The New Nine Inch Nails music video features Playstation VR shooter POLYBIUS.

If you know me very well then you know I have been a NIN fan since I was a kid. I even asked for the Closure VHS boxed set for Christmas and watched the Happiness In Slavery video on repeat on Christmas morning...I was 14. Cut to now and I still love NIN but I have grown up to include such things as video games and VR into my life. Well the new NIN music video has a little of both. The newest video features video from Llamasofts PSVR shooter Polybius. 

If you know anything about video games you know that Polybius is the name of a rumored arcade game that was deployed in the early 1980s, but then vanished without trace, apparently after entrancing its victims and permanently altering their mental states.

In the legend Polybius was malign, twisting the minds of its addicted users.

The Llamasoft team has no desire to bend people's brains in any kind of a bad way, but given their history with lightsynths and trance-style shooters thought it'd be fun to do an interpretation of the mythical Polybius. 

Currently I am working hard on my first game and it is my goal to be able to work with Trent Reznor one day as well. 

https://www.arkittens.com/

The Invisible Hours coming to PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, and Oculus Rift.

The Invisible Hours is a complex, murder mystery set in VR, which allows players to freely explore an intricate web of interwoven stories within a sprawling old mansion, in order to untangle a dark truth. Developed by Madrid-based Tequila Works in partnership with GameTrust, The Invisible Hours sets the stage for a deeply immersive theater VR experience.

The player is invisible to the cast of characters, giving them freedom to follow and observe anyone in the story - or to explore the mansion for hidden clues at their own pace. The game is a gripping mystery, and to find all its deepest secrets will require careful observation and exploration.

The story follows a group of strangers who receive a curious invitation from enigmatic inventor Nikola Tesla, offering each of them the chance to make amends for their darkest wrongdoings. When the last guest arrives at Tesla’s isolated mansion laboratory, they find him dead – murdered. Disgraced Swedish detective, Gustaf Gustav, vows to find the killer amongst the other guests: a blind butler, a convicted murderer, the world’s most famous actress, Tesla’s former assistant, the son of a wealthy railroad magnate, and rival inventor Thomas Edison. But none of these people are what they seem

The Invisible Hours is inspired by classic murder mysteries, such as Agatha Christie's masterpiece And Then There Were None, as well as genre-busting period thrillers such as Christopher Nolan's The Prestige. It also draws influence from immersive theater, and the real-life rivalry between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla.

Tequila Works, S.L. is an independent boutique studio founded in 2009 by Raúl Rubio Munárriz (founding member of MercurySteam Entertainment, developers of Castlevania: Lords of Shadow) and Luz M. Sancho. Tequila Works' first title, the BAFTA-nominated Deadlight, was published in 2012 by Microsoft Studios. The studio is currently working on several original IPs, including the highly-anticipated RiME. Tequila Works’ philosophy is to create games with gusto. The team consists of a healthy blend of talented veterans from Atari, Blizzard, Disney, Double Fine, Electronic Arts, LucasArts, SEGA and Pixar, as well as new blood from the animation and comic book industries, all of whom enjoy challenging their creative talents and seeing the world with amazement every day. www.tequilaworks.com

CatsAndVR.com

Futuristic war-themed VR shooter Overkill VR launches on HTC Vive today.

Today, VR-specialized publisher Game Troopers is launching Overkill VR, the ultimate futuristic VR shooter exclusively available for HTC VIVE on Steam. In this game you will experience what 360º VR playability is about: cover yourself from enemy attacks as if you actually were in the fighting field and accurately aim your targets all over the scenario!

With Overkill VR you will lead the Resistance into victory over the evil Faction forces and their brutal killing machines. In order to succeed you will have to customize and upgrade your weapons —you will find classic shotguns, assault rifles, sniper rifles, machine guns and super-powered firearms— as you travel through ever-changing environments, from hostile deserts to abandoned cities and industrial complexes.

“With Overkill VR we pursued maximizing the capabilities of the HTC VIVE headset” says Jesús Bosch, CEO at Game Troopers. “Overkill VR is the first VR shooter made exclusively for HTC VIVE which brings you the look and feel of future war”.

