Tag Archives: VR

Extra Life Gaming Marathon 2020

Charity, ,
Game Day 2020 – Nov. 21 (Sat) @ 10:00am

It’s that time again! Time for me to play games for 24 hours and ask you for donations to Extra Life, 100% of which goes to the Children’s Miracle Network. I’ll be playing to raise money for Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland.

This year I’m doing my game day on Nov. 21 (Sat) @ 10:00am (a couple weeks later than normal) to sync up with the Pipeworks team. As I have done in previous years, I’ll be playing 1 hour of 24 different games which I have not played before. 8 PC games, 8 VR games, and 8 PS4 games. In fact, here’s a schedule:

10:00 AMTrain Simulator 2021
11:00 AMMoss
12:00 PMHeavy Rain
1:00 PMHello Neighbor
2:00 PMCreed: Rise To Glory
3:00 PMDetroit: Become Human
4:00 PMSouth Park: The Fractured But Whole
5:00 PMStar Wars: Vader Immortal Episode 1
6:00 PMBloodborne
7:00 PMInto The Breach
8:00 PMStar Wars: Squadrons
9:00 PMFall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
10:00 PMOuter Wilds
11:00 PMThe Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners
12:00 AMBeyond: Two Souls
1:00 AMApe Out
2:00 AMGORN
3:00 AMRatchet & Clank
4:00 AMPrey
5:00 AMTrover Saves The Universe
6:00 AMGod Of War III Remastered
7:00 AMWilmot’s Warehouse
8:00 AMBudget Cuts
9:00 AMNeed For Speed Payback

I’ll be streaming to Twitch and YouTube during the marathon, and I’ll have the audio working this year so that you’ll be able to hear me. Here are the links:

YouTube

Twitch

Facebooktwitterlinkedin

Extra Life Gaming Marathon 2019

Charity, ,

It’s November, so that means it’s time for the Extra Life gaming marathon where gamers play games for 24 hours and ask for donations for the Children’s Miracle Network. This year most people played games on November 2, but I postponed my game day until the following weekend due to the Indie Game Con which was held on the 2nd and 3rd this year. This is my 4th year, and I’ll be playing games for 24 hours starting at 8:00am on November 9 (Sat) and ending at 8:00am the next morning. Here’s my Extra Life Participant Page, where you can donate to the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland and find all the info about my schedule and streams. I’m also bumping up my goal from $269 last year to $369 this year. I’m kinda starting my campaign late, but I’m hoping to get donations during the event this year. If things go well, there will be notifications on the screen when somebody donates and probably some ridiculous sounds and stuff.

This year I’ll be streaming PC, VR, and PS4 games. I’ll have a webcam, so you’ll be able to watch me while I’m playing. I think I’ll have audio as well, so that you can get my running commentary on the games that I’m playing. My Twitch stream is embedded here, followed by a link to my YouTube stream, for your viewing preference.

Twitch stream

YouTube stream

My overall plan this year is to cycle between PC, VR, and PS4 games, so there should be 8 of each in the schedule. I’m trying to get everything setup and ready in advance this year so that it doesn’t take as much time between games when I would update the screens and info on-the-fly. Here is a schedule set up with all of the games listed so that you know when to watch if you want to see a specific game. I’ll probably be changing it a bit as I get things installed and set up, but it should be final by the time I start the marathon.

Facebooktwitterlinkedin

Indie Game Con 2019

Uncategorized,

This weekend is the 7th annual Indie Game Con here in Eugene. There are several indie developers showing off their games for the public to check out. Each hour there is also a talk from developers and musical performances.

This morning I’ll be giving a talk about the current state of the XR (Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality) industry. It’s a high level overview of the past, present, and future of the industry.

If you came here looking for the slides from the talk, here’s the link: State of XR

Facebooktwitterlinkedin

Extra Life Gaming Marathon 2018

Charity,

Oh boy! It’s time to play games for the kids again. This is my 3rd year, and I’ll be playing games for 25 hours starting at 8:00am on November 3 (Sat) and ending at 8:00am the next morning. (The extra hour is thanks to the end of daylight saving time.) Here’s my Extra Life Participant Page, where you can donate to the Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in Portland and find all the info about my schedule and streams. I’m also bumping up my goal from $200 last year to $269 this year, just because.

