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Microsoft plans to bring mixed reality to the Xbox in 2018
Last year, Microsoft revealed it would open up its Windows Holographic Platform to other hardware manufacturers, and at CES, we got a sneak peek at a few different Windows VR headsets. At GDC this week, Microsoft revealed yet more plans for its mixed-reality platform. While its headsets are strictly for the PC right now, they will soon be coming to the Xbox -- as well as Microsoft's Project Scorpio console -- in 2018.
The Oculus Rift and Touch bundle is now $200 cheaper
We're just a few weeks away from the one-year anniversary of Oculus shipping the Rift to consumers, so now would be a good time for the company to drop some news. And here it is. Starting today, Oculus will begin selling Rift and Touch bundles on its store for $598 -- about a $200 price cut. On their own, the Rift headset is now $499 while the Touch controllers are $99, meaning that each saw a price drop of $100. Oh, and the cost of an extra Oculus sensor is now $59, which is $20 less than before.
Epic Games shows the potential of high-end augmented reality
Epic Games has a reputation for bringing bizarre demos to its GDC keynotes. The company loves to show developers what Unreal Engine can do, not just in gaming but other genres as well. As such, Epic Games has now demoed "Project Raven," which makes it possible for content creators to blend real-time visual effects with live-action shots. The technology, created in partnership with Chevrolet and video production company The Mill, was designed to convey the promise of high-end augmented reality.
Watch Epic Games' GDC 2017 keynote right here!
Unity already had its moment at GDC 2017, and now it's Epic Games' turn to take the stage in San Francisco. The company's "State of Unreal" keynote will be presented by founder Tim Sweeney, who is expected to share new developments around the Unreal game engine. We'll probably also hear about Epic's latest efforts in virtual reality and get some captivating demos from its partners, like the Hellblade real-time motion capture from last year. You can watch the event live at 9:30AM PT/12:30PM ET -- we embedded a video of the stream below for your convenience.
NVIDIA reveals its $700 top-of-the-line GTX 1080 Ti
Last year we called NVIDIA's GeForce GTX 1080 "the upgrade you've been waiting for," and now PC gamers have another high-end graphics card to drool over. At GDC 2017, CEO Jen-Hsun Huang presented its successor, the GTX 1080 Ti, which promises "35 percent more performance," packs 11GB of GDDR5X memory and will go on sale March 10th for $700. In fact, NVIDIA even claims this new card is faster than its $1,200 Titan X that launched late last year for professionals. At the same time, the company announced the 1080 is getting a price cut and will now start at $500.
Unity's '2017' game engine will focus on artists and designers
Unity's keynote at this year's GDC was all about the future of its game engine. The company has outlined plans for the next major version of its platform, Unity 2017, which is being designed with creators in mind. Unity says one of the main goals is to improve team productivity and collaboration features for non-programmers, particularly those who are artists and designers -- someone like a cinematic animator, for example. Developers will be able to sign up for a beta in April, marking the end of the Unity 5 cycle that began in 2014.
Vive Studios' 'VR Sports' is exactly what it sounds like
The unmitigated phenomenon that was the Nintendo Wii had an everlasting effect on any medium with motion controllers: If you have hardware that can track hand movements, it needs to have its own "Wii Sports" game. Enter Vive Studios' latest virtual-reality game, VR Sports -- a lighthearted but surprisingly realistic-feeling ping-pong and tennis simulator. On March 15th, the game kicks off Vive Studios' spring lineup of VR games, which also includes a WWII defense shooter and a port of Sixaxis' virtual-reality CAD program.
