World prime for ex-students of FHICT at the Virtual Game Night
This is made possible in part by technology developed by the VRee company in Eindhoven. VRee is a company that was founded by ex-students of FHICT! (i.a. Menno Bisschop & Andy Lürling). The player has to put on a suit and gloves and VR goggles. The VRee platform subsequently makes it possible to step into the virtual arena to play VRisb, based on ‘real’ Frisbee, with three other players.The objective of the game is to hit as many targets as you can as fast as you can and in this way generate a higher score than your opponents. The player can also choose one of three ‘power-ups’ that will give the game a nice additional twist.
According to Jos Feijen, director of the Effenaar, spectators will not get bored. “It is possible to watch the virtual arena on screens in the room as well as on a smartphone or a tablet. This way the spectator can support his/her team by giving ratings, which will in turn yield additional power-ups in the game.”
The event is an exciting moment for VRee, this is the first time the platform may expect feedback from an audience. “This is an important first step for VRee in the facilitation of our platform to events, arcade halls and eSports tournaments”, says Andy Lürling, CEO of VRee. “The game we’re introducing now is VRisb from the Pillow’s Willow VR Studio, also hailing from Eindhoven. More games will follow in the near future, such as tennis. Next to that our platform will also support shooters in the future, such as Call of Duty, in which you can play against other gamers all over the world using your entire body.” Menno Bisschop, CTO of VRee: "The platform will also support applications with regard to art and culture." According to Jos Feijen this evening totally fits the Smart Venue programme the Effenaar is currently implementing. "Smart Venue is an initiative in which the Effenaar combines its function as a pop stage with a laboratory function. This way we will introduce both the artists and the audience to the latest technologies."
In addition to the absolute first of the VRisb experience, visitors will also have the opportunity to try a number of other demos/sneak previews of Dutch VR games in HTC Vive and Oculus Rift configurations, among which Pillow’s Willow, chosen as the Best Dutch VR Game by RTL’s Bright TV.
The Virtual Game Night will take place from 19:00 to 22:30 in the main hall of the Effenaar. The ticket sale and signing up for playing VRisb will be open from next Saturday at 10:00 via the website of the Effenaar.