Steam Link: http://store.steampowered.com/app/518720

Sacramento Kings new NBA arena wired for VR instant replay with mobile headsets.

This October, the Sacramento Kings will open up a brand new $507 million dollar arena boasting 84 ft long screen almost as long as the court itself. Of course since this arena is in the Bay Area/Northern California part of the world it will be jacked with a high-capacity Wi-Fi system intended to give fans mobile Internet access comparable to high speed home broadband. 

 So great so now we can Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook at the game faster than ever.  Yes,  but there are also bigger plans for all this investment. 

Paul Jacobs, vice chairman and co-owner of the team, and also executive chairman of mobile chipmaker Qualcomm says "Fans could be given an up-close experience of the action no matter where they’re sitting" 

The Kings are planing on allowing someone watching the game at the arena with access to a mobile VR headset such as GearVR be able to watch an instant reply call in full 360° view and in real time as the play is reviewed.

Another VR option the Kings are considering is having providing fan the ticket option to access high-end VR headsets rather than a conventional seat with a poor view.

 “They'd still be there to feel the roar of the crowd and be part of it but be watching in a  slightly different way,” Jacobs says.

The Sacramento Kings are heavily embracing Virtual Reality and recently invested in virtual reality video startup Voke. The team has also experimented with streaming action from the court to virtual-reality headsets outside the stadium as well as the recent uniform reveal via 360° video and Google Cardboard.

In 2015, a game against the Los Angeles Clippers was viewed by people at a school in India using headsets, something Jacobs feels could be common place in the future. Dan Gilbert, owner of NBA champions Cleveland Cavaliers has also shown interest in using this as a way to generate additional revenue from games. 

Cats And VR

Destinations Workshop Tools available on Steam Early Access

Destinations Workshop Tools lets you create, share, and explore both real and imaginary places in virtual reality. This is a beta release of a set of content creation tools that users can use to construct worlds and share them on the Destinations Workshop – then explore them with the included Destinations Viewer.

Destinations Workshop Tools includes:
The Source 2 tool set used internally at Valve. Once installed, you can find the Destinations Workshop Tools in the Library under Tools. 
Several example Destinations created with photogrammetry 

An example map that users can copy and modify which highlights how to use Source 2 tools to add interactivity to a Destination 

The Destinations Viewer, where users can browse and explore Destinations downloaded from the Steam Workshop. Once installed, you can find the Destinations Viewer in the Library under Software.

Creator Resources:
Destinations Wiki
Source 2 Level Editor Wiki
Destinations Compatibility
Destinations works with all headsets supported by OpenVR. 
Destinations supports both motion-tracked controllers and x-input controllers.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/453170

Cats And VR

Check out the E3 trailer for Harmonix Music VR

Unlock the transcendent potential of your music with Harmonix Music VR™.

Visit http://harmonixmusicvr.com for more information! 

From a whacky dance party, to 3D reactive art, and even a nice relaxing alien beach, Harmonix Music VR is the next evolution of your music library. Launching exclusively on PlayStation®VR this October.

Features:

- Works with any song in your PlayStation®4 music library! Plug in a USB flash drive loaded with your favorite songs and Harmonix’s internal music analysis engine does the rest. 

- Four unique worlds will let you experience your music like you never have before. Chill on a transforming alien beach in The Beach, create 3D drawings in The Easel, get the dance party started The Dance, and more!

- Featuring 17 music tracks, including songs from the cult classic beatmatch rhythm game Amplitude™, A City Sleeps™, and hand crafted music from Harmonix’s very own, M-Cue.

Cats And VR

In\Formation: An immersive documentary about the emerging power of Virtual Reality to inspire empathy in its audience.

In\Formation is a two part (25 min) immersive documentary investigating the medium of Virtual Reality and creative use of the technology to build empathy and new forms of storytelling.

Explored through 3D 360-degree video, the live-action virtual reality experience documents VR pioneers during the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival through a deep dive into their projects, motivations and speculations.

Part One features interviews with VR pioneers Nonny De La Peña, James George, Jacquelyn Ford Morie, Brian Chirls and Vincent Morisset along with Ingrid Kopp, Clint Beharry and Nick Fortugno. Part Two focuses on VR projects selected for Tribeca Storyscapes - The Enemy by Karim Ben Khelifa and The Machine To Be Another by BeAnotherLab.

