Author: dpugh007

Virtual reality gaming has been a tough field to navigate since its public debut in 2016, mostly because it was a brand-new technology that had immense hype leading up to the launch of three major platforms. Over time, we got to see VR experiences evolve from its early stages in terms of scale and ingenuity as developers built upon previous work and implemented new lessons learned. In 2018, there were a few flashes of brilliance that proved VR gaming doesn’t need to chase realistic visuals or total physical immersion for a transformative experience, but rather fine executions of creative ideas using the tech that’s already in place.

Despite a refined version of the HTC Vive and an entry-level standalone Oculus headset in the Oculus Go, PlayStation VR stole the show late in 2018. It might be bit surprising to think that as time marches on, the more primitive technology was home to the year’s best VR games; PSVR still runs on PlayStation 4 hardware (Pro or otherwise), tracks players through the PlayStation Camera, and uses the unsophisticated Move controllers. But it’s a testament to Sony’s ability to secure exclusivity, establish a wider platform, and have developers deliver unique, compelling experiences. And if it wasn’t for a handful of great games, 2018 would’ve been wholly underwhelming for VR.

Astro Bot: Rescue Mission was a definite highlight of VR gaming in 2018, exclusive to PSVR.

PlayStation VR Comes Out On Top With Games

Japan Studio created something truly special for PSVR with Astro Bot: Rescue Mission. Its initial pitch may not sound like much: a seated 3D platformer where you control an “AR Bot” that was once a mascot for PSVR’s Playroom mini-game suite. However, it turned out to be much more than that with one clever idea after another executed to near-perfection. You control the bot itself as you handle the DualShock motion controls to use gadgets and interact with the environment. These two elements effortlessly work in tandem to solve puzzles, navigate challenging platform sequences, and take down bosses. And it all came together thanks to color and charm instilled in the game’s world and characters.

In 2018, there were a few flashes of brilliance that proved VR gaming doesn’t need to chase realistic visuals or total physical immersion for a transformative experience, but rather fine executions of creative ideas using the tech that’s already in place.

Leading up to the release of Tetris Effect, you may have been wondering, “What could Tetris do in 2018?” Well, producer Tetsuya Mizuguchi put that doubt to rest. By merging captivating Rez-like visuals, a momentous soundtrack, and an increasing challenge, the traditional Tetris gameplay was elevated to something greater than piecing a series of blocks together to clear lines, especially when played in VR. Each of its stages presented new visual themes and music genres that brought both an overwhelming intensity at times and a calming pace at others.

Although we’ve seen tactical multiplayer FPS on PC VR platforms, Firewall Zero Hour showed that this style of game can work on PSVR, despite its relative technical limitations. Zero Hour is a slower-paced, multiplayer-only shooter that pits two teams of four against each other to complete objectives. It may have shortcomings in terms of map design, progression, downtime between matches, but it’s a unique PSVR experience that also put the Aim controller to good use.

In August, Sony revealed that the PSVR had sold three million units, which is more than its direct competitors Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. It’s not much of a surprise given the lower barrier to entry, and this install base means that VR games could thrive on Sony’s console.

Multiplatform Games Made Special On PSVR

Moss first released on PSVR in February before arriving on Vive and Rift in June. The third-person 3D action platformer used a whimsical art style to get you invested in the fate of its cute little mouse protagonist named Moss. Developer Polyarc combined simple, yet clever combat mechanics and challenging puzzles which was a delight. But it used VR to great effect by presenting a grand sense of environmental scale and seamlessly integrating traditional DualShock controls and motion sensor capabilities.

Evasion came out on all three major platforms, but it’s one of the few games that put the PlayStation Aim controller to use with its new cooperative FPS experience.

There are few rhythm games like Beat Saber, available on PSVR, Vive, and Rift.

Lastly, you can’t bring up VR games without mentioning Beat Saber, an exhilarating rhythm game that has you slicing blocks to the beat of a song. Each block requires you to chop it in a certain direction using the left and right VR controllers, inducing a dance-like flow that feels gratifying regardless of difficulty. Beat Saber had an official release on PS4, but it’s in early access for Vive and Rift. Unique to the PC versions however, is the ability to import your own songs for custom tracks in game, though that feature is still in development.

HTC Vive Pro, Wireless VR, And The Price Of Luxury

In May, HTC launched the Vive Pro, which is a higher resolution version of the original hardware with a few welcome ergonomic tweaks. The Vive Pro bumped up the original resolution from 2160×1200 to 2880×1600, which may not sound like much, but this translated to a noticeable improvement in visual clarity. Vive Pro’s head strap was a vast improvement over the original design and made it much easier to put on and more comfortable with better weight distribution. And the built-in earphones were a critical addition since it was one less thing to worry about when using the Vive.

