How PAX’s Focus On Community Is Helping Its Events Grow

This year’s Penny Arcade Expo East (PAX East) is right around the corner, taking place on Boston from April 22-24. The event, which has been sold out for months, will feature a number of companies that include Sony, Gungho Online and several others. However, it will also be home to various indie developers who will be showcasing their latest video and board games for thousands of fans to see.

PAX has always had a strong focus on community, and while that draws in a number of big-name companies, these events have also been tremendous opportunities for up-and-coming developers to reach out to audiences.

The original Penny Arcade Expo (which takes place in Seattle, and is now referred to as PAX Prime) first got its start in 2004, with 3,300 people in attendance. That number has grown with each passing year, which has led the convention to expand it to other venues, including PAX East in 2010, followed by a debut of an overseas show, PAX Australia, in 2014, and PAX South, which took place last year in San Antonio, Texas.

With each location, local independent game developers came out to support its fans. For example, Boston is the home of Harmonix, a team that made a big splash last year with the release of Rock Band 4. Meanwhile, Gearbox Studios, based in Texas, found a huge presence in last year’s PAX South event, with thousands of fans attending panels based on the company’s franchises, such as Borderlands and Homeworld.

Each show brought out developers big and small to celebrate its newest projects. Even the smaller booths at the show house up-and-comers that are eager to talk to fans about upcoming projects, such as GalaxyTrail’s side-scrolling platforming game Freedom Planet and Devolver Digital’s line-up, including oddball favorites like OmniBus and Enter the Gungeon.

Essentially, PAX is a convention that appeals to broad groups of fans, instead of focusing on just a single theme. For instance, cosplay fans can come together and celebrate their dressing up as favorite characters, be it from Japanese animation, video game or other entertainment. Board gamers can get together and challenge each other at everything from Dungeons & Dragons to Cards Against Humanity. And then, of course, there are video games, with both AAA releases and indie titles being enjoyed across the board.

In addition to community-driven parties and concerts for fans to enjoy, PAX is also home to panels that both educate and entertain attendees. These run across a range of topics, like how to find a career in the game industry and how to create better online content.

It’s been a viable show for up-and-comers and major game publishers alike, finding key opportunities to connect with people. Anyone who has been a part of the show, no matter which location, has usually come away with a strong connection to its community.

Don’t look for this trend to change. This year’s Seattle event looks to sell out quickly as soon as tickets are available, and plans are already in the works for next year’s show. When it comes to drawing a community together, PAX still looks like the golden ticket.

Here’s How Instagram’s Video Features Can Help Brands

Instagram has been looking for new ways to appeal to advertisers using its video features, particularly with a new 60-second format. However, its latest introduction could very well help them find what they’re looking for.

The social sharing platform has introduced a way for videos to be recommended through its Explore section, depending on what the interests of users are. This is the latest evolution of Instagram’s video features, which started slowly with video from high-profile events like the Golden Globes and college football seeping into the news and curated feeds.

“As people share more videos than ever before, we’re making it easier to discover the ones you’ll love,” the company noted to its users in a blog post. “To begin, you’ll find a personalized channel called ‘Videos You Might Like’ that collects videos from across Instagram’s global community into a seamless viewing experience. And as you scroll through the Explore grid, you may also see ‘Featured’ channels filled with videos on specific topics.”

Companies will find a better opportunity to reach out to potential fans and consumers this way, while at the same time, Instagram and its users benefit from a selection of more videos to be offered on the site.

This will also tie in with the company’s forthcoming algorithm, which will allow the reordering of pictures and videos in users feeds, which means marketer-produced videos could be mixed in without going into overload on pushing the brand. These ads could end up being featured among the Instagram’s top clips and find even more exposure as a result.

Instagram is taking a steady approach with this program, having already introduced a Coachella music festival stream, and it will likely use again soon for events in the weeks and months ahead.

‘StarFox Zero’ Takes Flight With Innovative Promotions

It has been almost a year since Star Fox Zero was first announced, and Nintendo has been putting a lot of promotional push behind the forthcoming action shooter, which is expected to be one of the Wii U’s biggest titles to date.

Despite a slight delay from the original November 2015 release, fans are thrilled to be getting back into the pilot’s seat with Fox McCloud and company, as they take to the skies (and the ground) in an effort to stop the evil Andross and his army of minions.