Directed by Debra Anderson and produced by Hugh McGrory, In\Formation is a Datavized production.  The experience is available for Cardboard as well as available for download and streaming via the In\Formation App on Google Play for Android, distributed by EEVO, and Datavized's YouTube360 Channel. A future release is being planned for Facebook 360 and Gear VR.

Directors Statement:

Pioneering storytellers are creating new forms of documentary to pull at our heartstrings, change our minds and visualize our actions, in real time. Experimental non-linear forms of immersive storytelling point to a future where qualitative data and quantitative data intertwine. Storytellers, driven by humanist motivations, aim to build and measure empathy through virtual worlds and create plausible social impact, their ambitions are aspirational, the projects are complex and research-driven, designed to frame a myriad of questions exploring the human condition: What are the implications of working in this new medium and to what capacity are these technologies truly transformative? How are emotions measured in such environments, can bias be removed, how are these investigations planning to address social issues in a broad sense, from conflict resolution, identity and mutual respect? How is empathy stimulated and exploited, in the most positive sense? How are storytellers crafting experiences, new realities for the viewer, to contextualize social issues, to better understand the human experience?

Through a focus on The Enemy and Machine to Be Another, two pioneering virtual reality prototype projects debuting immersive, interactive installations at the Tribeca Storyscapes exhibition at the crossroads of experimental research, journalism, neuroscience, and interactive performance installation, In\Formation captures these projects, the methodology and motives of the artists and makers, and explores insights about building empathy among individuals through social, cultural and ideological ways to audiences around the world. As an experiment and prototype of its own, it aims to connect as many people as possible to the most important art being made, art that reveals our individual connection to a most complex system, humanity.   

Cats And VR

Google announces Mobile VR Platform, Daydream!

Today at Google I/0, a new platform for high quality mobile VR called Daydream was announced. Together with Android manufacturers, Google is working on upcoming phones, and sharing designs with them for a VR viewer and controller that will be really immersive, comfortable and intuitive to use. You can look forward to loads of apps and games coming to Daydream too, YouTube, Street View, Play Movies, Google Photos and the Play Store. The date revealed for the release of Google Daydream as well as the titles set to release with its launch is November 2016.

https://vr.google.com/daydream/

NetEase's virtual reality game Twilight Pioneers was revealed at Google I/O 2016 as one of the first games to commit to Google's Daydream.

Commenting on the company's latest achievement, Chief Executive Officer and Director of NetEase William Ding said,

"As one of the first developers globally to feature on Google I/O 2016, we are pleased to be among the first companies to commit to making games for Daydream. Leveraging our track record in game development and innovation, we are confident of delivering the superior VR gaming experience to players in China and around the world."

Set in a fantasy world, Twilight Pioneers is an Action Role Playing Game (ARPG) that incorporates NetEase's next-generation graphics and advanced production technique

That one time VR made me cry. Imago is an amazing work of VR art.

This past weekend I got the chance to work with some great people in creating 360° film projects at an event called VR Weekend. At the end of the event our group had the opportunity to hear some insights from Chuck, Tsung-Han Lee, one of the visionary minds behind Imago.

You can check out his shared experience with making Imago in a video posted on our preferred 360° video platform Metta: http://www.mettavr.com/v/q4dZbBrmedQ5tdCP2

Imago left a real impression on me, this may be due to the fact of having a family member with a disability but also due to the techniques Chuck and his team, Project Hypnos, used to create the feeling of isolation and freedom in a VR space. Actually building a camera around a physical representation of a disabled person really put me in a space of sadness at points.

There is a moment in this film that I actually shed a tear. Imago is not just a good VR experience, it is a true work of art that should be showcased as such as well as be accessible to many. I look forward to seeing how Project Hypnos will help to define cinema as well as real emotional experiences in VR. Imago was honored by the Vision VR/AR awards and has been accepted into Siggraph 2016.

