G-Tune × AMD OcuFes 2015
I attended the G-Tune x AMD Ocufes on August 24, 2015 in Akihabara. Ocufes is a meeting of Oculus game developers in Japan, many of them being hobbyists, but some made by professional companies. I attended a similar meeting of Japanese Oculus hobbyists at the Nico Nico Chogikai event a few months ago: http://imgur.com/a/WbhxV Almost all the games at this event were different from those at the previous event. Here is my review of all the games and demos I was able to try. Strap in for a long (and hopefully enjoyable) ride! :)
I arrived at about 12:30pm, just after the event opened at 12 noon. Many people were already there. The event went until 6pm that day, so I had to try and cram in all the demos before it closed.
I started at the G-Tune booth which was near the entrance, but it was more of a booth for advertising their gaming laptops. They were showing “VR Ski Jump” on a DK2. Here is the website for the demo: http://ouka.s108.coreserver.jp/html/vr_skijump.html
The next booth over was the AMD booth with…. a Crescent Bay prototype! I had never tried Crescent Bay before, as it has never been shown at a publicly-attendable/non-press event in Japan until now (to my knowledge). There were only three people in line for it, so I lined up right away. They were showing the Crytek “Back to Dinosaur Island 2” demo. Here is a video of the demo from E3 2015: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoSnj7Zwj8o It was on a system powered by an AMD Fury X GPU. The Crescent Bay is so, so much better than the DK2. I have an IPD of 73mm, so the DK2 is extremely blurry except for a small sweet spot in the center. The view inside Crescent Bay was clear throughout my entire vision field. I’m really excited for CV1 now!
Next to the Crescent Bay demo, was a 360 degree video demo by AMD on a 390X+DK2.
The videos were taken in many different parks in the Tokyo area, and was shot on a custom-made hexacopter with a 360 degree GoPro setup. The staff there said the video was 5K, but the bitrate must have been extremely low, because the video was a blurry mess. My next thought was: “alright, I’m in Japan… so I need to try something really ‘uniquely Japanese’, quick!” I saw a guy air-humping a blowup doll on the other side of the room, so that was of course my obvious next choice!
I arrived at the demo booth, to the sight of a young Japanese kid with the most intense pelvic-thrusting action I have seen at an Oculus demo to date: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBXpCFKj91U I didn’t have a chance to take a look (closely) at the laptop screen running the game before the kid finished, when the developer suddenly asked me to try. I thought “what the heck, okay”, and put on the headset and grabbed the blowup doll. I was expecting to be greeted by a naked young anime schoolgirl or something similar… but all of a sudden I was transported into outer space above the Earth, and was greeted by a big, muscular black man with dreadlocks in a tight, white tracksuit. He started shouting “HEY MAN!! COMON COMON!! LETS GO! UGH UGHH UGHHH!!!” and started humping me, with techno music blasting in the background. WTF!?! O_O I was laughing so hard that I almost cried, as the developer pushed the blowup doll into me, shouting at me to hump it to raise my score.
The blowup doll was rotationally tracked using an iPhone placed inside of it, and connected to Unity. There was a giant cosmic scoreboard hovering over the planet, keeping track of how many thrusts I made. Fireworks exploded over the planet at the end, and I had to regain my sanity and self-dignity before talking to the developer.... He said that the demo used a model of a schoolgirl before, but the Ocufes staff explained that they couldn’t use it, so they swapped in this big muscular black man instead for the event. He hasn’t decided on a name for the game yet, but is tentatively calling it “Space Battleship Girlfriend”.
After that life-changing experience, I tried a demo called “Overstream” by Frame Synthesis. Here is their site, and a video of the demo: http://framesynthesis.jp/games/overstream It is a game where you stand on a platform that is moving in a stream, and you pick up coins. For being such a simple concept, it was actually quite immersive and fun. The scale felt perfect, and when I fell down the waterfall at the halfway point, it actually felt like I was falling.