'Brass Tactics' is a VR RTS that puts you in a clockwork battlefield
Real-time strategy and VR don't seem like they would go together. After all, the key attraction to virtual reality is feeling like you're in someone else's shoes in a faraway land of make believe. The top-down view of typical RTS games doesn't quite lend itself to that level of immersion. Or does it? After a few minutes playing with Hidden Path Entertainment's Brass Tactics at an Oculus demo event, I found myself so engrossed in a cutthroat tabletop battle that I almost forgot I had a headset on at all. Now, there have been other real-time strategy games in VR -- Tactera and AirMech come to mind -- but Brass Tactics has a decidedly more medieval feel. The developers describe it as a "clockwork battlefield," as your buildings and minions appear to be built out of parts of a clock, gears and all. Yet, the design of Brass Tactics reminds me very much of tabletop war games -- living soldiers take the place of miniature figures while 3D-modeled landscapes replace plastic terrain. Gameplay itself should be pretty familiar to anyone who's played a real-time strategy. You start out with just your warriors and your archers, but you can upgrade them over time. To attack, you simply direct your battalion to a spot on the table with the Touch controllers. As you capture more regions, you can build more towers to create even more units like a flying squad or cavalry tanks. If you like, you can also use catapults to launch fire balls at your opponent. With Brass Tactics, you can also actually move "through" the landscape like an omniscient god, so you can get up close and get a better idea of how to manage your resources. You also need to move from region to region in order to build and maintain towers. It was pretty cool to be directly in the middle of everything, sending off troop after troop to capture or defend regions. I felt a little bit like an orchestra conductor, except instead of cueing violins, I was deploying archers. As engrossing as it was though, I'll admit it can be a little chaotic. It seems like it would be easier to hotkey or mouse your way through a battlefield than it is to figure out where to flail your arms. That said, it's probably a matter of getting used to it, and I can see improving my skills over time. If you're an RTS fan who also likes a bit of tabletop gaming from time to time and you happen to have a Rift, then definitely take a look at Brass Tactics when it comes to the Oculus Store later this year. Click here to catch up on the latest news from GDC 2017!
Oculus shows off upcoming VR titles at GDC 2017
It's the start of the 2017 Game Developers Conference and, as you might expect, it's an event where VR is likely to take center stage. Kicking it all off is Oculus, which not only announced a new Gear VR plus a new controller this weekend, it also showed off a slew of new games at a special pre-GDC event. From rocking out on a virtual stage to pitting armies against each other in a tabletop strategy game, there's no shortage of variety in Oculus' upcoming library. Check out some of these titles in our video above.
We're live from GDC 2017 in San Francisco!
The 2017 Game Developers Conference is happening this week in San Francisco, and we're here to keep you up to date on all the latest news from the event. Like last year, companies such as HTC and Oculus will probably share new virtual reality developments, while augmented reality may also be a major topic of discussion at GDC.
LG is working on a VR headset with Valve
LG is teaming up with video game developer Valve to create a head-mounted virtual reality device that uses SteamVR tracking technology. This places LG in direct competition with HTC, which teamed up with Valve to create the HTC Vive.
HTC's Vive Tracker and Deluxe Audio Strap cost $100 each
HTC launched a pair of desirable accessories for its Vive VR headset at CES 2017 in Las Vegas last month, and now we know when they'll arrive and for how much. The Vive Tracker, a 3D tracking device that you can attach to your wrists or any objects you want to use in VR, will cost $100 (£100 in the UK) and arrive to developers only starting on March 27th. The Deluxe Audio Strap, which adds some much-needed comfort to the otherwise fabulous headset, will also cost $100 and £100 in the UK.
Indie devs with disabilities win full ride on Train Jam to GDC
Two game developers with disabilities are headed to the 31st annual Game Developers Conference (GDC) this year via Train Jam, a four-day rail excursion from Chicago to San Francisco that was founded in 2013. Train Jam participants collaborate to create new games during the trip, which they can debut at GDC. Both developers are being sponsored by the AbleGamers Foundation, a nonprofit that provides access to video games for people with disabilities via assistive technologies like adapted controllers.