Third time’s a charm for streaming. This year I’ve got a new VR room setup and I even have a webcam, so I’ll be streaming and you’ll be able to watch the games as well as me playing them. I’ll attempt to talk more than I typically do, so that you can get my running commentary on the games that I’m playing. My Twitch stream is embedded here, followed by a link to my YouTube stream, for your viewing preference.

Twitch stream

YouTube stream

I will also have a schedule set up with all of the games listed so that you know when to watch if you want to see a specific game. Here’s a list of potential games that you can vote for: Extra Life 2018 Game List

I’m planning on doing more VR games this year, now that I have a clear space in which to play. I’ll likely alternate between VR and monitor games to give the headset a chance to cool off and let me sit down.

Facebooktwitterlinkedin

Extra Life Gaming Marathon 2

Charity, ,

Extra Life
The Extra Life gaming marathon is happening on Nov. 4 (Sat) this year. I’ll be playing video games for 25 hours (thanks to daylight saving time ending that night) starting at 8:00am. The purpose of the marathon is to raise money for the Children’s Miracle Network, and my donations will go to OHSU Doernbecher Children’s Hospital in particular. It also gives me an excuse to try out 25 games that I have purchased, but have not played yet for whatever reason.

Since I raised $165 last year, which was over my goal of $100, I’ve doubled my fundraising goal to $200. In exchange for the increased goal, I’m going to attempt to stream the games this year. I’ll also try to get a headset working so that you can hear my random commentary while I play, and perhaps even hear me shout obscenities when a game is being stupid. I’ve been testing some streams on YouTube and Twitch so far, and I am leaning toward YouTube at the moment.

Extra Life 2017 Game List
I’ve created a form which lists all of the games which I will have ready to play. You can click the link above to see the list. You can also vote for any games that you would like to see me play, which will give them priority. Similar to last year, I will be playing each game for 1 hour, and these are all games which I have not played yet. If I have any technical issues, I’ll simply move onto the next game.

If you feel like donating (which is tax-deductible, by the way), click this banner:

I think Helen Lovejoy said it best, when she said: Won’t somebody please think of the children?!?

Thanks, and pay attention to my social media channels during the event to get links to the streams and other updates.Facebooktwitterlinkedin

Extra Life Gaming Marathon

Charity, , ,

Extra Life

On Saturday, November 5, I’ll be participating in the Extra Life charity event. I’ll be playing video games for 24 hours, starting at 8am, to raise money for PeaceHealth Sacred Heart Medical Center.

If you would like to donate to the cause, visit my page at: TGIFrydave Extra Life Page

Or click on this thing:

Game Plan

I’ll be putting together a list of 24 games for the event, with some backups just in case. There will be PC, console, and mobile games, with several in VR. My plan is to play each game for at least an hour, and see how far down the list I can get. If I happen to come across a game that I want to play for longer, then that’s what’s going to happen.

I’ll be posting to my social media accounts to keep a running update of my progress. I’ll also be trying to set up some software to allow streaming for games that are compatible with it. Console and mobile titles will not be streamable, unless I can find a web cam in my pile of hardware.

Feel free to check in on me during the event to see how far I’ve made it, or just to heckle me for my game choices. Game on!Facebooktwitterlinkedin

Spring Cleaning

Business, Development, Games, , , , , ,

Spring Cleaning

Well, it’s Spring, so I suppose I should clean out my backlog of things that I should have posted since my birthday. Here’s a quick preview of the stuff I’ll be writing about soon. I’m not going to bother with pictures in this post, since it’s just a preview.

Cartoon Network Game Jam

First of all, the week after my birthday I participated in the Cartoon Network Game Jam in Portland. This kind of derailed my blogging, since I wanted to post about it but wasn’t sure if I could legally. Since Cartoon Network posted about it here: JAMMIN’ WITH OK, K.O.!, I suppose it’s OK for me to post about it now. In fact, the finalists are going to be announced this Sunday (5/1) and the winner will be announced next week.

