Issue 77

Commentary

Depending on where you get your news it may be hard to believe that VR is more popular than ever. Even coming out of complete shutdowns during the pandemic the growth within the industry has been rising. There are lots of examples of this, including SandboxVR opening a new location in Kentucky.

Even the news of AltspaceVR shutting down, as bittersweet as it was, paves the way for other teams to push what is more popular and future-leaning further since that audience will now be looking for another place for community and for VR experiences.

For example, it's been nearly two years since the Harry Potter Store in Manhattan opened their VR experiences (mentioned way back in issue 35), but as of early April those experiences have officially closed. This is not the first high profile experience to end, and it's not necessarily something that poses as commentary on the viability of VR as a whole. When something sticks around for too long it can bring down the perception of VR. Effects and hardware get dated, and audiences viewing something 2 to 5 years on may not be getting as high fidelity as they could in other venues using newer hardware.

These kinds of changes to available platforms and phasing out of experiences are helpful to prevent stagnation. It's not always great to see something you may have enjoyed and shared with others disappear for a while, but the void they leave gives rom for newer and potentially more transformative works to get more attention.

Thank you for reading and subscribing, and we'll see you next week,

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Reading

How Virtual and Augmented Reality are Changing Pitch Decks | Entrepreneur

If you ever have or hope to be involved in pitching your company or project you may want to consider including AR and VR into your pitch deck to impress investors. Failing to get attention in the mere moments of attention you’ll get is the difference between success and never getting to try. This goes into how you could take your first steps in increasing your odds of standing out and getting funded.

Gear

Cas&Chary | WIDMOvr

If you are also a glasses wearer one of the best things you can do for clarity and to keep your glasses safe is considering prescription lenses for your VR headset. With custom lenses you won't need to wear glasses in VR, hopefully keeping them from breaking. Use this link to also get a 5% discount from one of our favorite VR Content Creators Cas & Chary.

This New Optical Loupe Prototype Has An Augmented Reality Overlay // Forbes

The latest update from NuEyes introduces NyLoupes, AR glasses we agree could replace the magnifying loupes worn by surgeons and dentists. Instead of just having a closer view of the patient doctors will have access to vital data, optical zoom, and other critical features that will improve the outcomes of many medical procedures.

Tools

Made for WebXR //| Wonderland Engine

The WebXR focused development platform Wonderland Engine has officially launched and we're happy top see another tool that makes XR/AR accessible to developers that don't typically work outside a web browser. With a good amount of live demos and healthy documentation we're hoping to see more engaging experiences from people who didn't think they had the tools or skillset to make immersive experiences.

One More Thing

Virtual Keyboard that uses Eye Tracking // Github

If you were an early adopter to the Quest Pro check out this Virtual Keyboard that uses Eye Tracking. This Github repo demonstrates how developers could bring this feature to experiences, opening up a world of VR and AR to peoples with disabilities, as well as freeing up our hands to within experiences. Definitely check this out and let the developer know what an amazing job they've done.