Imago is virtual reality short film produced by Project Hypnos, an interdisciplinary team of graduate students at the Carnegie Mellon's Entertainment Technology center. This project was developed to explore questions of film language, story structure and production techniques for 360 degree film.

Cats And VR

Oculus Rift gets some upcoming high quality content from Insomniac Games.

Well it is late at night so what better time to write about Insomniac Games, the studio that brought you Spyro The Dragon, Ratchet And Clank, and one of my all time favorites Resistance: Fall Of Man.

Well Insomniac just revealed 2 additional Oculus Rift exclusive VR games to go with the already announced Edge Of Nowhere that will be set to launch on the Oculus Store on June 6th.

Looks like Oculus is really pushing to get some quality exclusives and pulling this much content from a AAA studio like Insomniac has really got me asking if Sony will be able to deliver measurable content with PSVR. Check out the trailers below.

Feral Rites: Avenge the death of your father by fighting your way through missions and quests in this VR adventure-brawler. Set on a mystical island, explore unique areas of the island from jungles to temples, while mastering new abilities including the power to transform into a feral beast. Feral Rites will be playable at E3 this year and will appear on the Oculus Store in Fall 2016.

The Unspoken: An Oculus Touch‐enabled VR action game that pulls players into a hidden world of spellcasting and magician’s duels. Manipulate the environment around you with the powerful arcane forces that flow through your fingertips, summon ghastly monstrosities with your bare hands, and rise up through the ranks of an urban magic fight club in supernatural PVP combat. The Unspoken will also be playable at E3 and will release in November 2016.

Check out the trailer for the previously announced Edge Of Nowhere that will be released on June 6th. 

Edge of Nowhere is a VR third-person action-adventure from acclaimed independent developer Insomniac Games. Travel to the far reaches of the Antarctic mountains in search of a missing expedition team. What appears to be a rescue mission takes a turn as you venture into the deep unknown, and discover a surreal world that will test your wits and sanity.

Cats And VR

VideoStitch believes their Orah 4i camera will make 360° live streaming of Cats easier.

“Until today, a live VR video production workflow relied on an array of small cameras put together on a holder. Videographers then dealt with multiple cables, power supplies and a variety of small hardware components,” said Nicolas Burtey, CEO and founder of VideoStitch. “We have developed a solution that streams 4K resolution live virtual reality video to headsets–all with the push of a button.”

VR is a platform gaining a momentum thanks to the delivery of head­mounted displays to the end users. Yet it will only become a sustainable industry with massive, high quality cat videos. This not only the opinion of CatsAndVR.com but also Oculus CTO John Carmack.

One of the keys to consumer VR success will be stereoscopic panoramic cat videos.

— John Carmack (@ID_AA_Carmack) November 6, 2014

.More information can be found at Orah.co

Orah 4i is the first all-­in-­one VR camera designed to simplify the real­-time production of full spherical 360 video Pre-order now at http://www.orah.co/

We do hope that the Orah 4i delivers so we can start producing amazing Cat streams very soon.

We are CatsAndVR.com after all.

Cats And VR. 

Check out the Spectator Mode for Job Simulator!

Developer:
Owlchemy Labs
Based in Austin, TX

Job Simulator will be a launch title for HTC Vive, Oculus Touch, and PlayStation VR. A tongue-in-cheek virtual reality experience for motion controlled VR platforms. In a world where robots have replaced all human jobs, step into the "Job Simulator" to learn what it was like 'to job'.

About Job Simulator

The year is 2050.

Robots cook, clean, service, and rule organize the world with precision and speed. Human occupations are now memories of the past; long gone are the blue collar jobs that ran the old world. Humans raised in our perfect automated society must not forget their useless ancient ancestors and history. 

This is why JobBot was born. JobBot created Job Simulator to teach humans what it is 'to job'. All praise to JobBot, for he is the keeper of human history. 

Google Introduces VR View to allow you to embed immersive content into your apps and websites!

Move around using a mouse on a desktop or using your phone. 

SO EASY EVEN A CAT CAN EMBED A VR VIDEO! Also it is super mobile friendly. I tested on an old iPhone 4s and it views and loads great! This will allow for some really good Cardboard acceptance from the blogging community. 