Devolver will highlight games from banned nations at GDC
At the end of the month, developers from around the world will congregate in San Francisco for the annual Game Developers Conference (GDC). Or rather, that was the plan. This year that's not going to happen: President Trump's executive order on immigration established a blanket ban on residents from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, which was initially interpreted as including those with permanent residency in the US or dual citizenship. While courts have slowly been ruling against the order, the situation is still in flux, and the Trump administration has indicated it will continue to pursue the order's underlying aims. The political situation has left several developers unable to attend GDC, unwilling to enter the US or unable to leave. Shahid Kamal Ahmad, current independent developer and PlayStation's former director for strategic content, said over the weekend that he was not going to the conference. He later clarified that "so long as any Muslim is banned from the US for no reason other than their religion," he would not attend.
Indie game award finalists include 'Hyper Light Drifter' and 'Inside'
Now that media outlets have handed out awards to blockbuster games, it's time for the indies to shine. The Independent Games Festival has posted the finalists for its main competition's 2017 awards, and there are a few competitors who clearly stand out from the pack. Both the retro hack-and-slasher Hyper Light Drifter and bleak side-scroller Inside are nominated not only for the Seumas McNally grand prize, but also the audio and visual design awards. Other titles receiving multiple nods will definitely sound familiar if you've been following the scene, including the hacking-themed puzzler Quadrilateral Cowboy and the chaotic food hit Overcooked.
GDC will host its own video game art gallery next year
E3 has the Into the Pixel art gallery for video game concept art, and now the annual Game Developers Conference is trying its hand at one. Called "Art Boss," it's a collaboration with the folks at iam8bit and will feature not just concept art (a la Into the Pixel), but production art, in-game stuff like textures and even promo materials. Another way this differs from Into the Pixel is that each artist will have a headshot and a bio alongside their submitted work -- the E3 gallery typically just lists the artist's name, game a piece came from and the studio responsible. Further on the artist-forward note, there isn't an entry fee for submitting a piece, either.
Fighting depression in the video game world, one AFK at a time
Matt Hughes took his own life in the fall of 2012. He was a freelance reporter covering the video game industry, and before he committed suicide, he sent emails to some of his editors, noting that he wouldn't be able to turn in more stories for one simple reason: He'd be dead. His suicide surprised nearly everyone who worked with him. Speaking with Kotaku days after Hughes' death, his former editors said things like There weren't any red flags and This was a complete shock. Hughes wasn't the only person in the video game industry to take his own life that year, and as the tragedies piled up, it became impossible to ignore their commonalities. Complete surprise. No one knew. She seemed fine. For Russ Pitts and Susan Arendt, two editors who had worked with Hughes and regularly interacted with dozens of other freelance reporters, these suicides were more than a shock. They were a wakeup call.
Shooting the Arabs: How video games perpetuate Muslim stereotypes
Islam has an image problem. And it's not just recent world events that have led to an undue level of scrutiny and prejudice. The media has been pigeonholing Muslims for years. You need only watch a few episodes of 24 or Homeland to see that Muslims, particularly those of Arab descent, are almost always painted as the enemy.
Backstage with the winners of the IGF and GDC Awards
The Independent Games Festival and Game Developers Choice Awards are the highlight of GDC week. They both honor the best games of the past year in two glamorous, back-to-back ceremonies in downtown San Francisco. This time around, Her Story took home the IGF's $30,000 Seumas McNally Grand Prize, and The Witcher 3 nabbed the coveted Game of the Year prize during the GDC Awards. Other winners across a range of categories include Undertale, Ori and the Blind Forest, Rocket League and Life is Strange. Nine members of the Girls Make Games program, which offers summer camps designed to encourage young women to break into game creation, walked away with the ID@Xbox Rising Star award for their project, The Hole Story. We spoke with some of the big winners on-camera directly after they received their awards, and they had plenty to say (and celebrate).
GDC 2016 Revisited: Virtual reality takes a big leap
And just like that, GDC 2016 has come to a close. But, before the Engadget team says goodbye to the gaming conference, we wanted to give you a look at some of the highlights of the week. Virtual reality was definitely the hot topic of conversation, with plenty of interesting news from Sony, Oculus and other companies. We'll see how these announcements play out over the next few months. Now, who's ready for E3 in June?