Next up was a shooter/flying game called "Ring for VR", that used an iPhone inside of a VR One headset. The controller was unique: a small ring that you put on your index finger. You move the ring up/down/left/right/diagonally to move your ship, and touch a small button on the side of the ring to move your “wingman”, who is helping you destroy enemies. You automatically fire your weapons every second, and have to destroy enemy ships and fly around obstacles. The controls were very intuitive, and this game was simple, yet fun. Here is a site that describes the “Ring Zero” controller: http://tabi-labo.com/171080/ring-zero-logbar/
After that demo, I tried a roller-coaster game called "Sweet Coaster", that a female developer made. It started off in a Victorian-decorated room, and you are having tea and treats with a girl, who is sitting infront of you. You chat for a bit, then you have to look down at the sweets on the table to start the ride. The coaster was a very relaxing and gentle ride around a sweets-filled cutesy paradise. The developer used a fan to blow air at you, then sped the fan up and slowed it down as you changed speed in the game. She also sprayed a mist of water when near a waterfall. A very simple demo, but it was quite relaxing.
Next up, I tried a game called “Spatial Jockey”. It utilized a Leap Motion attached to the front of the DK2. Your hands were metallic robot hands, and the point of the demo was just to wave your hands to the music, as you are transported to many psychedelic scenes with spinning space whales, dolphins, rainbows, etc. This would be a fun demo to do with drugs. Website for the demo: http://psychic-vr-lab.com/portfolio/SpatialJockey
The next demo, was yet another “uniquely Japanese” demo, called "抱きしめ♡Tuneちゃん". I had to wait in line for about 30 minutes to try this – and I’m glad I did, because later in the day the line grew extremely long, to easily over an hour wait.
The demo consisted of you in a tent (for privacy) with a virtual girlfriend, and a bunch of haptic devices. During the demo, you would hug, poke, tickle, talk, and kiss each other. At the end, you watched fireworks together out the window of the Japanese home you were in. There was a small body pillow put over your legs, connected to a motor that would pull down on your legs, to simulate the sensation of someone sitting on your lap. You were also holding a small pillow with a sensor inside, and when you squeezed the pillow, the girl would say “tee-hee!” and react like you were giving her a hug. The DK2 headset had a leap motion on the front of it, so you could see your hands. A fan was connected to an Arduino board on top of the DK2, and would blow air in your face when the girl blew a kiss at you. There was also a bone conduction transducer placed on your face, that would give you a sensation when she poked you. It was an interesting demo, and quite immersive. I could see something like this selling well with guys that have trouble getting girlfriends, or just simply prefer anime waifus.
After my cuddling session, I tried a game where you dodge and deflect marshmallows, called “Super Marshmallow Catch”. You stood in a field, and a whole lot of marshmallows would fly at you, then you had to hit them with your face. Getting a yellow marshmallow unleashed a hailstorm of marshmallows, and a green one took away points. This game was very active, and I worked up a big sweat because of the amount of movement you have to constantly do. It was quite fun.
Next up was “Sexy Beach Premium Resort”. It consisted of you picking a girl from about 10 different girls in a 3D menu, then it transported you to a scene, where you would observe and ogle them. For my demo, there was a girl taking a shower in a bathtub with a swimsuit on. There was really no interaction – just viewing.
To the side of the demo was a large touch-screen TV, where you could rotate and touch girls in different places, making them scream “eeeyaaa~!” and react. Here is a video of the touchscreen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0W-NYb5VVPQ Also, the company website: http://www.illusion.jp/preview/sb_pr/index.html
It was about 3pm now, and the place was getting very crowded....
Next, was a 3D pottery / metallic painting game called "Cygames VRコンテンツ", that used a leap motion. You used your finger to paint a 3D picture, which I guess is a bit similar to Tilt Brush? You had a separate controller in your other hand, which you used for spinning the table you were painting on, and buttons for applying or removing the metallic paint. If Tilt Brush is as fun as this was, I will definitely buy it.
Following that was a very relaxing game called "Cruise Rift", where you just sat on a boat that was cruising out on the ocean. You were in a big reclining chair, and the developer blew air at you with an uchiwa and a fan, and transported you to different areas on the boat. It was very simple, but relaxing.