Excerpt from Google Developers Blog

VR views take 360 VR images or videos and transform them into interactive experiences that users can view on their phone, with a Cardboard viewer, or on their desktop computer. For native apps, you can embed a VR view by grabbing the latest Cardboard SDK for Android or iOS* and adding a few lines of code. On the web, embedding a VR view is as simple as adding an iframe on your site. We’re open-sourcing the HTML and JavaScript for web developers on github, so you can self-host and modify it to match your needs.

From travel and real estate to news and entertainment, we hope embeddable VR views make it quick and easy to share your story and build immersive and engaging visual experiences your users will love. We're excited to see what you create.

*Yes, you read that right! Starting today, there’ll be a native Cardboard SDK for iOS. Provided in idiomatic Objective C, and packaged as a single, easy-to-use CocoaPod, this new SDK includes all of the features already available in the Cardboard SDK for Android.

Read More of this fantastic post by Google Product Manager-Nathan Martz

Cats and VR

VICELAND partners with Samsung to create exclusive VR content.

As part of a larger ad deal that will make some of its primetime programming commercial-free Viceland is creating virtual reality content for Samsung. 

Instead of ad breaks in a show, some content will run commercial-free with a Viceland doc running before. 

The first documentary will take a look at VR pioneer Chris Milk, founder and CEO of VR tech company Vrse  providing a look at his journey and body of work in VR.

Oculus Rift Review Round UP

March 28th has been filled with tons of news about VR. Since today is when Oculus Rift consumer Preorders would be arriving much media coverage has been put out today.

Now here is the wrap up for the day.

• "It’s very hard to convey with words, pictures, or videos just how different this experience is from looking at a standard 2D monitor. You’ll find yourself instinctively flinching away from objects as they fly at your face or doing a double-take when you see something surprising in the corner of your eye. The virtual reality illusion can give a real sense of vertigo when looking over a cliff or an overwhelming sense of awe looking across a vast vista." Going from a monitor to the Rift’s VR is like going from looking at nothing but moving paintings in a dark cave to looking at the real world in sunlight for the first time." - Kyle Orland, Ars Technica

• "You simply must try the Oculus Rift. It’s breathtaking. I just wouldn’t buy one right now -- and there’s no reason you should feel the need to, either (especially with its archrival, the HTC Vive, also just days away). The longer you wait to buy, the better it will get. This is just day one for Oculus -- and for the future of virtual reality." - Scott Stein and Sean Hollister, CNet

• "Over the course of a week using the Rift, I found that experience beguiling and thrilling at times, uncomfortable and awkward at others. Overall, entering the Rift is expensive, unnatural, and utterly addicting. Virtual reality is often talked about as a revolution, a paradigm shift, a really, really big deal. Using Oculus Rift proves this kind of talk isn’t hype." - Lisa Eadicicco, Time

• "This is an astonishingly well-made device. It delivers rock-solid, comfortable VR, and it does so easily. You’ll be able to put this thing on anyone and show them the magic. You’ll have friends coming over just to go through the Dreamdeck. (Seriously, you will.) But you’ll have to make your peace with the idea that your $600—or realistically, $1,500 or more, if you need a PC to go with it—is an investment. It’s an investment in the things you’ll be able to do in the Rift, the places you’ll be able to go." - Peter Rubin, Wired

• "Over the past week, I tested the Rift and many pieces of content for the system to see how true Mr. Zuckerberg’s words might ring. I can report that while the Rift is a well-built hardware system brimming with potential, the first wave of apps and games available for it narrows the device’s likely users to hard-core gamers. It is also rougher to set up and get accustomed to than products like smartphones and tablets." - Brian Chen, the New York Times

• "The high cost of buying and running high-end VR headsets makes them inaccessible to many people, and the Rift in particular is relentlessly focused on gaming. Within these limitations, though, the Rift makes a good case for seated VR, and it lays a solid foundation for what’s to come. The headset you can buy today is not Oculus’ most ambitious vision for virtual reality — but it’s a vision that Oculus has successfully delivered on." Adi Robertson, The Verge