The game made a memorable debut during last year’s Nintendo Direct special prior to the Electronic Entertainment Expo, where the late Satoru Iwata, alongside Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime and producer Shigeru Miyamoto were represented by puppets designed by Jim Henson Productions. They later transformed into StarFox characters before revealing the game. Fans were thrilled with the presentation, which continues to get a lot of attention.

These puppets recently made a return in a StarFox Zero television commercial. In it, McCloud and his fellow pilots take on enemies in a lighthearted manner, and the lead pilot provides his own narration, complete with mention of the word “foxy,” which his fellow pilots find amusing.

The commercial has gotten very good response, but Nintendo’s latest move could very well skyrocket StarFox Zero to new heights. The publisher has announced a special event taking place on April 20, where it will debut the first episode of an online animated series titled StarFox Zero: The Battle Begins, starting at 3 PM PDT on Nintendo’s webpage. Following that, Nintendo will host a special Treehouse event, where it will showcase new gameplay from Zero alongside its supplementary game, StarFox Guard, which will be included free of charge with both physical and digital editions.

Even though the company has been hard at work promoting its incredibly popular mobile release, Miitomo, and is possibly making plans to unveil the rumored NX game console sometime later this year, it hasn’t forgotten about the many fans who grew up on StarFox games. Most recently, the hit shooter StarFox 64 (which originally released on the Nintendo 64) was ported to the Nintendo 3DS.

Look for Zero to “do a barrel roll!” on the market when it arrives this Friday on the Wii U.

Baobab Studios CEO Explains How ‘Invasion!’ Wins Over Hearts And Minds

Invasion!, a six-minute animated comedy created by Eric Darnell, the director of Madagascar, experiments with using virtual reality technology as both a storytelling method and a means of creating empathy. Featuring the voice of Ethan Hawke and the talents of numerous animation and film industry veterans, Invasion! provides a first-look at the potential impact VR brings to entertainment. While it is funny story about a pair of aliens with the desire to conquer the Earth, but not the skill to overcome two cute bunnies, it is also a means for audiences to engage with a viewing experience like never before.

As Eric Darnell explains at the film’s premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, virtual reality can really be regarded as empathy machines. Audiences are transported to another world when they put on their VR headsets, and the film goes a step further than just letting audiences look around in a 360-degree world. The characters, like your bunny friend, are programmed to take head-tracking into account, and that means little touches with a big impact—like the bunny’s eyes following your movements as you look around at your environment.

Invasion! can be seen now at the Tribeca Film Festival VR Arcade, and will release for the public later this spring.

Maureen Fan, CEO of Baobab Studios, the VR animation studio (co-founded by Eric Darnell) that created Invasion!, speaks to [a]listdaily from the film’s Tribeca premiere about bringing the short film to life and preparing audiences for a new era of entertainment.

maureenWhat is Invasion! about?

Invasion is about these two menacing aliens that come from outer space to invade Earth. They have superior technology, so you think they’re going to win, but they’re thwarted by Earth’s citizens—citizens who are, instead of being human, two adorable little white, fluffy bunnies—and you are one of them.

So, when you look down, you’ll see that you have a little bunny body that moves around with you. You and your bunny friend defeat these aliens who don’t seem to have their act together enough to invade the Earth like they want to.

By the way, Ethan Hawke stars in the film, and he plays the voice of the cosmos.

What inspired the creation of Invasion!?

Eric Darnell is our co-founder, and he was the director and writer for Madagascar and all its sequels. He was also the director of Ants, Dreamworks’ first full-length animated film. He originally had this thought of having aliens invade Earth, but wanted to do a different take on it. Instead of Earth being spread with a virus or having underground bunkers full of people scheming to overthrow aliens, he said, “wouldn’t it be funny if, instead of being thwarted by humans, they’re thwarted by the most innocent of creatures?”

And the humans wouldn’t even know that these little woodland creatures are saving their planet. He thought that would be a fun twist.

How have you been promoting this VR experience?

The entire experience is made for VR. On March 11, Samsung launched its Galaxy S7 smartphone and gave away a free Gear VR with each purchase, and our Invasion! trailer was a top promoted piece. Also, with the Oculus Rift that just launched a few weeks ago, there are only three non-gaming titles on the homepage, and our trailer is one of them. So, we were very honored to be a part of that.

