Our series Inside XR Design examines specific examples of great XR design. Today we’re looking at the game Synapse and exploring the concept of embodiment and what makes it important to VR games.

You can find the complete video below, or continue reading for an adapted text version.

Defining Embodiment

Welcome back to another episode of Inside XR design. Today I’m going to talk about Synapse (2023), a PSVR 2 exclusive game from developer nDreams. But specifically we’re gonna to look at the game through the lens of a concept called embodiment.

So what the hell is embodiment and why am I […]

Since its February 2nd launch, Vision Pro has been a US-only device, which means it only supports the US keyboard layout and emoji. According to code found by MacRumors, Apple may be soon preparing for Vision Pro’s much-awaited international launch, as 12 new languages are about to be added, one of which is simplified Chinese.

Like every other Apple device, Vision Pro needs to support a wide array of local languages if it plans to have to sort of broad international launch the Cupertino tech giant is known for.

As indicated by MacRumors, code found in Vision Pro’s 1.1 visionOS […]

Jan ‘Split’ Ilavsky, founder of Beat Games and creator behind VR’s favorite block-slashing rhythm game Beat Saber (2018), left the studio late last month, stepping down from his position as the game’s Creative Director. Now, Ilavsky tells Road to VR he’s taking an extended break from VR altogether.

After creating one of VR’s most successful games financially to date, which generated over $100 million in revenue in 2021 alone, it’s safe to say Ilavsky deserves a break.

Jan ‘Split’ Ilavsky

Speaking to Road to VR, Ilavsky says he doesn’t have “any big plans ready now,” saying […]

YouTube has a ton of videos created for immersive viewing, but without an official YouTube app on Vision Pro, it’s a bit of a song and dance to get them to play. Moon Player however launched a Vision Pro app that, with significantly less hassle, not only unlocks YouTube’s library of VR video, but lets you play basically any video format regardless of origin. Yes. Even those.

Admittedly, the paid Moon Player app isn’t exactly a one-click solution, since pulling up a VR video from YouTube requires you to select the correct format first, i.e. […]

A widespread charging fault with Meta’s $130 Elite Battery Strap for Quest 3 forced the company to pause shipments back in December and start replacing units on a case-by-case basis. Now, it seems Meta has zeroed in on just which units could potentially be defective, and issuing what it calls “voluntary replacements”—but only if they contact you first.

Meta sent out an email recently to contact customers of its Elite Strap with Battery for Quest 3. Here’s one such email, courtesy X user @ezreeszy:

Image courtesy @ezreeszy

The charging fault, which rendered the battery […]

Virtuix, the creator of the Omni One VR treadmill, announced it now has a lineup of 35 games ready for the device’s broader launch later this year, including some big ones.

Omni One was originally pitched in a crowd-based investment campaign in 2020, but is now slated to arrive to customers sometime in Q2 2024, bringing the at-home version of its VR treadmill to non-investor enthusiasts for the first time.

We say ‘at-home’ version and not consumer version because the unit costs $2,595 (plus shipping). This admittedly comes with a fully-inclusive, full-body VR experience thanks […]

Apple announced that Vision Pro-native versions of two popular iOS games are coming to Apple Arcade next month, Crossy Road Castle and Solitaire Stories, both of which put an immersive spin on inherently flatscreen gameplay.

Coming to Vision Pro on April 25th, Crossy Road Castle and Solitaire Stories seem to highlight how the company is directly supporting development of games on its first XR headset. First, a look at the games for the uninitiated:

Crossy Road Castle, created by Hipster Whale, tasks players with platforming their way through an endlessly spinning tower. Collect Everything. Unlock Crossy Chicken and friends. […]

Perp Games and Spectral Illusions announced the VR horror title HappyFunland is coming to PSVR 2 and SteamVR headsets this month, letting you explore the abandoned remains of a theme park that promises some darkly comedic frights.

