community, I will be able to achieve this goal. I really appreciate all of you who have supported me and my podcast for the last year. If you feel like giving a small piece to help me complete my game, you can go here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1172145560/project-torus-multi-platform-vr-game Plus, if you can make it before it completes, check out Nick's Kickstarter as well: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/106674254/redofpaws-big-crazy-stupid-vr-adventure-and-americ A big thanks to Nick and to the entire VR community!

It is the week of July 14th, and the VR community has one thing on their mind. When are they going to get an email, or a statement, or something to indicate where their DK2 is? Jesse and I have decided to be patient, and instead talk about a few other subjects to keep our minds off of it. Jesse is part of the team that is developing VR Chat. They have been doing several regular meetups, including Developer chats on Wednesdays, and a Sunday evening chat after Cymatic Bruce’s stream. Congratulations to developer, RedofPaw, for his successful Kickstarter campaign! Oculus Connect is happening in September, and we are still waiting for more information about it. It seems like everyone in the VR community is scrambling to make plans to go. How much will it cost? What will they show? A Mobile SDK? CV1? Controllers? We discuss the possibilities and what it might mean to other hardware developers already in the industry. One big piece of news released by Oculus is that you need to have V-Sync on for DK2. Some folks barked at that. We discuss what this means and how your experience will be changed by this. Is your computer DK2 ready? Are you going to need to buy a new video card? Only time will tell. I want to thank Jesse for chatting with me in this episode. If you would like a chance to chat with Jesse and join in on the VR Chat fun, check out vrchat.net and watch reddit for chat announcements.