The big problem, though: price. The Vive Pro costs $800, and that’s just for the headset alone. It really is reserved for the enthusiast that has money to blow since it also requires you to have a Vive setup already, let alone a capable gaming PC. And if you don’t, then you’ll be shelling out $1400 for the full Vive Pro package. It’s an impressive piece of technology, but it wasn’t going to transcend what the industry already had, especially for its asking price.

Perhaps more impactful than a higher-res headset is wireless capability. 2018 saw the launch of the Vive Wireless Adapter, and introduced a high-fidelity untethered experience with minimal input lag. But again like most things HTC Vive, it’s expensive: the Wireless Adapter currently goes for $300 alone.

Oculus Aims For Wider Markets With Standalone Headsets

Oculus has expanded beyond the Rift platform by launching the Oculus Go. It’s a standalone headset that delivers a lighter VR experience, not intended for traditional gaming. The Go is part of the Oculus ecosystem regardless and has a few standout games like Thumper and Republique, but its controller and specs means it’s limited in terms of gaming.

It bears repeating: VR gaming is still in its early stages and is still building for the future.

Oculus Go is also indicative of where the company is going in terms of VR tech. During its Oculus Connect 5 event in September, it announced that Oculus Quest (formerly Project Santa Cruz) would launch in Spring 2019 for $400, which is another standalone headset that’ll have full range of motion, fully featured controllers, and more powerful hardware. Powered by a Snapdragon 835 processor, Quest isn’t quite as powerful as a minimum spec Rift setup, but the prospect of a completely untethered VR experience that makes few concessions is enticing.

Verdict

At least in 2018, VR gaming was about a couple of great ideas coming to fruition. PSVR separated itself from its PC competitors late in the year by offering a platform that gave rise to a few amazing experiences like Astro Bot and Tetris Effect. It also remains the cheapest VR platform with the slimmest hardware requirements, and in turn, a significantly lower barrier to entry. But VR didn’t offer much outside of that. Advances were made technologically with HTC pushing higher fidelity and Oculus introducing a standalone headset, but neither was intended to serve a wider gaming audience, at least for now.

It bears repeating: VR gaming is still in its early stages and is still building for the future. As developers continue to push VR forward and new games come out, we’ll get closer to seeing VR’s full potential in games. 2018 wasn’t the best showcase of that, but developers are still investing the time into VR platforms, and we’re hoping that comes to light in 2019.

The Good	The Bad
+ A few amazing PSVR games that made the most of the hardware capabilities	– Overall lack in impactful games, especially for PC VR platforms
+ Astro Bot: Rescue Mission is the big game VR needed	– HTC’s new hardware, while impressive, is far too expensive
+ Advances in tech this year lay the groundwork for the future	– Did we mention an overall lack of games?

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Long before Fortnite, developer Epic Games launched a successful mobile game series called Infinity Blade. The franchise’s three games are no longer available, however, as Epic removed them from the iOS App store on December 10 in a surprising and unexpected move.

Everyone who already has Infinity Blade 1-3 installed on their iOS device can continue to play and re-download them (for the “foreseeable future), but all in-app purchases are turned off.

But why is the Infinity Blade franchise getting the boot? In a statement, Epic said it has become “increasingly difficult” to support the franchise “at a level that meets our standards” at the same time as other ongoing projects such as Spyjinx and “other projects.” The statement never mentions Fortnite by name, but surely the battle royale game is one of Epic’s biggest focuses right now.

“The Infinity Blade series will always hold a special place for me personally and for Epic as a whole,” Epic’s Donald Mustard said. “It’s always bittersweet to say goodbye, but we are excited for Spyjinx and what the future holds!”

Epic will continue to support Infinity Blade III with more Clash Mobs and other “surprises” over the next month. What’s more, Epic is giving away the Infinity Blade Stickers app for free.

What’s more, Epic teased that you can expect to see the Infinity Blade franchise appear in “places you wouldn’t expect.” Just today, Epic announced that a sword weapon is coming to Fortnite–and based on the teaser, it sure looks like the sword from Infinity Blade.

The first Infinity Blade launched in 2010, with sequels arriving in 2011 and 2013.