Here’s how the studios describes it:

You had never heard of HappyFunland theme park, or it’s tragic tale, when you agreed to meet a total stranger, named Larry, in the middle of a South Florida swamp. Perhaps if you would have known about the grisly events that happened there, you wouldn’t have agreed to the job!

In addition to a swath of spooky rides, the VR […]

SWARM (2021), the high-flying arcade shooter from Greensky Games, is one of the best-rated paid games on Quest, serving up fast-paced, arcade-style grapple shooting action as you battle against the titular Swarm. Now you can get your hands on the sequel, SWARM 2 (2024).

Announced late last year, single-player game Swarm 2 brings back more electrifying action in a rogue-like shooter package, including new environments, rogue-like progression, and globally competitive leaderboards.

In it, you play as Marv, the last surviving ‘grapple commando’, who uses their trusty pistol and grappling hook to battle back the Swarm and save Earth. Following the original Swarm, […]

UNDERDOGS (2024), the underground mech brawler from Racket: Nx (2019) studio One Hamsa, recently revealed the game’s development roadmap, which could also include a multiplayer mode in the future.

The studio outlined a number of future updates coming to Underdogs, which launched on Quest 2/3/Pro and SteamVR headsets earlier this year.

Here’s a brief rundown according to the game’s developer roadmap:

The Sandboxxer – will feature Sandbox Mode, which One Hamsa calls “a large kit of UNDERDOGS building blocks to play around with,” which includes test builds, enemies and props, and the ability […]

Apple’s significant impact on the market tends to draw attention from companies that might not have otherwise entered a specific product category—aka “The Apple Effect.” With the entrance of Apple Vision Pro, one such entity to follow suit is Stryker’s Mako, a robotic surgery group initially founded as a standalone company by Rony Abovitz, the founder and first CEO of AR unicorn Magic Leap.

Abovitz founded Mako Surgical in 2004, and left the medical robot company when it was acquired by Stryker for $1.65 billion in 2013, or just around three years after Magic Leap was […]

The Game Developer Conference (GDC) is coming up next week, which could give ByteDance’s XR subsidiary Pico Interactive a perfect opportunity to showcase what, according to a recent trademark and leaked controller model, could be its next standalone VR headset.

A post by X user and serial sleuth @Lunayian shows a 3D model scraped from the Pico Connect PC client, ostensibly showing off the right controller for the alleged Pico 4S.

These look similar to the alleged Pico 5 controllers leaked on Chinese social media in September 2023, which are notably different […]

Mighty Coconut, developer of indie VR hit Walkabout Mini Golf (2020), announced it’s partnering with Wallace & Gromit creators Aardman to bring a course inspired by the very same British boffin and canine pair.

The course is set to feature 18 easy mode and hard mode holes, and commemorative in-game putter and themed avatars all set in the world of Wallace & Gromit, the studio says in a blog post.

There’s no trailer out yet, although Aardman and Mighty Coconut say it will take players to duo’s 62 West Wallaby Street and pack in plenty of “humor, […]

This week Apple released its first significant update for Vision Pro, visionOS 1.1, bringing key enterprise features like the ability to enroll and configure headsets at scale, visual improvements for Personas, and more.

After a number of beta iterations VisionOS 1.1 is now rolling out to the public. The new update for Vision Pro adds some key features for enterprises that want to use and manage a fleet of headsets:

Mobile Device Management

Enables account-driven device and user enrollment using Managed Apple IDs
Support for device configuration (Wi-Fi, VPN, email accounts, single sign-on, and more)
Support for deploying apps in volume […]

Vision Pro doesn’t support motion controllers, however Apple published a new patent last month that describes an Apple Pencil-like device which could point the way for the company’s first Vision Pro-supported controller.

As reported by The Mac Observer, the so-called ‘Handheld Controllers with Charging and Storage Systems’ patent was published on February 29th, specifying a stylus-like controller that enables the user to input to an XR headset.

This includes “swiping motions, waving motions, writing movements, drawing movements, shaking motions, rotations, etc,” the patent says.

Image courtesy US Patent Office, Apple

As patents tend to do, it’s […]