Using AI to Improve Game Development: Q&A with Yuheng Chen, rct studio
We’ve already been busy putting the USD$10m (£8.1m) to work in developing many of the features you see with the Motion Prediction Generation System and Chaos Box today.
These new modules work alongside our Morpheus engine, an AI-powered creative system that opens up almost infinite narrative alternatives and story structures through deciphering the meaning of words to transform them into 3D rendered animations. Together, they serve as the infrastructure behind our mission to develop dynamic entertainment experiences for interactive films and virtual reality (VR) gaming environments.
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Specifically, the Motion Prediction Generation System takes what today requires years of animation work from large and experienced teams, and instead generates life-like animation in real-time, creating a new framework for designing virtual worlds of the future. The system gives developers the ability to iterate and control character animation in real-time from the cloud, which is a huge resource-saver. Typically, developers rely on the time-intensive process of producing character animations in advance of distribution via sequential frames that don’t even adapt to real-time environments.
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Through this simulation, Chaos Box can figure out the most compelling resolution for a story, and there’s no need to script every alternative for each scene in advance. Once the main storylines, character descriptions, motivations, and parameters are mapped, the Chaos Box algorithm completes the rest. This is a massive resource-saver.
See the full story here: https://www.thegamingeconomy.com/2020/04/07/using-ai-to-improve-game-development-qa-with-yuheng-chen-rct-studio/
A Japanese University used remote-controlled robots to hold a virtual graduation
- Business Breakthrough University (BBT) in Tokyo, Japan held a virtual graduation ceremony due to the coronavirus.
- Students called into the ceremony using video-conferencing tool Zoom, and they were displayed on mobile robots.
- Events including graduations and weddings have been moved online to "Minecraft," "Animal Crossing," and other online games since the coronavirus spread throughout the world.
Report: Apple close to acquiring virtual reality startup NextVR
See the full story here: https://siliconangle.com/2020/04/05/report-apple-close-acquiring-virtual-reality-startup-nextvr/One reason for Apple’s interest is that NextVR reportedly failed to secure a Series C funding round in early 2019, which led to 40% of its workforce being laid off. 9To5Mac reported that the company’s potential investors were scared off by a growing interest in augmented reality tech startups that could potentially rival NextVR.
Apple may also want NextVR for its patented technologies. The company is said to hold more than 40 patents around VR and related technologies, including one that enables it to upscale live video streams.
Then again, Apple’s motivation for buying NextVR could be a lot more straightforward, Pund-IT Inc. analyst Charles King told SiliconANGLE. He speculated that Apple might simply be trying to grab a share of the emerging market for VR-focused sports and music events for itself.
Gibson and Sweetwater partner with Amped Guitar for free three-month membership to Augmented Reality learning platform
In contrast to traditional instructional videos, Amped Guitar is touted as a two-way online learning experience that “listens to your playing and instinctively adapts the lesson.”
The three-month membership offers a slew of features and options, including:
Full learning curriculum with multiple genres, and hundreds of guided lessons teaching chords, solos and songs; an immersive playing experience and step-by-step guidance based on augmented reality; the ability to play songs from artists and guitarists including Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Santana, Aerosmith, Tom Petty, the Beatles, Thin Lizzy and more; a guided learning path from basic skills to advanced guitar techniques; real-time feedback; and amped animations and videos that teach new skills and guide players in their learning.
Additionally, all Amped lessons are developed by expert guitar teachers and require no cables or amps. Users can also plug into iRig to perform for others.
See the full story here: https://www.guitarworld.com/news/gibson-and-sweetwater-partner-with-amped-guitar-for-free-three-month-membership-to-augmented-reality-learning-platform
New York universities, colleges navigate a new virtual reality in coronavirus era
James Devitt, managing director of public affairs at New York University in Manhattan, said the virtual method needs to be tailored specifically to each program.
“There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to teaching,” Devitt said. “We do everything from chem lab courses to performance studies.”
Robert Vanderlan, senior associate director of Cornell University’s Center for Teaching Innovation, offered similar sentiments in a recent video, discussing the mobilization effort that has taken place as faculty have transitioned to the virtual classrooms.
Doug McKee, a senior lecturer in economics at Cornell,... In the online versions of his classes, McKee said he uses Zoom sessions, which enable him to split screens, share Power Point presentations and give students the opportunity to virtually go into breakout rooms.
The goal, McKee said, is to maintain as much a sense of community as possible as was fostered physically within his classrooms.
“I think for a lot of faculty, this will be very eye-opening for them, and they’ll teach much more hybrid classes,” McKee said. “The lecture classes will become much more flexible.”
See the full story here: https://www.thecentersquare.com/new_york/new-york-universities-colleges-navigate-a-new-virtual-reality-in-coronavirus-era/article_1da41134-738f-11ea-a2ec-47343c0f36db.html
[Inaudible Chatter] Closed Captioning Becomes Hit With TV Viewers
Some of the people most committed to captioning don’t need it at all. They are viewers who hear just fine but prefer to read along with everything they watch, including TV shows and movies in their own language, as a hack to better understand what is happening on screen.
See the full story here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/inaudible-chatter-closed-captioning-becomes-hit-with-tv-viewers-11585757918
The sensory overload of Half-Life: Alyx points to the promise and problems of VR
The story is light, which only fuels my suspicion that the game’s Half-Life branding is meant as a Trojan Horse for VR. Still, the industry would do well to learn from Alyx’s successes and failures.
Manually loading magazines for your weapon feels like a revelation. The mere act of emptying and refilling chambers is recontextualized to something more frantic and harrowing under the hail of gunfire and the threat of facehugging aliens.
But the most important new feature is Alyx’s “gravity” glove. Aim your hand toward an object (anything from a bullet magazine to a tin can), hold down a button and flick your wrist toward yourself. The item will fly into your hand (provided you catch it). This trick never felt old, not once. But more importantly, it solves an ever-present problem in VR games in registering how to “collect” items. Gamefying reloading with simple hand motions takes a few minutes to get used to, but the sooner you get used to it, the faster you’ll feel like a super-soldier Jedi.
A midgame threat forces you to make as little noise as possible, a classic horror movie trope ala “A Quiet Place.” When two cans fell and I caught them just before they hit the ground, I purposefully whispered “yes!” rather than saying it out loud. The creativity of the moment, my quick response to it, and the terror of the situation all folded into a perfect virtual reality moment. This segment will likely become a popular discussion point among horror game developers.
Interacting with the virtual world is the game’s strength. Alyx’s hacking tool can manipulate electronic locks that circle around your body. Precise lever-pulling never felt more intuitive, because pulling on a lever is just like real life.
And yet, less than an hour in, the limitations start to become clear. As the game ramps up in intensity — enemy fire all around you — you’ll start missing the agility of standard first-person shooters like Doom Eternal. You’ll wish you could open doors with the press of a button, not by laboriously grabbing the handle and pushing it open.
It’s fair to compare Valve’s Half-Life series to Orson Welles’s “Citizen Kane.” Both are less known for their stories at this point, and more for how those stories were told, and their place in culture. Half-Life: Alyx is the closest thing to a “must-have” title in virtual reality. Ultimately, what Half-Life: Alyx is today is less important than what it may inspire.
See the full story here: https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/2020/03/31/half-life-alyx-vr-problems-future/