Cloudhead Games has always been ready and willing to test out new concepts for its upcoming virtual reality (VR) videogame, The Gallery. The developer was one of the first to embrace the upcoming HTC Vive head-mounted display (HMD) and support its user tracking features, and has even introduced a means for comfortable and simple navigation around large virtual spaces with the kit with its Blink locomotion system. This week, the company is unveiling yet another innovative new technique it’s using with upcoming experience.
The company has posted a new video (seen below) and development blog in which it has showcased performance capture for Adrian Hough, an actor playing the role of what appears to be The Gallery‘s primary antagonist, The Watcher. What’s unique about this capture, though, is that it was done within VR using Perception Neuron, a set of sensors that provide full body tracking when placed around the user. VR fans will recognise the kit from a 2014 Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign in which the company behind the project highlighted the potential use for VR control, raising some $571,908 USD.
Whereas you’ve seen extensive performance capture in studios for titles like the Uncharted series before, here Hough is acting with the HTC Vive on, allowing him to actually see the world in which he is giving his performance, rather than simply imagining it’s there. Both Cloudhead Games and the Perception Neuron team talk about the advantages of this in the video below, while the blog post goes far more in-depth about the processes used to capture the performance.
The Gallery is an episodic experience with the first episode, The Gallery: Call of the Starseed, set to launch soon. It’s a first-person adventure experience with a heavy emphasis on narrative, allowing players to pick up and interact with objects in realistic ways. The series is also on the way to the Oculus Rift with support for the Oculus Touch position tracked controllers and is planned for release on PlayStation VR as well.
Check back with VRFocus for the latest on The Gallery.
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