Invasion! can be viewed across a number of different VR headsets. Our premiere is being shown on the HTC Vive, Samsung Gear VR and Oculus Rift. So, we are platform agnostic.

How will audiences be able to experience Invasion! after the premiere?

We will be releasing it at some point after the Tribeca Film Festival premiere. We don’t have an exact date yet, but we’re looking at sometime in May. It’s ready, but we want to be smart about when we actually put it out. It’ll be available for all the headsets I mentioned earlier and Sony’s PlayStation VR when it launches.

How do you think VR is impacting entertainment?

It’s completely changing it. I think it’s slow to do it, because a lot of Hollywood is still seeing it as a marketing opportunity, but we’re hoping that more people are willing to create original IP for VR and build the medium from the ground up.

The storytelling is completely different, because now instead of the director having complete control over the shot and forcing the audience to see exactly what they want, the audience can look wherever they want. They control composition. So, the director’s job is much more difficult in trying to inspire the audience to look where they want and compose the same shots they would have wanted to.

You give up some control, but with it, you get all this amazing stuff. For example, in our film, your bunny friend hides behind you when the aliens come to attack, and you feel like you’re responsible for saving this bunny. That’s something you wouldn’t have been able to get in a rectangular projection screen in a theater today.

Where do you think VR will take entertainment in the future?

I think it will change more than entertainment. I think it will also change healthcare and education, but entertainment is the easiest and most obvious industry right now. For you to be able to go to a completely different world and feel like you’re really there is very exciting for entertainment, because entertainment is about taking you to places you wouldn’t have imagined, or to meet people you wouldn’t have in real life. To make that feel real is very powerful, so I think it will change storytelling for all of entertainment.

That being said, it doesn’t mean that normal theaters are dead. Just because movies are available, it doesn’t mean nobody watches TV, or that nobody reads books anymore, or that people don’t watch plays anymore. I think there will still be other forms of entertainment, and this is yet another set of tools for a creative person who wants to tell a story to play inside and tell their stories in a different way.

With all these headsets, how quickly do you think we’ll see mass adoption of VR?

At earliest, I think the end of this year, but I feel like it will be more like mid-to-late next year. While there are a lot of headsets out there, there’s not enough content. People will purchase these headsets, but there needs to be enough content for them to keep coming back to watch more. So, I hope more people create that content.

What’s your favorite scene from Invasion!?

My favorite part is when the alien ship comes over you and your bunny friend. It’s awesome because it’s so loud, and you see your bunny friend cower. She’s afraid, but she’s just so adorable. I think our animators did such an amazing job of making her cute. Glen Keane is one of our advisors, and he was the main animator for Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, The Little Mermaid and all the great Disney films. He supervised a lot of animation and helped us make the bunny as cute as can be.

It still makes me smile every time I see it and cry, “I want that bunny!”

PricewaterhouseCoopers Sees New Opportunities For Brands To Court Female ESports Fans

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has taken a look at the growing eSports market with its latest consumer report, “The Burgeoning Evolution of eSports,” which breaks down the diverse gaming community, outlines the levels of consumer awareness of eSports, and analyzes the potential opportunities and challenges for industry growth.

PwC forecasts that the eSports industry will reach $463 million in 2016 with eSports viewership exceeding top traditional sporting events such as the MLB World Series and NBA Final. The report finds that the majority of current eSports consumers will either increase or maintain their level of involvement in the coming year, both in viewership (83 percent) and participation (72 percent).

Deborah Bothun, Entertainment, Media and Communications leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers, explains what this data means for sponsors, advertisers, and media companies in this exclusive interview.

pwc_BothunWhat impacts are the televised eSports events across ESPN, Turner and other networks having on generating awareness of eSports with mainstream audiences?

While we cannot comment on the specific network, the premiere of eSports on traditional television is a huge win for the competitive community and one that will help catapult its awareness. Regardless of its growing digital footprint, traditional television still provides tremendous reach, and one that’s especially necessary in the sports world.

What role do you see television playing for the eSports audience versus the traditional streaming audience?

It is undeniable that livestreaming has been instrumental for the growth of eSports. Yet, in some ways, it has helped build an audience of people who were predisposed to it, in that consumers intentionally went online to connect with other gamers or play anonymously. Television can help broaden the eSports audience and reach consumers who either do not even know they are fans yet or want to learn about the industry.

What opportunities does eSports open up to marketers and brands today?

