Two week ago I said I would spoil news about our upcoming developer community. Till now I haven’t done that, so I’ll be giving the scoop here.
I’ve said this before and I will say it again; content is everything. You can have the best idea or product, but if no-one uses it you have nothing. That is one of the reason we made our software open-source. To stimulate developer we are also providing a community platform. On this platform developers will be able to share their projects and discuss it with others. In today’s world this is a must-do for companies. Personally I believe companies should always take an active and supportive role in these communities. Luckily this is something that the giants of VR also understand and do.
The platform will be live before we start shipping out our first development kits. You will be able to set-up an account and already start sharing your ideas!
Gamejams and Hackatons
Last week we had students from the Fontys University of Applied Sciences for a Gamejam at our HQ. In just two days they created a game in which you can become a freaking ninja. Always wanted to be like Twisted Fate or Gambit? Well now you can!
It’s amazing to see what others can make in just two days. That why we will be participating in more Gamejams and Hackatons. By lending out our gloves we want to help others in creating new content that we haven’t even thought of yet. Next week our gloves will be at Enversed for a hackathon. If you’re from the Netherlands and want to host a Gamejam or Hackaton, just send me an email about your event so we can help you out!
New blog segment at Manus VR: Featured Developer Content
Last week I introduced a new segment called Featured Developer Content. Our first star is Chris Robertson. He is one of the first developer who received our engineering samples. For his current project he is working with the Razer Hydra motion controllers and Unreal Engine 4. Recently he was awarded an Unreal Engine Developer Grant and received an HTC Vive unit. Currently he is redeveloping his demo’s and I quote: “I’m investing loads of time into creating an ‘interaction engine’ (as Leap Motion would call it) that will allow players to pick up objects and not have the objects warp through the hand model or look weird while manipulating them the point that you have to remove the hand model from the equation to stop possible immersion loss (either “hide” the model or make it transparent).”
His current demo’s look quite epic and I can’t wait to see more from him!
Observations on VR
A lot has happened in the last month. Here are the most noteworthy that passed my screen:
Magic Leap
Magic Leap has a new video and begins to explain what they are. Wired had a very good, though quite long, article on it.
Moar content!
Insomniac revealed 2 new games; Feral Rites and the The Unspoken. The Unspoken really spoke to me. I’ve been working on my own novel; which follows character who are super naturals themselves and try to survive in society by having jobs. Work by night and anti-hero vigilantes by night. One of the things I really would love to do with our gloves is playing games where you can craft magic spells with your hands. In The Unspoken you will be able to create spells by using the touch controllers.
360° Camera’s – Streaming to VR
GoPro going all in with their new camera and Facebook revealed their own new rig. YouTube is also seeing money in this and announced a new feature enabling 360° live streaming.
Samsung announced new Headset
After their success with the Gear VR, they have announced that they are working on a new WIRELESS headset. If they manage to do this it will give them a major lead in the HMD race. On which horse will you bet?
HTC VR Fund
It’s great to see that HTC is investing in the VR market by making a special fund of 100 million dollars. This kind of dedication shows that they really want to help this market grow. Nothing wrong with having some shares in the companies you help grow.
Keep on marching!
It’s been another great month and we’ve come closer to our target. Q3 is closing in. Soon the pre-orders open and with that the duty to deliver. Where will the team go next month? And what glorious riches will they bring back from their travels? See you all next month!
