In our Developer Blog Series, we sit down with many of our VIVE colleagues who work with developers daily to highlight our way of thinking and help developers best take advantage of all the opportunities available at VIVE and VIVEPORT. This month, we’re chatting with Thomas Gratz in our San Francisco Office.
Please introduce yourself. What do you do for Viveport?
My name is Thomas Gratz and I’m a Senior Manager here at HTC, leading Developer Marketing for Viveport, which is HTC’s
Mindbenders is an all-new immersive VR 360 video series on Viveport Video, allowing viewers to get up close and personal with the principles of science. We sat down to chat with creators Tory Belleci, Kari Byron, and Grant Imahara to hear what inspired them to create this immersive new way to learn about the world around us.
Why is a video based learning experience like Mindbenders so effective?
Kari Byron: When I was a kid, learning science in school was always more fun when we got to get
Score the deal of the summer with 45% off Viveport Infinity
Viveport Infinity offers the best value in VR content with unlimited access to hundreds of titles for one low monthly fee. But the deal just got hotter. From today through June 23, you can purchase a 12-month Viveport Infinity membership for $6.99 a month, a 45% savings on the monthly plan.
A Viveport Infinity membership allows HTC VIVE, Oculus Rift* and Windows Mixed Reality owners to experience unlimited VR gaming with unrestr
Featuring the largest Arizona Sunshine mission to date, The Damned DLC is a new stand-alone story in the Arizona Sunshine universe that ties into the events of the previous Dead Man DLC, which had you scrambling to launch a nuclear missile to stop the advance of the undead.
In a story about the drastic measures taken and sacrifices made to try and contain the spread of the undead, you play as Liam, a survivor who not that long ago happened upon the military base at the refinery. As the pressu
A first-party VIVE Studios title developed by Fantahorn Studio, Front Defense: Heroes has been designed specifically for VR. Offering intuitive controls, sprawling battle maps, realistic World War II era weapons and the opportunity to engage in 5v5 strategic military operations with friends, Front Defense: Heroes has built a dedicated community of players in Early Access.
Since entering Early Access in December 2017 the Fantahorn has made significant gameplay updates based on player fee
Introducing The VIVE Pro Eye
The VIVE Pro Eye has launched. Developers will now be able to create more immersive experiences using precision eye tracking and foveated rendering. The headset features 120Hz tracking and 0.5°–1.1° accuracy for amazing eye tracking performance and is the preferred VR headset for NVIDIA Variable Rate Shading (VRS).
Needless to say, eye tracking is an exciting new technology. It allows for enhanced gameplay interactivity and simplified input and navigation—wit
Oculus Rift S and Oculus Rift users to receive two free months of unlimited VR gaming starting in June
To celebrate the addition of the Oculus Rift S to the greater VR ecosystem, VIVEPORTTM is gifting two months* of Viveport Infinity, Viveport’s subscription service, to all Oculus Rift S and Oculus Rift consumers. For the month of June, new and existing Infinity members with these new headsets can redeem two free months by signing into the service. With two free months of Viveport Infinity,
BSOD/Freezing issues may be encountered when the PCIe card is installed and setup. We have partnered with Intel and AMD to develop and test a hotfix for this issue that will be deployed to the VIVE Wireless Adapter Connection Utility on April 25.
To ensure you have the latest 1.20190410.0 update, click on the “Update now” button in your VIVE Wireless Adapter Connection Utility. This will walk through updating the software, including the hotfix for this issue.
The Curse of Palm Oil
This immersive film chronicles the lives of the indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia and their connection to their forests. Alarming deforestation rates threaten their very way of life, as they rely on it as their source of food, medicine and other vital materials. Experience the sounds and sights of the clash between the natural world of the rainforest with the machines involved with deforestation as this experience hammers home the tragic conflict between the indig
Today we are announcing to developers an early access release of the Vive Hand Tracking SDK for the Vive, Vive Pro and the Vive Focus (Wave platform). This SDK will provide the ability to track your hands, recognize gestures and on the Vive and Vive Pro track your fingers as well (21 point tracking).
For more info please attend the sessions at GDC on Vive Developer Day, Monday March 18.
Or just try out the SDK available now here: https://developer.vive.com/resources/
Viveport Review: Virtual Virtual Reality
Step into a whacky adventure in this comedic narrative about the future of humankind, AI, and virtual reality.
by Joshua Hawkins, Greenlit Content
To call Virtual Virtual Reality an interesting virtual reality experience is a bit of an understatement. The game handles the idea of a dark future well—humans replaced by AI as the dominant “species” on the planet—but never takes itself too seriously. It’s a fantastic little romp that leaves t
Viveport Review: Kobold: Chapter 1
Kobold blends cinema and virtual reality to create a chilling and memorable horror experience.