ESports is only getting bigger, and with such growth comes investment opportunities for brands and marketers who hope to capitalize on the success. One does not have to be a gaming company to get in on the action. Viewers can be reached beyond traditional advertising and sponsorships such as merchandising, mobile apps that provide data such as scores and stats, or fantasy betting. Other examples to start with include branded uniforms, branded hydration, and branded transportation.

How is eSports viewing impacting the time consumers spend playing games and watching other entertainment?

We see consumers, especially men, heavily invested in game strategy. Much of the time, they are watching eSports from a competitive lens in that they not only enjoy watching their favorite games being played at the highest level, but they also watch competitions to improve their own skills. So while we cannot say for certain, it is feasible that eSports viewing only makes a player want to play more.

How does the amount of females interested in eSports compare to the traditional female gaming audience?

From a player perspective, the number of women in the traditional gaming space isn’t yet matched in the professional scene. This could be the result of less female interest than men, or many other factors.

What impact do you see this female eSports audience having on the potential for female pro gamers?

As the female eSports audience continues to grow, so too will the number of female players. Overall treatment of females in the gaming community has become a noteworthy topic that is being discussed, and we have heard discussion of all-female tournaments, for example.

How diverse is the eSports audience racially?

Diversity is a big priority for the eSports community as a whole. Our survey indicates that the eSports audience is racially diverse, skewing slightly towards Asians and Hispanics. However, it is important to note that the online world has given players anonymity, so as live events become more popular, it will be interesting to see if the diverse online nature of the game transfers over to in-person, where the community is less diverse.

There are now eSports tournaments going on every week. What are consumers looking for in terms of game genres? And what role do big prize pools play in attracting audiences?

ESports fandom and loyalty are heavily tied to the content itself, unlike traditional sports where fans tend to follow specific teams or players. Content is tremendously important when trying to build an eSports audience. Our survey indicates that first-person shooter games are the number one watched genre in eSports among viewers, regardless of age, gender or type of gamer. Our survey also indicates that prize pools don’t play a large role in attracting an audience—location, games played and price are most important (in that order).

What role do you see virtual reality playing in eSports moving forward, and in how consumers watch events?

We see tremendous potential for the convergence of virtual reality (VR) and eSports. Though mainstream adoption is still a ways off, investors are starting to see opportunities for this space such as cloud gaming using VR as a way for the audience member to see alternative plays or scenarios. Also, VR will allow for content creation continuously making games that look more realistic so that players can fully immerse themselves.

Star Power: The Rise Of A-List Actors In Video Games

When it comes to the success of a film, the difference between an unknown actor and a famous one can directly affect box office earnings. Studios have marketed accordingly since the beginning, touting the names of their stars as the prominent points to convince audiences to buy theater tickets. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that the video game industry would adopt this same star power to promote interactive works—especially as the lines between live-action and computer graphics continue to blur.

Thanks to the continued advancement of motion capture and facial tracking technology, video games are able to convey subtle facial expressions and movements that were previously impossible. As a result, A-list actors are becoming more prevalent in video game performances to both enrich the gameplay experience and of course, attract those actors’ fans to the game. The idea of exploring a new medium can be exciting, as Kiefer Sutherland found while portraying Snake in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Konami utilized facial capture, which is a series of metal balls glued to the actor’s face. These markers are then read by a camera and translated to the character’s animation to capture every subtle movement. “The face of the character in the video game is doing exactly what I’m doing while I’m reading the script,” Sutherland told GameSpot in a 2013 interview, “That’s impressive.”

While actors are finding themselves fascinated by the new technology, they are more attracted to deep storylines and compelling characters.

“I’m not a gamer and I even knew about this game,” Kiefer Sutherland continued. “I was certainly keenly aware of the legacy of these games; the unbelievable success of these games.”

The first video game to feature the performance of an established celebrity was Night Trap in 1992—starring Dana Plato of Diff’rent Strokes. Although the controversial game featured live-action video footage rather than celebrity voice acting, the idea of using famous actors to market a game continued thereafter. The growing list of A-list actors and actresses providing vocal performances include Sir Patrick Stewart (Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2), Christopher Walken (True Crime: New York City), Gary Oldman (Call of Duty: Black Ops), Katee Sackhoff (Call of Duty: Black Ops III; EVE Valkyrie), Kevin Spacey (Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare) and Sean Bean (Papa Sangre II).