Next to that game was a DDR-like game called "HeadBeat", where you had to collect certain shapes as they zoomed at you in 3D space. It was fun, but had very basic graphics.
Next was a game called "BLAST BUSTER", where you you flew through space, destroying colorful asteroids. The game uses a Leap Motion, and you would wave at each asteroid to select it for destruction with your missiles. It was fun, but a bit repetative. Website for the demo: http://www.circle-hydrangea.net/blast-buster/
Following that was the infamous perverted “Ab Roller game”, called “腹筋ローラー/Fukkin Roller”. You used an exercise roller device to roll back and forth on the floor, while looking up a girl’s skirt at her panties. Here is a Vine of this demo that was on the Oculus reddit page a few days ago: https://vine.co/v/eju3za36hjO Also, a video: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm26641792 The perverted gamers among us could get some killer abs with this game!
Next was a quadcopter training game, where you were given a big RC controller. You could fly a quad around a virtual Japanese schoolyard in either FPV (firt-person-view) mode, or from the normal groud-sight mode. The developer made this game for training to fly his quadcopter in VR, without the risk of crashing a real quad. The controls were quite responsive and realistic – it felt like flying a real quadcopter. Next to that were two games made by students during a Game Jam session in Fukushima prefecture. For one of them, you created your own firework, placing colors around the central core, then saw it shoot up and explode in the sky. The other game was a simple balloon-flying game, where you were flying across the landscape while holding onto a bunch of balloons, and had to drop boxes onto targets.
After those Game Jam games, I tried a game where you were placed in a very dark maze, and had to navigate with a controller to find the end. It felt a lot like Dreadhalls, but a bit less scary. A large demon attacked just as you were about to go through the exit.
Next up, was a Hatsune Miku dance demo. It was just like many of the MMD Oculus demos out there, but with a bunch of pretty effects like those seen in the Unity-chan Candy Rockstar demo. The scale seemed way off, it seemed like Miku was 10 feet tall.
After that, I tried a game called "ODShooter", that had very simple graphics, yet was quite fun. It felt a bit like a mash-up between Starfox and Space Invaders. You flew around in a triangle in 3D space, and shot at enemy ships with missiles and your lasers. It had really great 8-bit sound effects and the controls were on a gamepad, but really responsive and intuitive.
Next up, was “Fake Rift”. It is like Google Cardboard, but made out of giant lenses, shop glasses, and a simple plastic holder for a tablet. He said that he made everything out of parts he got from a hardware store for ~2000yen (~$20 USD). The demo was a roller coaster demo.
Following Fake Rift, was a promotion VR video experience to promote a novel series, called "Mushi Hime /蟲姫". It felt like an anime intro sequence, with voice actors voicing the different characters, and a scene where you are attacked by many insects. It was actually quite well done.
After that, was a game I really, really enjoyed. It was made by the same team that made “Hashilus” and “Tokyo Urban Coaster”, that I reviewed at the NicoNico Chogikai. The demo was called “VRNSystem”, which means “Virtual Reality Novel System”.
You were put into a dark and scary Japanese home, and a radio on the table was broadcasting a spooky story. The story was about many things going wrong, and then having to trudge back in the snow after your car broke down (I think?). There was a little Japanese doll that would appear in different places in the room suddenly, which scared you. You would occasionally get blasted with giant pulses of air, because the staff was holding a powerful air nozzle that was powered by an air compressor. He would blast you at certain times in the story, when the blasts coincided with events and scary moments from the radio broadcast. The seat also vibrated a lot -- I think they were using a Buttkicker. At the end, the person in the radio story re-thinks what happened, and realizes he was not alone at that time, and some spooky thing was following him. A scary figure appears at the end, and the radio broadcast ends. The atmosphere was so fantastic in this demo. Team Hashilus does really great work.
Next, I tried yet another "only in Japan"-type of game. It was a Unity-chan teeth brushing simulator. You were given a DK2 with a web camera strapped on top of it, and held a toothbrush with a QR code cube on it.