By Joshua Hawkins, Greenlit Content
Kobold: Chapter 1 is the first installment in a horror series that thrusts players into the dark and creepy forests of Germany as they explore an abandoned villa on the quest for clues, answers, and the truth about a missing boy and his family. While the experience itself is outstanding, what really sets Kobold apar
Viveport Review: Witching Tower
Step into a magic-filled adventure full of twists, turns, and puzzles galore.
By Joshua Hawkins, Greenlit Content
I absolutely love games that make you think, especially when they come in the form of old-school dungeon crawlers. Right from the start, Witching Tower does its best to build up a narrative that’s sure to entice players to want to explore the dark and magical world that Daily Magic Productions has created. Join Anna, a fugitive of the
Viveport Review: The Body VR
A fully immersive exploration of the human body at a cellular level, gain a first-hand lesson in biology from within the bloodstream through the power of virtual reality. The future of education is here!
By Desmond Madison, Greenlit Content
Shrunken down in a travel pod and injected straight into a human artery, The Body VR is like going on a Magic School Bus tour of human biology as narrated by a suspiciously Michael Caine-like tour guide. The exper
Viveport Review: Tilt Brush VR
Google’s 3D art suite makes it easy to draw, create, and inspire others in virtual reality.
By Joshua Hawkins, Greenlit Content
When Google first announced Tilt Brush, fans of virtual reality were wowed by the simplicity and intuitiveness that the program brought to the table when it came to creating works of art in a full 3D environment. Now, two years after Tilt Brush launched with the HTC VIVE, the program still continues to be one of the strong
Viveport Review: SUPERHOT VR
Bullet time takes the forefront in this striking and unique virtual reality experience.
By Joshua Hawkins, Greenlit Content
The idea behind SUPERHOT is simple. Time stands still until you start moving, at which point all the threats around you become active, moving in on you. It’s a game that forces you to think on your toes and stay ten steps ahead of the action. When SUPERHOT originally released, it turned the idea of bullet time—the slow-motion, m
Getting Started with VIVE Wave™ for Unity Developers (updated!)
First download the Wave SDK :
Legacy: if not yet on XR Management system (Unity 2019.4 and later e.g. if still on Unity 2018) https://developer.vive.com/resources/vive-wave/sdk/320/
Note: Porting to the VIVE Wave platform
General Porting Guides from Daydream (mobile) or from the VIVE to Wave are available here: https://hub.vive.com/storage/app/doc/en-us/PortingGuide.html Please note the following quick guid
Viveport Review: Glider Island VR
This gliding simulation brings the fun of old school retro games to virtual reality in a fresh new way.
By Joshua Hawkins, Greenlit Content
The idea behind Glider Island VR is simple. You take off from a launch point and then have ten minutes to glide around, collecting rings similar to those you might see in old retro games. It’s a simple idea for a simple application, and the simplicity pays off by offering a fun experience that never asks too
Viveport Review: Sairento VR
Dive into nonstop action and violence with this brilliant and addicting shooter.
By Joshua Hawkins, Greenlit Content
There is a lot to love about the first-person game, Sairento VR. When I say that the developers managed to pull off one of the smoothest feeling combat games in the entire VR catalogue, I’m not in any way joking. Gunplay is smooth, sword-based combat feels amazing, and all around, everything else just works. That being said, there’s
Viveport Review: Arizona Sunshine + Dead Man DLC
Step into the zombie apocalypse with this brutal and terrifying shooter.
By Joshua Hawkins, Greenlit Content
Arizona Sunshine was one of the first big titles to hit virtual reality devices, and while the game’s campaign is only a few hours long, it’s one of the premiere experiences available on the HTC Vive. If you dream of stepping into the zombie apocalypse (and why wouldn’t you), look no further.
On top of having great gunp
Viveport Review: Nevrosa: Escape
GexagonVR has managed to create a must-play escape room experience that takes full advantage of room-scale VR.
By Joshua Hawkins, Greenlit Content
Room-scale virtual reality has been a very large selling point for the HTC Vive since its initial release, and while many games have employed room-scale VR to help coax in players, very few have ever really taken full advantage of the room-scale system that Vive offers to create a riveting and immer
Viveport Review: Fruit Ninja VR
The fruit-slicing, bomb-avoiding mobile smash hit is back and more immersive than ever.
By Bill Loguidice, Greenlit Content
When it was first released back in 2010, Fruit Ninja took the mobile gaming world by storm. From there, it received ports to various other platforms, including Microsoft's Xbox 360 console with Kinect, and even the arcade.
In most versions of the game, players use a touchscreen to slice and splatter fruit, all while avoid
Viveport Review: Racket: Nx
Stylish visuals and clever audio make this VR fitness game stand far apart from the crowd.
By Desmond Madison, Greenlit Content
Loading up Racket: Nx feels nothing short of stepping into a cybernetic alien thunderdome from the future. Billed as an Arcade Space Sport, this game turns racquetball into an impossibly fast-paced fever dream that will genuinely have you breaking a sweat in minutes. There are plenty of other tennis and racquetball-based experi
