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Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes is local bomb-defusing fun
Three developers at Algonquin College in Ottawa, Canada recently offered a novel multiplayer bomb-diffusing game for this past weekend's Global Game Jam. Dubbed Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, the game has one Oculus Rift-wearing, Razer Hydra-holding player lifting and examining a ticking time bomb while at least one other player holds the manual with instructions to disarm the virtual destructive device. The accompanying video for the game shows three fellows hovering over a spread of papers, shouting instructions (and not always the correct ones) at the bomb's diffuser with choice quotes like "Oh fuck," and "How much time is on the bomb, Owen?" Developed by the team of Allen Pestaluky, Ben Kane and Brian Fetter with dramatic music by Liam Sauve, the Windows-only game is freely available for players to check out on the Global Game Jam website. Kane works with Going Loud Studios, developers of the satirical platformer DLC Quest. Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes requires the Oculus Rift and Razer Hydra devices, so the rest of us will have no choice but to pray others will snip the correct wires.
Kickstarted sword-fighter Clang pauses development, seeks further investment
Developer Subutai Corporation rececntly announced that it has "hit the pause button" on the development of Clang. The project earned $526,125 on Kickstarter in July 2012, though it has apparently run out of resources in the meantime, leading the developer to focus on luring investors to fund the rest of its development. Project lead and sci-fi novelist Neal Stephenson explained in the update on the game's Kickstarter page that Subutai Corporation "stretched the Kickstarter money farther than we had expected to, but securing the next round, along with constructing improvised shelters and hoarding beans, has to be our top priority for now." Stephenson said the plan to further fund the project outside of Kickstarter was in the cards all along, citing the team's plan to build a "functional proof of concept in the form of an exciting prototype" in order to "achieve our next level of funding" in the project's description. Numerous backers questioned the direction of the project, noting the description didn't make the developer's aspirations for additional funding particularly clear at the outset. To risk-averse publishers, Stephenson said that the sword-fighting simulator "seems extra worrisome because it is coupled to a new hardware controller." Clang uses controllers like Sixense's Razer Hydra motion controller and the STEM system, the latter having been successfully funded on Kickstarter and has three weeks left in its campaign. While the PC game can be played with a mouse and keyboard, Stephenson endorsed Sixense's Kickstarter project in the hopes that it "will get the next generation of hardware out on the market, reducing the element of perceived risk and, we hope, clearing the way for us to pursue our own quest to find financiers who have steady nerves and other anatomical prerequisites." Until then, the developer is "working on Clang as an 'evenings and weekends' project until such time as we get funding for a more commercial-style reboot."
Sixense STEM System hits Kickstarter, funded almost immediately
Sixense, the motion control technology company whose scientific know-how powers the Razer Hydra, launched a Kickstarter earlier today to fund the final development stages of its STEM System – a modular motion-tracking solution for VR and other gaming applications. The fundraising campaign's goal of $250,000 has already been surpassed. Consisting of up to five wireless tracking modules ("STEMs") and a base station for charging and orientation tracking, the STEM System is designed so that STEMs can either be inserted into peripherals, or slapped into "STEM Packs," which are then strapped to whatever part of your body the game is interested in tracking. The STEM System is also backwards compatible with all games that currently support the Razer Hydra. The technology is apparently immune to "drift," as it "does not rely on inertial sensors (gyroscopes and accelerometers) for position tracking," according to the Kickstarter. Additionally, there's no line-of-sight requirement between the STEMs and their base unit. Backers that pledge at a high-enough level ($199 and up, depending on how many STEMs you want) should expect to receive their own STEM System in July of 2014, though there's no indication that this is when retail units will hit shelves. In fact, Kickstarter proceeds are only being used to finish development and produce enough units for backers – retail models will enter mass production "later." Our friends over at Engadget have already had a go with a STEM System prototype, so be sure and check out their video of the experience for an in-depth look at what the dealio, yo.
