Category: Augmented Reality Technology

Game designers in Newfoundland are breaking ground with a new type of virtual reality (VR) game.

Other Ocean Interactive, a game studio based out of St. John’s, Newfoundland is developing a VR video game called Giant Cop: Justice Above All. This interactive game will be one of the world’s first commercial virtual reality games and is a new type of game that promises to change how a player sees the world…mostly because they’re actually a giant police officer in charge of keeping a tiny-sized city safe.

Solve murders and literally throw criminals in jail.

The game, which is slated for a fall release will transform players into a giant police officer when they put on a compatible VR headset. The object of the game is to patrol the tiny streets of Micro City. In the open world game, players control the actions of Giant Cop with their physical movements as they move around the virtual landscape, which requires them to walk around in their own physical environment. The goal of the player is to manage the city as they see fit. They can enforce the law with a soft hand or an iron fist. How the citizens of the city view the player depends on the player’s actions.

According to Other Ocean Interactive’s studio head Ryan Hale, “If you’re not a careful giant cop, you might actually hurt the city that you’re trying to protect.”

Giant Cop was inspired by popular 1970’s and 1980’s cop shows, like Shaft and Starsky and Hutch, and is a satire of these shows as well as humorous take on modern day events like NSA digging through phone data or email.

The game’s producer Stephen Jeffers explained that “Almost like the old TV shows. We drew a lot of inspiration from things like Starsky and Hutch and Streets of San-Francisco.” Jeffers says that despite the unique VR experience, the game is propelled by its storytelling, reported CBC News.

The studio behind the upcoming VR video game wants to keep its operations local.

Other Ocean has been pushed into the spotlight due to the buzz surrounding its upcoming game. However, even though the studio, one of the pioneers in the VR industry, has now evolved from a local level to a global scale, Jeffers said that the company hires locally and wants to keep people in Newfoundland, preventing them from leaving the island for work.

Giant Cop is presently in development for several virtual reality platforms. Among these include the PlayStation VR, Vive and Oculus. Ocean plans to release its VR video game in the fall, just in time for the 2016 holiday season.

One of the first ever VR rides of this nature has now launched in the country in partnership with Samsung.

As of Friday, March 25, 2016, Six Flags Magic Mountain has released a new roller coaster using virtual reality goggles to help to add to the overall experience of the ride as guests experience every loop, twist and turn.

The New Revolution ride has now been launched at the theme park, in partnership with Samsung.

The purpose of the virtual reality experience on the Six Flags roller coaster is to help to give adrenaline junkies a more thrilling experience than the classic form of attraction at the park. The roller coaster provides every rider with VR goggles that give them the sensation of being a co-pilot in a fighter jet’s cockpit. They’ll feel every movement as they travel along the traditional roller coaster, but what they’ll be seeing is an even more enhanced experience to match it.

The virtual reality display aligns with the movements of the roller coaster’s tracks and provides a 360 degree view.

As the riders twist and turn their way along the roller coaster track, they’ll be able to see a city that is under attack by aliens in a very realistic VR three dimensional view. The ride starts as the riders whip their way through narrow city streets before they take off over top of the skyline, avoiding skyscrapers and other obstacles as the alien drones shoot at them.

One of the ride’s features makes it possible for the riders to tap the VR headsets they’re wearing in order to be able to fire the guns on their digital jet in order to attempt to hit the targets that are appearing throughout the time that the coaster ascends the lift.

This is meant to be only the first of a number of virtual reality roller coasters that will be added to Six Flags parks across the United States. It will represent the first wave of roller coasters to launch in North America this year, say park officials. In fact, there will be nine other Six Flags parks to launch their own VR coasters. Texas already launched its Six Flags VR Shock Wave on March 10.