Although an actor’s voice and movements provide the performance, the advancement of motion capture is allowing developers to use an actor’s likeness in a realistic way. This technology uses star power to market both what the game is about and the famous face of who’s in it. Remedy’s Quantum Break features the performance and likeness of Shawn Ashmore (X-Men: Days of Future Past), so it’s no surprise that Ashmore’s character has become the prominent “face” of marketing campaigns.

All main characters in Rockstar’s L.A. Noire featured the performances and likenesses of its famous actors (such as Aaron Staton), while the since-cancelled Silent Hills was to star The Walking Dead‘s Norman Reedus in the same way.

Norman Reedus was cast in both likeness and performance for the cancelled, 'Silent Hills' game
Norman Reedus was cast in both likeness and performance for ‘Silent Hills.’

Video games continue to advance in technology and as a story-telling medium. With that new-found responsibility, developers are turning to A-list actors to portray characters through voice, motion, likeness, or all three. This strategy not only aids in the development quality of a video game, but allows for marketing outreach that extends from gamers to movie fans, as well as proving that “star power” has found a new home.

How Insomniac Is Partnering With Oculus To Triple-Down On VR

Insomniac Games may still be fresh from a very successful launch of a new Ratchet & Clank game, but it’s not sitting back to rest on its laurels. In fact, the company has become a major player in virtual reality, as it has recently announced two new games coming to the Oculus Rift this fall: Feral Rites and The Unspoken. These are in addition to the horror adventure game, Edge of Nowhere, which releases on June 6.

With three all-new games being published by Oculus this year, Insomniac is now one of the leading studios creating and pioneering VR content. With Feral Rites, players have a chance to unleash their inner beast in all-out brawling action, while The Unspoken takes them to an underground world of magic, where they must learn to fight with magic. Both are set to release this fall, and the latter game will make full use of the upcoming Oculus Touch motion controllers.

[a]listdaily talks to Cameron Christian, lead designer on Feral Rites, studio director Chad Dezern for The Unspoken, and Brian Allgeier, the creative director of Edge of Nowhere. They provide insight into partnering with Oculus to dive into virtual reality, where a lot of fighting, magic and mind-bending horror await.

What is Feral Rites about?

Cameron: Feral Rites is a third-person adventure brawler. It’s a game that combines Legend of Zelda-style exploration and puzzles with the savage brawling from a game like God of War. The game takes place on an exotic jungle island. You’re the son of a slain chieftain, searching for your father’s killer. This takes you through lush jungle environments as you try to track down your father’s murderer.

Players will come across dangerous wildlife and various enemy tribes along their journey, and as they explore the island, they’ll learn about their tribe’s history and unlock the ancient power of the Jaguar Beast. This is a human jaguar hybrid that the player can transform into to aid in combat. Kind of like a new-age Altered Beast.

Combat focuses on melee brawling in both human and beast forms. The combat system encourages weaving these forms together to create dynamic combo strings, which will result in epic finishing moves. Players will be able to unlock new human and beast form abilities, as well as purchase and equip new gear that will modify or alter their existing abilities. Quests and other treasures will pull players deeper into the island, and the deeper they go, the more dangerous it gets.

One of the big pushes for us in doing this game in VR is that it really shows the potential of Insomniac’s stunning worlds in the most immersive way possible. VR gives players a 360-degree view of the lush jungle, which really makes you feel like you’re in it—having the canopy overhead and the wildlife nearby. VR allows us to have some unique adventure mechanics, such as “look at” teleporting puzzles, which allow you to look in a direction to teleport to a spot. Combining that with lock and key mechanics makes for some very interesting puzzles.

Finally, VR lets us show our up-close and brutal combat in both finishers and high-action moments that really showcase the hero and enemies in high-fidelity.

What inspired Feral Rites?

Cameron: The creative director and I had just come off of Sunset Overdrive, so we wanted to look into doing something different. And, like I said before, we make great worlds here at Insomniac. So, we were looking at the VR technology and wondering how we could push it and really showcase the worlds. Plus, what could we add to flip it around? That’s when we started thinking about a third-person brawler. Things like The Island of Doctor Moreau were inspirations for the savageness and craziness of this jungle.

Does the fast action of Feral Rites come out with the Oculus hardware?