Hydra evolved: Sixense Stem launches on Kickstarter, we go hands-on with a prototype (video)
Sixense might not be a household name, but its electromagnetic motion sensing technology crops up in the darndest places. The 1:1 tracking technology is used in medical rehabilitation and Japanese arcade games, but it's most widely known as the wizardry behind the Razer Hydra motion controller. Now the company is gearing up to release a spiritual successor to the Hydra, the Sixense Stem System. Like the Hydra, Stem offers six degrees of motion-tracking freedom, albeit without the wires or Razer branding. It isn't necessarily more accurate, but it is more comprehensive -- it's a modular system that offers up to five trackable modules, or "Stems," that attach to game controllers, VR headsets, accessories or even appendages. We caught up with Sixense president and CEO Amir Rubin to learn more about the Stem's Kickstarter launch and the company's first foray into the consumer product space.
PAX Prime 2013: Exploring Wander with creator Loki Davison
Wander is an MMO that eschews the primary mechanics of traditional titles and instead relies on what creator Loki Davison refers to as "collaborative exploration." Designed to recreate the feeling you get when you discover something beautiful in real life and rush home to tell your friends, Wander has no maps, checkpoints, or objectives. The only ways to uncover the game's secrets are to discover them yourself or have another player show you the way. Our own Jasmine Hrushcak snagged some time with Wander and its creator at PAX Prime 2013 and managed to ask a few questions in between acrophobic Oculus Rift-induced panic attacks.
Oculus Rift first-person adventure game The Gallery hits Kickstarter goal
The Gallery: Six Elements recently reached its $65,000 Kickstarter funding goal before its April 17 deadline. The project from CloudHead Games is a first-person adventure game designed with the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset in mind, though the developer notes that it will not be required to play the game. The Gallery draws influences from the Myst adventure series, and has players traversing through six painted portals that represent the "core elements of life."The project is currently sitting at $70,036, just enough to achieve a stretch goal that grants the game Razer Hyrdra support, Sixense's PC motion controller. The Gallery will launch on PC and Mac, and is currently vying for a spot on Steam through Steam's Greenlight service.[Thanks, Rasmus!]
Project Holodeck gets help from Razer, swaps Kinect for Move tracking
The group of folks bent on crafting a real-life version of Star Trek's "Holodeck" -- a virtual playground, essentially -- are getting official support from gaming hardware company Razer. That support means not only access to Razer's hardware but also the company's staff of trained professionals. The Project Holodeck team have already implemented Razer's "Hydra" -- a PC-based motion controller that originally shipped with Portal 2 -- into their work on Holodeck showcase game, "Wild Skies." But that's not the only big news for Project Holodeck, as the team recently swapped Microsoft's Kinect motion tech for Sony's PlayStation Move motion tech. Project lead James Iliff told RoadtoVR.com, "The Kinect hardware is extremely lacking in fidelity. Every point the Kinect tracks is filled with unmanageable jitter, rendering the data useless for anything other than the most simple of interactions. We tried very hard to get around this with several software algorithms we wrote, to get multiple Kinects to communicate with each other, however this did not really make anything more accurate unfortunately." In place of Kinect, the team strapped a PlayStation Move setup to a Pro-Tec skateboard helmet, and combined that tracking with the Hydra's motion control and Oculus Rift's head-mounted display. The result is ... well, it's a person standing in a room with a whole bunch of electronics attached to their person. But also, it allows players to interact in a 3D environment -- from perception to engagement. The team's still got plenty of work ahead of them, as evidenced by their latest video (below), but it sounds like things are coming together more cohesively than before.
One day, Portal 2 in motion DLC will come to PS3, it's such a shame the same will never happen to Xbox
Remember Razer's Hydra controller that came with a motion-controlled version of Portal 2? PS3 owners will be receiving those same levels as a DLC later this year with added support for the PlayStation Move. Players will be able to manipulate objects in order to solve puzzles with more flailing limbs than you can shake a stick at when it arrives later this year.
Razer Hydra motion controller gets summer release, Portal 2 bundle
Remember the Razer Hydra controller that let you materialize portals with a real electromagnetic orb? Those motion sensing sticks will be available for pre-order in May and will go on sale in June, two months after this week's release of Portal 2, the game it was first demoed with. However, Razer'll still charge you for a copy of the murderous robot game if you want the fancy gizmo, as it's pricing the bundle at $140 -- understandably more expensive that the "below $100" price that it was targeting for the controller alone. Two months is a pretty long time to wait to play the already-available title, and Razer isn't offering any info on a standalone version of the Sixense-based magnetic peripheral. On the upside, though, Joystiq got its hands on a list of compatible titles, which includes 122 games on top of the aforementioned sequel. That list and the official press release after the break.
