London Technology Week: Virtual Creations

I’m in the dark little dungeon of the London Game Space, considering ordering an Assassin’s Mead, or perhaps a Skyrum, from the endless list of pun-filled drinks. I’m here for Virtual Indie-ality, a London Technology Week event run by the London indie game scene, and eager to see whether the innovations in Virtual Reality (VR) live up to the hype.

“This is a community space for the local indie game network,” enthuses Shaz Yousaf, the organiser of the event. “VR nights are always popular, so we set this up for London Tech Week for exposure and collaboration for local devs [developers]. Lots of devs haven’t tried anything with VR yet, so this is a great way for them to experience it, and to get feedback and opportunities for collaboration.”

Yousaf exudes enthusiasm. In this sweaty little room with the temperature and humidity of a sauna, we’re all exuding something.

Most of the projects here tonight are basing their work on the massive VR success story of the Oculus Rift (OR), an immersive VR headset designed for gaming, which raised an eye-popping $2.4 million on Kickstarter before being bought out by Facebook. Despite this success, VR is still working to prove that it is more than just a gimmick, that it’s a technology that’s worth something, and that it’s here to stay. All the indie devs at Virtual Indie-ality are attempting to show a unique take on VR gaming, or products complementary to the OR itself.

First up is Two Big Ears, an Edinburgh-based start-up that creates binaural (3D) sound. It’s a collaboration between Abesh Thakur and Varun Nair, and got its start in life as an audio-only iPhone game that saw people wandering around the Meadows, stabbing at imaginary monsters that only they could hear. Standard fare for the Meadows, but an exciting addition to the OR.

My impression of Two Big Ears is probably somewhat influenced by the fact that I suffer from stillness illness (the opposite of motion sickness) so badly that I need a lie-down after thirty seconds with the OR on my head. “Oculus recommends using 3D spatial audio to combat the effects of stillness illness,” explains Thakur, and I find myself elatedly exploring the short simulation demonstrating Two Big Ears’ technology without a hint of a stomach lurch. Anything that can keep me in an OR for an extended period of time is already a winner in my books, and the addition of binaural sound to the virtual demo adds a surprising amount of atmosphere: a pulsing dot of light flits about the virtual room, pinging gently, and I can easily track its position behind, alongside, or ahead of me with my eyes closed.

Although binaural sound isn’t exactly new, Two Big Ears is unique in its low demand on processing power, says Thakur: “Our algorithms take up not too much processing power. And we’ve done all the maths, so all the heavy lifting is down to us.” For game creators, that means a high quality binaural sound, taking into account not just where the sound is in the room, but also its effect on room acoustics, without too much effort.

Altergaze is focused on the hardware side of things, providing a cheap and cheerful alternative to the OR itself: a 3D-printed visor that can attach to any smartphone. “We’re using the concept of crowd manufacturing,” explains creator Liviu Berechet Antoni. “Instead of ordering 5 million in China, people can collaborate to create devices, available immediately and printed cheaply.” Because the smartphone’s gyroscope takes care of positional tracking, and content from a smartphone app provides the simulations, the entire device – apart from lenses and screws, which are supplied to manufacturers – can be created on a 3D printer, allowing an endless range of configurations and personalisation.

“We have 150 people from Kickstarter interested in becoming manufacturers,” says Antoni, who hopes to see collaboration open the uses of the device up beyond gaming, using it for social networking, panoramic photography, and even corporate usage such as architectural modelling. “We want to get it into schools and universities, get students making them, learning about VR. The model allows for rapid prototyping and rapid adjustment to innovation.”

My impression of the Altergaze is somewhat dampened by the fact that the simulation is out of focus for me, a problem that could be easily corrected if I ever wanted my own device. The positional tracking also feels a bit rough around the edges, with movements on screen not entirely corresponding to head movements. However, it’s early days, and although the Altergaze probably won’t become a rival to the OR, that’s not what it’s setting out to do. It’s opening up the field of VR beyond the sudden monopoly that arose over the last year, and that can only be a good thing. If the idea of printing your own VR headset tickles your fancy, watch out for pre-order in the coming weeks.

PlayCanvas plans to bring VR gaming to the web. Already established as an open source web gaming engine, the creators have tweaked their platform to allow for the creation and publishing of VR games on the web, with minimal latency. “Given that Facebook have bought the OR, we thought it was time to take it to more than hardcore gamers,” says Dave Evans, PlayCanvas CTO. “PlayCanvas opens up the possibility of having a website that gives you a VR world, with uses beyond gaming. It could be a metaverse – a virtual world – or used for training, or education.”

The interesting opportunity with VR, he adds, is that it opens up a whole range of experiences that aren’t available in normal games, but that become an option in an immersive world. “It’s a very different experience to just playing a normal game. The problem with immersion, though, is the control interface: the next step is motion sense, which would allow you to see your hands and your body in the simulation.” Mozilla and Chrome are building support for VR into their browsers, and with PlayCanvas’ incorporation of VR – including a basic version of binaural sound – a range of web-based VR worlds is just over the horizon, ready and waiting for a broader consumer base than the current OR fans.

Private Eye, a psychological thriller, is a game that plays with the new possibilities opened up by VR, trying to find ways to make use of the immersive environment to create new experiences and tell stories in different ways. Unconventional use of controls attempts to imitate tactile immersion: the right-hand trigger on the controller controls the character’s right arm, the left-hand trigger the left arm, and the corresponding analogue sticks are used to manipulate objects. Ultimately, incorporation of motion sensor gloves is the goal.

Lead dev Jake Slack has a background in film, and aims to bring a cinematic experience to VR gaming. “Lots of Rift content is big, like jumping out of planes or flying, but it’s a new medium of storytelling and there’s so much you can do,” he explains. “Private Eye uses passive scenes, with a film unfolding around you, which would be boring in a normal game. The goal is to create intense atmosphere and a strong storyline.” The player wakes up in hospital as a paraplegic with memory loss, seeing memories gradually return as the detailed surrounding world is explored. A creepy film noir feel is pervasive, and the immersive atmosphere seems to capture exactly what Slack is aiming for.

The night feels like a “genuine celebration”, says Yousaf, and I can’t help but agree. The enthusiasm of the devs is infectious, and despite some head-spinning wooziness brought on by far too long spent inside the OR headsets, I’m grinning as I head upstairs to the bar and contemplate ordering a Deus Ex on the Beach. The London indie scene is clearly awash with people excited at the prospect of tinkering with an entirely new brand of toy, and it seems that VR is far from being just another gimmick. It’s a fascinating and exciting new possibility, and in London at least, it’s in safe hands.