Cameron: Definitely. It’s been a challenge for us, since this is the first game where we had to push out 90 frames-per-second while keeping that high fidelity, but when you look at the game, we’re definitely capturing that very immersive world. Part of it is our choice in camera style. It’s a fixed camera that lets us have high-action fast brawler combat while reducing much of the motion sickness you might get with a standard follow-cam, or a first-person view, when you’re moving around as much as you do in our game. We have a lot of backtracking and an open-world feel. Our camera is a lot like Resident Evil, in a way.

How does a fixed third-person camera work in VR, and maintain a sense of mystery, when players can still look around and see everything around them?

Cameron: It’s definitely a challenge, but we knew that we wanted every camera position and shot to not have any dead ends. If you look 360, you see the world expand and continue on. It just took a lot of planning and thought.

What is The Unspoken about?

Chad: The Unspoken is about the fantasy of magic in the real world. It’s a VR first-person action game that’s all about PvP [player vs. player] spellcasting. You use the Touch controller to cast spells with your bare hands. We’re out to give you the feeling that you’re using real magic. You’re discovering what you can do as you play, and not thinking about the controllers at all. Rather, you’re using your hands and natural gestures to make amazing things happen around you.

Story-wise, you fall into a hidden world of ancient cabals and organized crime, and you duel powerful magicians to rise through the ranks and rule the city street-by-street. You learn that you have an affinity for spellcraft, which starts out with just parlor tricks, but as you progress and your powers grow, you can summon golems and shoot off blinding fireworks displays of arcane energy.

This game’s particular flavor of magic is about harnessing the unseen forces of the city itself, and manipulating objects from the world around you. So, it’s very much in the urban magic genre. In fact, your entry point is an urban magician’s fight club. You fight in pocket-dimensions around the city of Chicago, from fighting in a war for control in Pulaski Park, to a hidden rooftop garden on the Gold Coast, and you’ll find the great buildings of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair perfectly preserved underneath the stockyards.

The battles are PvP turf wars. We think of the play style as a marriage between the physical action of a fighting game with the dynamic battlefield of an arena shooter. Physical action is about skill-based casting. Timing is important, and so are the nuances of your gestures. If you really get into the flow, you’ll cast better spells than you would just flailing around. The battlefield space is also important. There’s cover and strategic high ground. You teleport through the space, so you really have to be aware of the full 360 VR battlefield around you to understand where you can get the biggest advantage.

The duels are like dances, with back-and-forth attack and avoidance spellcasting, where it’s about selecting a spell and countering what your opponent is doing. The combination culminates into the environment around you crashing down. One important thing to know is that you face-off against another human, and you can see that person’s tracked head and hands. If you’ve ever experienced tracked head and hands in VR, you know that that really does give you a sense of presence where you can see all the little ticks of human motion and feel like you’re interacting with another person. You want to see the other person and what kind of spell they’re casting so you can cast a counter or avoid it.

The_Unspoken_4_FireballTrain

How much floor space do you need to play The Unspoken?

Chad: We designed it as a standing experience, but you don’t need a room dedicated to it. There’s a little bit of sideways movement to get behind cover, but the mechanics are such so that you don’t need to cover a whole lot of ground. You can stay within a two-foot or less space with your trackers.

How do you promote a VR game that relies so heavily on multiplayer?

Chad: The best thing we can do is let people play it. Once you have the experience and really understand what it means to be in an arena with another person and gesturing—that makes the biggest impact. We supplement that with visuals like screenshots and videos, including 360 assets. All of these things help get the flavor of it. We’ll also talk about world backstories and set the tone for it. I think when you hear “spellcasting with Touch,” you probably have an image in your head, and a lot of the things we found players wanted they actually can do in the game. All that plays into getting a picture of what the experience is like.

What can you tell us about Edge of Nowhere?

Brian: Edge of Nowhere is a third-person horror adventure set in Antarctica, circa 1932. You play as Victor Howard, who is searching for a lost expedition. He follows a trail of clues and is led into a monstrous underworld. As he ventures further along, searching for his old mentor, Simon Edwards, and fiancée Ava Thorne, the world starts to warp, twist around and become more surreal. It begins to question what is real and what is not.