Razer Hydra brings motion controls to PCs this June, bundled with Portal 2 for $140
Despite a release window of "early" this year, Razer wasn't quite able to ship its Hydra motion gaming controller alongside Portal 2 this week. Instead, interested parties will be able to pre-order the $140 package this May ahead of a projected June ship date. Wait, $140? We were told Razer was targeting a sub-$100 price point. That boosted price is for the Portal 2 bundle which includes (get this!) a copy of Portal 2! But this isn't your off-the-digital-shelf Portal 2; this version includes the Sixense MotionPack DLC featuring "six additional levels specifically designed for more portal testing fun with motion control," developed by Sixense. Of course, any PC gamer worth his water cooler will have already purchased Portal 2 by then; luckily, the Hydra "is optimized with over 125 popular PC games out of the box," including Left 4 Dead 2 (melee weapons!) and World of Goo (think Wiimote). We've reached out to Razer to find out when a non-bundled option will be available and to see if it can share that list of 125 games with us. C'mon, FreeCell ... If you want to read more about the rather impressive Hydra, look no further than our CES impressions. [Update: We just heard back from Razer, who confirmed that it's "just the bundled option" for now. They also dropped us the entire list of compatible titles, which you can find alphabetically indexed after the break.] %Gallery-122013%
Razer Hydra Sixense motion controller eyes-on
The technology behind the Hydra Sixense motion controller has been in development for a while now, but Razer was actually showing it off at CES this year. Unfortunately, it was strictly a hands-off situation at the booth -- we could only look on with jealousy as the Razer rep played through some gorgeous Portal 2 level. What we could see is that the magnetics-based controllers are very responsive, spatial, and multi-dimensional; these aren't your parent's simplistic Wii-style flick controls. There's still no word on price or a release date, but we're hearing "under $100" and "early" this year. It's hard to get totally excited about a PC hardware peripheral, given the smaller quantity of games (particularly hardware-specific titles) over in desktop land, but with Valve support and what appears to be the perfect control scheme (dual analog sticks, dual fully 3D-sensing motion controllers), we'd say the Hydra has a better shot at winning us over than anything else of its ilk. Check out a video after the break for a bit of Hydra action. %Gallery-113921%
Best of CES 2011
Maybe, just maybe, you've noticed that Engadget relocated this past week to the City of Sin for CES 2011. Oh yes, we set up camp in a double-wide trailer, liveblogged our hearts out, combed the show floor, and worked our rear ends off to bring you more gadget news than you ever thought possible. It's true, we've written over 720 posts (40 or so about tablets alone!), shot more than 180 videos, and brought you over 350 photo galleries in the last seven days. That's a ton of technology news and products, but naturally, only certain ones have been able to rise above the rest and stick out in our scary collective hive-mind. With that said, we've complied our annual best of list for you, so hit the break and feast your eyes on what are bound to be some of the best products of the new year.
Razer Hydra impressions: Super-precise motion controllers make it to PC, Portal 2 support in tow
Sixense was back at CES this year, showing off its TrueMotion-powered gaming wands. While a partnership with computer gaming peripheral maker Razer was announced at last year's CES, the fruit of that partnership was on display this year, with a brand name (meet the Razer Hydra), some industrial design, and some new Valve-created content for the hardware in the form of custom Portal 2 tech. During our hands-off tour of the still-prototype hardware, we were consistently impressed with the controller's accuracy. Imagine dual-wielding two PlayStation Move controllers except – in place of the relatively cumbersome process of requiring a PlayStation Eye to track a glowing sphere to position the controllers in 3D space – the Hydra uses a small base station that creates an electromagnetic field with a radius of about six feet. That's it. That base station serves double duty as a stand to rest the presently wired controllers on. Worry not, wire-haters, a wireless model is in the works but, much like Razer's other hardware, it's going to perfect the technology with a wired release first before chasing the wireless solution.%Gallery-113429%