Infinity Blade is not the first Epic title to get scaled back or canceled following Fortnite’s massive success. At the start of 2018, Epic confirmed it was shutting down its free-to-play MOBA Paragon, while just recently, the developer confirmed that it was no longer working on its new Unreal Tournament game. The studio is continuing to work on Spyjinx, an action-strategy game that Epic is working on with Star Wars and Star Trek director JJ Abrams. It was originally scheduled to launch in 2016, but that never happened. The statement today confirms Epic is still working on it, but no new release date has been announced.

Another new Epic project is the Epic Games Store, which recently launched and offers a compelling revenue share split with developers.

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Activision is losing one of its most senior Call of Duty developers. Glen Schofield, who co-founded the Activision-owned Sledgehammer Games in 2009, is leaving Activision at the end of the month. In a statement posted on Twitter, Schofield said he’s enjoyed a “great run” at Activision, but said he now wants to “try something new.” Schofield and Sledgehammer’s other founder Michael Condrey left the studio in February for new jobs at Activision HQ.

He’s taking some time off to rest and relax before jumping into “something else exciting.” He didn’t share any details on what he might be up to next.

Schofield told GameSpot that he thinks he still has “a couple good games” to make, so you can bet his next gig will be in game development. “I have nothing but good things to say about my time at Activision,” he said. “After nine years of CoD (which I love), I just think I need a change. I seriously am going to take my time finding my next gig. Make sure it’s exactly what I want to do. I still have a couple good games in me.”

According to his LinkedIn page, Schofield got his start in gaming at the now-defunct Absolute Entertainment, where he served as its Art Director from 1991-1994 for Atari 2600 and NES titles. In 1996, he joined Crystal Dynamics as its vice president and executive producer. At that company he worked on a range of titles, including Soul Reaver, the licensed game 101 Dalmatians: Puppies to the Rescue, GEX 2, and more, before leaving in 2002. After Crystal Dynamics, Schofield moved to Electronic Arts where he worked on as the company’s general manager of the now-shuttered Visceral Games label. One of his biggest credits there is Dead Space, which he created; he was also the executive producer for licensed games including The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and James Bond: From Russia With Love.

He left EA in 2009 and founded Sledgehammer alongside Michael Condrey the same year. He served as a game director and chief creative officer at Sledgehammer where he worked on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and most recently, Call of Duty: WWII. He also contributed to Sledgehammer’s canceled Call of Duty Vietnam War game, which unlike the previous games, would have used a third-person perspective. Sledgehammer stopped working on the game to help finish Modern Warfare 3, after Activision fired Infinity Ward’s Vince Zampella and Jason West.

Writing on Twitter back in November, Schofield teased a new project that he wasn’t allowed to talk about. It seems likely he was referring to a new game, but Schofield also does a lot of artwork, too. Given that Schofield was promoted to a new VP of Development position at Activision HQ, the project he was teasing theoretically could have been anything from Activision, and not necessarily the next game from Sledgehammer. The Call of Duty series is on a three-year, three-studio development schedule, so Sledgehammer’s next game isn’t expected until 2020.

We’ve reached out to Schofield to see if he has any further comment regarding his departure from Activision and what he might do next. Condrey remains at Activision.

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Season 7 of Fortnite kicked off with the release of the big 7.00 patch last week, and now the second update of the season is on the way. Developer Epic Games confirmed that Fortnite’s 7.01 update is scheduled to roll out for all platforms–PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile–tomorrow, December 11, and it looks like it’ll introduce a new type of weapon to the game.

The official Fortnite Twitter account confirmed that the new update is scheduled to go live Tuesday morning at 2 AM PT / 5 AM ET / 10 AM GMT. Epic hasn’t revealed what will be added to the game in the new patch, but the announcement tweet teases players to “keep sharp,” referencing the newly unveiled sword that’s on the way.

Epic introduces new weapons and items to Fortnite on a regular basis, but most of those have come in the form of guns or traps, making the recently teased sword the first of its kind in the battle royale game. This also makes it clear that the developer plans to keep up Fortnite’s impressive weekly update schedule, despite the new Block area providing a good opportunity to slow down updates.

A number of big changes were made to Fortnite in Season 7. Epic added a new arctic region to the game’s ever-changing map, as well as Fortnite’s first aerial vehicle: the X-4 Stormwing plane. The developer also introduced a ton of new rewards to unlock through the Season 7 Battle Pass, among them additional pets and Wraps, a type of cosmetic that can be applied to weapons and vehicles to customize their look.

Fortnite’s second set of Season 7 challenges are slated to arrive on December 13. In the meantime, you can still complete Week 1’s challenges, which include dancing in forbidden locations and dancing on a crown of RVs. You can find tips on how to complete them in our Fortnite Season 7 challenges roundup.

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