This is our opportunity to play with players’ perceptions and to create creepy and unsettling moments. As I’ve found with VR, you immediately feel a little vulnerable when you put that headset on, and I like that aspect of it. Certainly, it’s very easy to go the jump-scare route, and while we do have a few scares here and there, what’s really great about VR is that we have the ability to build tension and the underlying suspense it grows. Whether it’s a monster attacking or sneaking by a giant creature, you really feel that tension.

How did the idea for Edge of Nowhere come together?

Brian: Edge of Nowhere started out back in October 2014, when we were first approached by Oculus. Jason Rubin came to the studio and said that he really wanted to tackle the moving camera problem, because it’s something a lot of games are struggling with. Most people think that a VR game is going to be first-person and that first-person shooters make a lot of sense, but with all that moving, strafing and shooting, people get sick because there’s a whole inner-ear problem. So we decided to start experimenting with third-person controls and a moving camera. That way, you can have the hero move in a lot of different directions and do the crazy motions while the camera glides along a smooth path and people don’t feel uncomfortable.

The result is a very immersive experience as you travel through these dark ice caves, and look around as you deal with these monsters.

How has developing an adventure game for VR been different from traditional platforms?

Brian: We developed this entire game from the ground up, so we had to rethink how we did all of our levels. The way the camera works is that all the rotation is based on the player’s head. So, you don’t rotate a virtual camera.

We had this one situation where we had a bunch of dead bodies that we wanted Victor to walk up to, but when they’re lying on the ground, they’re in front of the hero, so you don’t really get a good view of them. So, we decided to hang them from the ceiling so that you can look up at these dead bodies as you walk under them. That’s something that you don’t typically see in 2D games, because you always want put all the action in front of the player. But with VR, you can look all around.

Feral_Rites_Screenshot_LavaKick

Has there been any thought given to adding Oculus Touch support to Edge of Nowhere or Feral Rites in the future?

Brian: No, we’ve been developing both games with the controller in mind, and it really works well with the style of game we’re creating—which is less physically active. We see people playing Edge of Nowhere for 2-4 hours straight, sitting back in their chair with the controller, and it’s not as physically active. I think it’ll be very interesting to see where VR will go, and I think there will always be a place for controller-based games.

Cameron: For us, we’re making a hardcore brawler, and I think the amount of button input we’re doing would exhaust players if it were active motion. So, we’re sticking with the controller.

How has Insomniac been working with Oculus to bring these games to life?

Chad: It’s a great situation in that we experiment, frequently play the games with them, and share thoughts about the way things are headed. It feels like a true partnership and collaboration to getting the best possible game we can make. Nothing but great things to say about the relationship.

What convinced Insomniac to work on so many VR projects for Oculus?

Chad: We’re big VR enthusiasts, and we have really liked working with Oculus as a publisher because we feel like we’re in this new experimental situation where we’re learning new mechanics just as the hardware is coming online. There’s a spirit of working together to figure it out and see what we can do with this new technology.

What will be some of the biggest challenges in promoting these VR games?

Chad: I really feel that the biggest challenge we face is getting the experience across to players. A screenshot or video doesn’t really do the experience justice. It turns into a “you have to be in there” situation. We’re doing our best to figure out what tools we have at our disposal and get the feel of the games across, but it’s always going to be a “you need to get the headset” situation.

Discovery Is Deepening Its Reach With Volume In Virtual Reality

Discovery believed virtual reality would fundamentally change the way viewers connected with content. So last August, they evolved their digital brand and identity by launching a VR-dedicated site with nine original short-form experiences.

In eight months, they’ve already produced over 70 short-form videos and dedicated resources to shoot a slew of more shows in the immersive format. Their video strategy complements Seeker, a millennial-centric web-native network with over 250 socially driven videos premiering every month. Programs like Edge of the Earth 360, which takes you to a VR trip through a weather balloon 100,000 feet in the air, will be debuting in May.

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The business model is shaping up quite nicely, too. The company has already indicated it will accommodate Madison Avenue, and Discovery’s 3 billion cumulative subscribers in more than 220 countries, by selling ads for VR in time for upfront marketplace.

Suzanne Kolb, Discovery Digital Networks’ executive vice president and general manager, oversees the company’s portfolio of web-native brands and series, original digital development, Discovery VR, and social partnerships.

Kolb, who previously was the president at E! Entertainment, joined [a]listdaily to discuss how they plan on building culturally relevant content.

How will Discovery continue to use VR to take the brand places it’s never gone before?