Game Releases

I did post about my game releases, briefly. I’ll post more about some of the implementation and update details. I suppose it’s mainly for my records, but it may be interesting to somebody else as well.

I made a decision to release the games with the basic gameplay remade in VR, and as close to the functionality of the arcade games as I could get. So, basically they have all of the features, save high scores locally, are fully functional, and will always be free.

I’ll be doing some small updates to all of them to add analytics, extra controller support, and some other minor fixes and tweaks. I even added a leaderboard and achievements for VR Battletank on Android. I’ll be adding them to the other games soon.

After getting the basic framework done, I’ll be adding enhanced content to each of them as time allows.

Pipeworks Labs

The main reason that I’ve been slow to update my games and make blog posts is because I started a year-long project at Pipeworks new division, Pipeworks Labs, in March.

It’s a therapeutic VR project, which means it’s not technically a game. The great thing is that Pipeworks is cool enough to not have a non-compete clause,  so I’ll still be able to work on my own projects during my spare time.

Oculus Rift

The consumer version of the Oculus Rift finally started shipping at the end of March. I got mine the first week, and it’s awesome. I’ve played several games and experiences, and I’ll go into more detail in a later post. The game I’ve played the most so far is Elite Dangerous. I bought a Thrustmaster Flight Stick for this game, and it’s been a blast. I’ve played over 20 hours so far, and I think I’ve accomplished 2 or 3 tasks. I still don’t have much of clue what I’m doing, but it’s so fun flying around I don’t really care yet.

Oregon Game Project Challenge

I spent a day up in Salem last Saturday being a judge for the OGPC 9.0. I was a Game Design judge for several game projects that were made by teams of High School, and some Middle School, students. It was quite impressive to see what these kids came up with, and I’ll point out some of the stuff that stood out to me.

I’ll be pestering you with social media posts soon enough. In the meantime, go play my games:

VR Meteors

VR Missile Control

VR BattletankFacebooktwitterlinkedin

VR Battletank Released!

Games, , , ,

VR Battletank Released!

Feature Graphic 1024x500

It’s a trifecta! Out Of My Mind Games has a trio of games available for you to play now.

See? I told you in my last post that it was coming soon.

Get It Now

You can download VR Battletank from Google Play or WEARVR below:

Get it on Google Play

10608731_497771040361587_7278950946157464923_o

Game Info

Strap on your headset and head out to the desolate virtual wastelands where you will face off against enemy tanks and missiles. Avoid the obstacles and shoot the flying saucers for big points, if you have the chance.

Controls

The controls are a little different, but simple to learn. You use each thumbstick on the gamepad to control the respective tank tread. If you push forward on the left thumbstick, then the left side of the tank moves forward. If you pull backward on the right thumbstick, then the right side of the tank moves backward. And vice versa. With the headset, you are now able to freely look around to locate your targets. However, the tank will always fire the direction that it is facing, as indicated by the reticle. You’ll need to maneuver the tank into position to make the shot.

If you play the Cardboard version, the default settings enable tilt and look to turn controls. That means that you can tilt the viewer left/right to turn left/right, and tilt forward/backward to move forward/backward. You can also turn your head and the tank will turn to face the same direction. Each of these settings is adjustable from the menu.

What’s Next

Next on my plate is an update for VR Discs Of Golf. Leap Motion has just released a new version of their software that is optimized for VR input. According to some demo videos that I have watched, the tracking is much better than the old software. I’m excited to put better motion controls back into the game.Facebooktwitterlinkedin

VR Missile Control Released!

Games, , , ,

VR Missile Control Released!

Feature Graphic 1024x500

*AIR RAID SIREN*

Beware! Incoming missiles are threatening your cities. Shoot them out of the sky before they hit their targets.

Get Your Copy Now

VR Missile Control is now available to download from the Google Play store.

Get it on Google Play

It’s also available on WEARVR.

WEARVR

If you feel like waiting for an undisclosed amount of time, you’ll be able to get it from the Oculus Share site. There’s no reason to wait though, since Oculus is so slow to review builds that it’ll always be behind the above builds.

