News
Dreamscape to Launch Immersive Virtual Reality Destination in Partnership with AMC Theatres
In issue 48 we featured Dreamscape because of the amazing work they’ve been doing, and we're happy that they continue to usher the return to in-person experiences with their new partnership with AMC Theaters. Three of their most popular experiences will come first, and hopefully their success will bring more next year.
Stanford launches first class taught completely in virtual reality
Way back in issue 17 and Issue 18 we featured ENGAGE VR have seen several schools and universities adopt the platform to hold completely virtual studies. We can now add Stanford University to that list of institutions embracing VR to give students experiences that could never occur in a traditional classroom.
Oculus Quest 2 Cumulative Sales Hit Record 4.6 mn as XR Headset Shipments Almost Triple YoY in Q1 2021
We all suspect that Oculus is the largest and most popular CE platform but haven’t seen a lot of real numbers proving this to be the case. Seeing the numbers in this report provides a nice set of metrics for just how far beyond other platforms are in 2021.
Event
Announcing The Canadian Collection | MOR
The Museum of Other Realities debuts their first original collection of narrative experiences curated across the Canadian immersive ecosystem in two parts. The first going from December 17, 2021 to March 11, 2022, followed by the second available from February 4 to April 29, 2022. Each part contains several very interesting experiences from creators from across the Canadian immersive ecosystem.
Reading
Innovating In The New Metaverse
Leave it to Forbes to have one of the best write ups for how businesses can both perceive and participate in the Metaverse economy. This is by no means a deep dive, but provides a pretty good high-level for anyone just starting to pay attention to the future of VR and AR, and where brands have an opportunity to start getting involved while it’s relatively inexpensive to try new and innovative approaches to reaching their audience.
Fixing the metaverse: AR inventor's ideas for avoiding dystopia - Big Think
The name Metaverse may have come from a story where corporations controlled them but that doesn’t have to be the reality. In this big think article regulation is proposed as one of the better approaches for preventing this, and it’s definitely something to consider. So we do have to say the case laid out in this article is a pretty compelling one.
Learning
Gaming accessibility fundamentals - Learn | Microsoft Docs
No software company puts as much into support and commitment for the various kinds accessibility options available as Microsoft. We ran into this part of their learning docs that is a fantastic introduction to the tools and foundational concepts needed to begin adding accessibility into your experiences. The knowledge is not specific to their technologies or Xbox, and if you’re also looking to earn points on your Microsoft account you can rack up a few thousand for going through this free online course.
One More Thing
Unreal Engine 5 Early Access
Unreal Engine 5 has been in the works for a while, and has been making a splash with all of the early access experiences showcasing what is possible with the updated engine.We’ve been big into Unity 3D for more than a decade but are seriously reconsidering what we thought we knew about development using Unreal Engine. The ecosystem has changed dramatically in the last few years, and they have definitely earned a place as the One More Thing you should look into this week.
Commentary
Lens Fest 2021 is over, and the highlights and new features are pretty impressive. We thought that was going to be the event that took over most of our week, but we were mistaken.
I think it’s a fair assumption that everyone subscribed to this newsletter saw the Matrix Experience and could appreciate how much Unreal Engine raised the bar. This sparked many articles about the possibilities for next-gen gaming but I think a lot of them are missing the bigger picture. What the next version of the Unreal Engine actually feels to us like they are living up to their namesake, and truly set to be an even easier choice to everyone to consider for their projects.
We don’t have a “side” in terms of game engines, but we have invested a lot into Unity 3D assets and in working on experiences powered by Unity. This upcoming release is the first from Unreal Engine that has us reconsidering it as an option for newer and grander projects we’re planning for the future. The barrier of entry has changed and it feels like Epic Games has truly made an effort to bring in more Indie and non-gaming partners. We may be a bit behind the curve on this, and there is some catchup we'll have to do over the holidays.
Thank you for reading and subscribing, and we'll see you next week!
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