Seattle’s next unicorn? Valve and Disney vets raise $5M to build online VR games at BigBox VR
“I’m going to teach you how to fly.”
This was no ordinary tech demo. I strapped on a headset, grabbed two controllers, and entered a giant new world where BigBox VR CEO Chia Chin Lee appeared alongside me atop a building, eager to show off his company’s newest creation, Population: One.
For the next half hour, I was engrossed in a unique virtual reality experience, duking it out with teammates in a battle royale-style multiplayer game that involved using my arms and hands to climb up just about anything, shoot at the opposing squad — and yes, fly above it all.
As I took off the headset and wiped the beads of sweat off my forehead, it became easier to understand why top investors are betting on this young Seattle startup.
Population: One borrows mechanics from popular battle royale games such as Fortnite or PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds that have been immensely popular among PC and console gamers over the past few years. But it sets itself apart with features unique to VR, allowing gamers to climb, fly, and shoot as if they were actually doing so in real life without discomfort some may have felt with earlier versions of VR technology. BigBox calls this “FreeMotion,” which it developed after researching player comfort in virtual reality.
See the full story here: https://www.geekwire.com/2018/seattles-next-unicorn-valve-disney-vets-raise-5m-build-online-vr-games-bigbox-vr/