More Info

VR Missile Control has been designed to work with one button input, so you can use it with your Google Cardboard viewer. It also supports some common gamepads for both Windows and Android. I’ll be putting a WebGL version up on my web site soon, after I make some minor tweaks to the mouse controls. Check it out and let me know what you think.

The current build is version 1.0.1, which means that the core gameplay is in place with no known bugs. I’ll be adding enhanced VR and gameplay features in future versions. Fun stuff, like new weapons, new enemies, full 3D UI layouts, new effects, and whatever else comes to mind.

Coming soon: VR BattletankFacebooktwitterlinkedin

VR Meteors Released!

Games, , , ,

VR Meteors Released!

VR Meteors Title ScreenIt finally happened! I released VR Meteors for Cardboard on the Google Play store. I also submitted a Windows version for Oculus Rift to the Oculus Share page, which may take a few weeks to be approved. I’ll announce when it’s available, don’t worry.

Phase 1 of my business plan is complete.

Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
Release VR Meteors ? Profit

For those of you with an Android device, grab your Cardboard viewer and check it out. It’s free!

If you missed the link above, just click here:

Get it on Google Play

For those of you with Windows and an Oculus Rift, you can grab the first playable version from the Share site now at: VR Meteors for Oculus Rift. If you want to play the release version, you’ll have to wait until Oculus approves it or you can download the file from here: VR Meteors 1.0

For those of you with a Gear VR, I’ll be releasing a version for you soon. I just need to find somebody who has a Gear VR to test it for me. There will probably be a handful of bugs to fix, since I’m not positive I have the input handling set up correctly.

For those of you with an iOS device, it may be a little while before I go through the Apple developer process. I don’t have a Mac, so I’ll have to borrow one to get my builds running. Thanks, Apple.

For those of you who actually play it, here is some info for you.

Single Button Input For Cardboard

I designed the Cardboard version of the game to work with a single button, so that you can play it easily with a standard Cardboard viewer. There are only a few game actions, and here they are:

  • AIM: Rotate the viewer
  • FIRE: Press the trigger
  • THRUST: Hold the trigger
  • START/PAUSE: Tilt the viewer 90° clockwise

Basic Remake

For this first version of the game, I’ve focused on the basic gameplay and standard features that are found in Asteroids. I want to provide an easy-to-play VR experience that you can enjoy for minutes at a time, and easily show to your friends and family without a lot of instruction. You can even turn off the VR rendering in the pause menu and play in 2D. You’ll still be able to aim by rotating the device, fire by tapping the screen, thrust by holding the screen, and you won’t need a viewer.

  • 10 high scores
  • 4 bullets at a time
  • 3 sizes of Asteroids
  • 2 sizes of UFOs
  • 1 heart beat sound effect

Concessions for VR

There are some modifications to accommodate the VR presentation. Some things just don’t make sense conceptually in virtual reality. I’ll add them in later, if I can come up with good solutions.

  • Hyperspace was left out so as not to disorient the user
  • Shields instead of lives, to avoid spawning and disorientation
  • The difficulty is a little lower than I would like, which likely has to do with how easy it is to aim with a VR viewer. I’ll crank it up for future releases.

Looking Ahead

Future updates will add enhanced features.

  • Leaderboards
  • More types and sizes of asteroids and UFOs
  • Different weapons
  • Skyboxes
  • Powerups
  • Whatever else I come up with

Coming Soon

For now, I’m going to put this project on hold to get VR Missile Control released. I’ll still be working on getting VR Meteors for the Gear VR done. I just won’t be changing the gameplay until the next version. I will be applying the lessons that I learned on this project to VR Missile Control, so I expect things to go much quicker and smoother.

Need A Cardboard Viewer?

I think I’ve mentioned this in a previous post, but I’ll say it again. I highly recommend the View-Master viewer to use with Cardboard apps. It is the sturdiest viewer that I’ve tried. It has secure and easy access to the phone. It has an actual lever, instead of a touch pad or magnet. People are familiar with it and get excited to try it.

Enjoy the game, and feel free to send me any feedback. Yeah, like anybody is reading this.Facebooktwitterlinkedin