• "After spending a week with the Oculus Rift, I have no doubt that its approach to virtual reality is indeed the real deal. It's well built and easy to set up, and there are already a few games and apps that'll make VR believers out of the most ardent naysayer. The only problem: It's $600 and requires a powerful gaming PC. Just as with every new technological milestone, it has the potential to change the world. But at this early stage, only a few can afford it."  - Devindra Hardawar, Engadget

• "Oculus Rift is the 2016 product you hope your neighbor buys. You’ll definitely want to try it, but there’s little reason to own one unless you’re a serious gamer. I’m not talking about Candy Crush addicts, or even most of us with a PlayStation at home. Oculus Rift only works with high-end gaming PCs—the recommended Asus model I tested costs $1,449 and requires not one but two power plugs. No Macs will do." Geoffrey Fowler, The Wall Street Journal

• "The Oculus Rift is a crazy device that is more than the sum of its parts. As the first consumer high-powered virtual reality headset, it deserves props for just existing, but incredibly it manages to kick ass as well. Whether you should buy now, just try it out or wait until Oculus Touch arrives depends mostly on your patience and cashflow." - Lucas Matney, TechCrunch

• "What Oculus has accomplished is remarkable. There’s plenty that even the completely uninitiated user can enjoy. More importantly, the Rift is truly immersive in most cases. The image quality is mostly excellent, and the head-tracking is nearly flawless. Indeed, perhaps what’s most significant is that there are moments when I can say unreservedly and without caveats that I am enjoying the Rift right in the moment—not as a device indicative of some desirable future, but as a device to own right now. I still can’t afford the future of virtual reality, but for the first time, I actually want to." - Mario Aguilar, Gizmodo

Upcoming Games Coming To Oculus!

Overall the top upcoming game I am looking forward to is Dragon Front from High Voltage Software. I have been a fan of HVS since the Conduit days on the Wii and know they will deliver an awesome game.

The first collectible card game built for VR is here! Developed by High Voltage Software, and produced by Oculus Studios, Dragon Front combines traditional high fantasy with a dieselpunk aesthetic for a one-of-a-kind experience. 

We’re all super avid CCG fans so developing the game has been an amazing experience. In fact, we built the game after prototyping a physical game board and cards so we could get it exactly right,” explains Eric Nofsinger, Chief Creative Officer at High Voltage Software. “It’s a true card game come-to-life all around the player, and with features both surprising and familiar, Dragon Front is a highly engaging nail-biter till the end.”

“Dragon Front represents an important milestone for our studio,” says Kerry Ganofsky, CEO and founder of High Voltage Software. “Not only have we created a fantastic VR card game that’s easy to pick up and play, but we’ve also demonstrated the incredible versatility of the Oculus platform for endless replay value. They’ve also been so supportive and collaborative with us developing in this new terrain.”

News provided by VRandCats.com

Gunfire Games Releases The Official Trailer For Chronos Third-Person RPG Rift Launch Title Will Be Available March 28

Gunfire Games, a leading independent developer of video games, today released the official trailer for Chronos, their Virtual reality role-playing game available only on Oculus. The hardware and the game both launch on March 28.

Chronos is an atmospheric RPG that chronicles a hero's lifelong quest to save their homeland from a great evil.  Grow wiser, stronger and more powerful as you explore the depths of the mysterious labyrinth. But beware, the labyrinth takes a heavy toll – each time your hero dies, they lose a year of their life! 

Adventure RPG - Refreshing combination of Adventure Game elements and RPG mechanics. 

VR - Explore an atmospheric fantasy world in full Virtual Reality.  An unparalleled level of immersion, scale and detail! 

Deep Combat – A variety of weapons, abilities and powers are available to the player in the pursuit of their quest.   

Unique Aging Mechanic – Every time the player dies they age one year.  Player's must adapt to their advancing age as they progress their character; starting the game young, nimble and quick, and ending wise and more attuned to magic. 

About Gunfire Games: 

Gunfire Games is an independent game developer based in Austin, Texas.  The core team members are the remnant of Vigil games and are best known for creating and shipping the DARKSIDERS franchise. We started the studio because we love what we do:  Crafting worlds – building games – it's in our DNA.  For more information about Gunfire Games and Chronos visit (http://gunfiregames.com/)

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