Immersive storytelling has always been a part of our DNA. As a leader in digital experiences, we saw firsthand how completely enthralling VR was; bringing this experience to our viewers and launching Discovery VR became a no-brainer. Whereas advancements in digital technologies (e.g. HD, 3D, etc.) have historically improved an existing viewing medium, VR is unique because it’s an entirely new way to consume content. With this, we’re continually exploring ways to further engage our fans and place them in situations they may otherwise not be able to experience.

How is Discovery leveraging relationships with brands like Gillette and Toyota to create VR content?

We love working with partners like Toyota and Gillette who want to do something different—in this case working with us to leverage the power of VR to bring dynamic, immersive stories and experiences to a wider audience shared by both brands. Building native content through strategic ad deals also allows us to add even more fresh content to our steady publishing stream and provides us with some unique distribution opportunities.

What is currently the biggest challenge for marketing VR?

survivorman-swamp-rules

The biggest challenge, like all programming, is to tell the best stories and create exceptional experiences. In this case, you want to make sure the technology is genuinely amplifying that story and experience. The next challenge is getting the word out. The technology’s rapid rise in popularity is a direct result of its broad appeal. That being said, it’s still a new technology, so simply educating consumers about what it is and how to use it is a challenge all content creators have to address. We believe the only real way to convert the consumer is through exceptional content that clearly benefits from being told in a VR form. The next step is having a volume of that content so you become reliable to your audience. With over 70 short-form videos on Discovery VR to date, we’re definitely getting there.

Is Discovery testing out VR capabilities for television in any way?

Since Discovery VR’s launch, we’ve created complementary VR experiences for many of our linear franchises including (but not limited to) Discovery’s Gold Rush and MythBusters, Animal Planet’s Puppy Bowl XII, Science Channel’s Secret Space Escapes and Survivorman and—most recently—Destination America’s Ghost Asylum. The dynamic experiences transform fans into characters, bringing them one step closer to their favorite programs. With such a diverse portfolio of linear and web-native networks here at Discovery Communications, there are so many opportunities to create even more of these thrilling experiences—and we’re excited for what’s to come.

Follow Manouk Akopyan on Twitter @Manouk_Akopyan.

 

How ‘Shovel Knight’ Dug Its Way To Become A Huge Success

It’s always great to see small video game studios see big success, such as with the surprise hit Rocket League, which has rocketed to the top of the charts with millions of copies sold. This week, another mega-hit has been added to the best-selling list: Yacht Club Games’ old-school adventure Shovel Knight.

The developer posted on its blog, boasting about the huge success of the Kickstarter-funded game, which has sold over 1.2 million copies since its release—with one million alone coming from digital sales. It reached this success without a major advertising campaign, and instead relied heavily on social media buzz and word-of-mouth recommendations.

“We couldn’t be happier that Shovel Knight is still loved and played years after its release,” said the post.

A majority of the game’s sales came from both Steam and Nintendo 3DS platforms, although other systems, like the Wii U, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, also accounted for a good chunk of them.

Chart

Ever since its initial release on Nintendo platforms a couple of years ago, the game has become a huge cult hit, even getting to the point that Nintendo allowed the creation of a special Shovel Knight Amiibo figurine, which has since sold 180,000 units to date.

The company certainly knew how to cater Shovel Knight to every gamer’s taste. The Wii U and 3DS releases generated lots of attention, and the game has also benefitted from the release of free downloadable content such as the Plague of Shadows expansion. Meanwhile, both the PlayStation 4/3/Vita and Xbox One versions of the game got exclusive levels featuring original franchises, including the Knight’s scuffle with God of War‘s Kratos in the PlayStation versions, and a run-in with the Battletoads on XB1.

Speaking with Gamasutra, programmer David D’Angelo couldn’t help but be surprised by Shovel Knight‘s sales. “We’re still in a bit of shock here! Previously, a successful game in our portfolio would barely break (50,000) copies sold.”

And the game isn’t done yet. Yacht Club Games is already hard at work on additional (free) content for the game, as well as a hardcover art book for its most devoted Kickstarter investors.

“We hope to finally conclude Shovel Knight‘s long development journey at the end of this year,” D’Angelo added. “It’s been a really fun few years, and we couldn’t be more grateful that you’ve all supported us through this time.”

Now comes the inevitable question of “What’s next?” for the team, although a Shovel Knight sequel may not be out of the question.

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