In the game, when you reach out to brush Unity-chan's teeth, the toothbrush you are holding started to vibrate once the brush entered her mouth. Inside the QR code cube was a small motor that vibrates. It felt just like brushing someone's teeth with an electric toothbrush would. Here is a video of an older build of the demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3nQTQ2up34 Also, website for the demo: https://makershub.jp/make/228
After getting Unity-chan's teeth sparkly-clean, was a mod for HL2VR. You are on a gondola/lift ride that brings you through a shooting range with many targets. Since it was mouse controls, it was really simple and easy. The course was laid out quite well, and was interesting.
Next, was a game similar to "Super Marshmallow Catch", but in the seated position. You wore a hardhat with a Japanese paper fan attached to it, and had to fight a Nintendo Virtual Boy. The Virtual Boy shot many different game consoles at you, and you had to deflect them back at the Virtual Boy with the paper fan on your head to kill it. For how simple this was, I really enjoyed it. I never thought I would be fighting a Virtual Boy boss-monster while wearing an Oculus Rift DK2.
Following that was "space race", where you race a spaceship around a track in space. It felt a bit like Mario Kart's rainbow road, since you are racing on a 2D transparent plane. It was in a very beta-state, but could be a lot of fun with a lot more work. Here is a video of it: http://www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm26600273
Shironeko VR was there, and I played it for a bit. It was the same game I have played dozens of times in the DK2 and Gear VR, so I quit half-way and headed to a different demo. Shironeko VR on Share: https://share.oculus.com/app/shironeko-vr-project--vr
Following that was a horror game, called "Hoculus". You had to walk through a dark and scary Japanese train, with blood stains and randomly appearing monsters inside it. It actually wasn't that scary at all, and I hope the developer can add a bit more horror to it in an update.
Next up was a Minecraft-like game called "Simrea", where you use colored blocks to build up a world. The interface and menu system felt a lot like Janus VR. It was in a very beta state, so you could only add or remove colored blocks where you looked, that is it. Website for the demo: http://simrea.tumblr.com/
Following that, was a custom-made virtual web browser, called "Unbounded Space 3". You could create or remove windows all around you, and it created a custom web page for each search term you entered. Website for the demo: http://magicbullet.hatenablog.jp/entry/OcuFesSummer2015_JP I wanted some more time with this demo, but one of the staff announced on the loudspeaker that it was 6pm, and time to shut everything down. Here are some other demos that were there that I wanted to try, but didn't have time to:
This was a multiplayer game called "はらぺこ大王の料理番", where one person throws food at the other, and they have to catch the food and put it on their plate, without it falling off the table. Developer's website: http://nill.jp/vrc/
Another game is where you lay on Unity-chan's lap. I had already tried this game at my home, since it is downloadable from the internet. Website for the demo: http://www.up-frontier.jp/activity/1566/
There was a game where you sit in a comfy chair, and look around in a place called "Home 360". The line was too long though, probably 40 minutes or more. Website for the demo: http://home360.co.jp/
Custom Maid 3D 2 was there, and had a long line. You can buy or try this in your own home, so I had no need to wait in line to try it. Company Website: http://kisskiss.tv/cm3d2/
I really wanted to try this contraption, but it was broken all day. I wonder what type of demo or game it is?
There was a game where you are a deck gun and shoot at many dragons. I wanted to try this, but just ran out of time. Here is a video of it in action: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMK4888yzZA
There were also many Google Cardboard and other VR devices there, but I didn't try many of them, and the ones I tried were not that special. The one here I tried was a basic dating game with Unity-chan. During the dating scenes, you had to make choices on where to go (shopping, park, sight-seeing, etc), and it played out like a visual novel. The demo ended with a re-skinned version of her singing Candy Rockstar, which is the same as the Unity 3D public demo. There were other demos there that I had seen before at the last event, and therefore didn't cover again. For some others, I didn't have time to try or even take a picture of... sorry. It's too bad that most of these demos and games are not publically available for download on the internet. If you are in Japan one day and there is an Ocufes, you should go! Check for info on this site: http://www.ocufes.jp/ Until next time!