Game players face their demons in virtual reality
FB gives bots ability to negotiate, compromise
LOS ANGELES, June 15, (AFP): Zombies from the television series “The Walking Dead” and other demons are coming to life for video game players in virtual worlds.
With new virtual reality systems, gamers will be climbing into colossal war machines to battle high-tech armies, wandering mutantinfested post-apocalyptic wastelands and going toe-to-toe with demons in new offerings unveiled at the Electronic Entertainment Expo this week.
While play on consoles or Windowspowered personal computers continued to dominate the annual industry gathering, virtual reality flourished as game makers invested in the future.
The number of E3 exhibitors involved with virtual or augmented realities more than doubled to 126 from 53 last year, according to the Entertainment Software Association behind the event.
“This by far, is the most exciting E3 as it comes to virtual reality,” said YouTube director of gaming Ryan Wyatt.
Unveiled
Virtual reality versions of blockbuster video games “Fallout,” “Doom,” and “Skyrim” were part of a lineup unveiled by Bethesda Softworks.
“Virtual reality is something we have been at the forefront of for a while now,” said Bethesda vice president of marketing Pete Hines.
Later this year, shooter game “Doom” will “bathe you in virtual carnage” as a cybernetic survivor fighting off a demon invasion.
A VR version of “Fallout” will put players into a world destroyed by nuclear war, while they will face dragons in a full-length, open-world version of “Skyrim,” according to Bethesda.
Sony built on its library of games for its PlayStation VR gear, which works with topselling PlayStation 4 consoles.
More than a million PS VR units have been sold, along with some 5.25 million VR games.
Along with games, Sony is working on a VR “experience” spinning off the television series “Breaking Bad” in a partnership with producer Vince Gilligan.
Skybound Entertainment meanwhile announced it is collaborating on virtual reality games spinning off “The Walking Dead,” the post-apocalyptic television series.
“Our goal is to honor the visceral world that (Robert) Kirkman has created while giving the Walking Dead’s fans something to really sink their teeth into with robust games,” Skydance media chief executive David Ellison and operating officer Jesse Sisgold said in a statement.
A Skydance game titled “Archangel” shared behind closed doors at E3 let players take command a six-story-tall mechanized battle suit in a fight against a tyrannical corporation.
“Archangel” is to be released later this year.
“We decided to jump headfirst into the business of VR with ‘Archangel’ because we saw an emerging market and want Skydance to help write this story,” Skydance Interactive president Peter Akemann told AFP.
“We know we’re only at the tip of the iceberg with what VR can ultimately deliver as a gaming medium but we believe wholeheartedly in its long term potential and are investing in it as such.”
Sony, HTC and Facebook-owned Oculus are the top players in virtual reality head gear, each striving to stake out territory in the budding market.
And even though the VR audience is lean compared to the hundreds of millions of people with consoles or personal computers, game makers are prone to embracing new technologies and understand that compelling content can inspire consumers to follow suit.
“If you don’t start pushing the envelope, people won’t think about upgrading hardware,” YouTube’s Wyatt said of the drive toward richer graphics and immersive worlds in gaming.
“Publishers know the long-term payout that VR will have and are investing.”
Ultra-high definition graphics and virtual reality in games has been a bright spot in the personal computer, which is seeing that segment grow while the market overall declines.
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Facebook’s artificial intelligence researchers announced Wednesday they had broken new ground by giving automated programs or “bots” the ability to negotiate, and make compromises.
The new technology pushes forward the ability to create bots “that can reason, converse and negotiate, all key steps in building a personalized digital assistant,” said researchers Mike Lewis and Dhruv Batra in a blog post.
Up to now, most bots or chatbots have had only the ability to hold short conversations and perform simple tasks like booking a restaurant table, according to the researchers.
Photo-sharing app Instagram plans to roll out a feature on Wednesday that will make it easier to label posts as paid promotions, taking what it called a step toward transparency in an area that has drawn attention from US authorities.
Product endorsements have become more common on Instagram, owned by Facebook Inc, as celebrities and others with large followings on the social network have struck deals to talk up clothing, food and other items.
Known inside the industry as “influencers,” people promoting products are required under truth-in-advertising rules to tell fans about their compensation, according to the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). It is not clear how many do.