Ben Lang

Reporting on XR for a decade+, co-founder of leading independent VR news pub @RtoVR. Journalist & analyst, not evangelist.

[Ben Lang @benz145]

In addition to running @RtoVR, I also host the Inside XR Design video series with deep dives exploring key concepts that make great immersive content. See all the episodes here: https://t.co/jwXSCyKqQ4 or read on for a summary of each to see if there's one you want to dive into.

[Ben Lang @benz145]

What’s the thing that makes you feel the most like we’re “living in the future”?

[Ben Lang @benz145]

Anyone else got one of these bags?

[FUNKTRONIC LABS @funktroniclabs]

we're making a mini MMO with top down combat inspired by classic Zelda games

coming this year. beta live on Steam, play now 👇

[Ben Lang @benz145]

@Esfekia Interesting, thanks for sharing your research!

[Ben Lang @benz145]

What’s the state of the art on AI dungeon masters for long term D&D campaigns? Has anyone nailed this yet?

[FUNKTRONIC LABS @funktroniclabs]

The FINAL Light Brigade update is live!

✅Steam Frame verified support
🗺️A brand new playable world: "Lebes"
🃏+38 new tarot cards (total 99 cards now)
⚙️New run customization options

Live now on Steam and Meta, PSVR2 coming soon!
Grab the game on sale now 👇

[Ben Lang @benz145]

@reverendkjr @andrewtek Yeeesh that takes me back. I’m wearing Google Glass 😂

Gameface was ahead of its time for sure. Unfortunate they never really got off the ground.

[Ben Lang @benz145]

This looks really fun: https://t.co/iCAV6oohuy

[Brad Lynch @SadlyItsBradley]

Play Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow with only your eyes and hands

My Flat to XR Emulator already supports full gamepad or keyboard, but I wanted this as a comfy fallback

I did A TON of polishing over the weekend. Preparing to send this to TestFlight. And expand XR to other games later

[Ben Lang @benz145]

Alright… this is really interesting.

[Lucas Martinic @lucas_martinic]

14/100 I had to jump into this train, porting old games into newer platform is becoming easier and cheaper than ever with AI, would love to see @Nintendo or @PlayStation doing original, modern remakes!

PD: I own an original copy of the N64 game.

[Ben Lang @benz145]

@Avirtualfuture It should be for a writing position 😂

[Ben Lang @benz145]

If all of the world’s toilet paper suddenly disappeared, what would be the biggest impact on society?

[Ben Lang @benz145]

@chrisgrayson Everywhere all at once like magic. Supply chain infra still exists, but the TP literally disappears out of the machines. The supply can recover.

[Ben Lang @benz145]

We're entering the age where someone will go to AI to ask for a product recommendation and the AI will search the web to research the recommendation, only to find recommendation that was generated by AI in the first place.

[Ben Lang @benz145]

@_Arkanian At least 6

[Ben Lang @benz145]

Still waiting for the billionaires of our generation to start self-funding the creation of wacky AAA games that have no hope of turning a profit, but will exist just because they want to play it themselves.

[Ben Lang @benz145]

@PopeUrban There’s a handful if companies doing this today and the devices are getting better and better. Check out VITURE / XREAL.

[Ben Lang @benz145]

Really cool idea and execution! Here’s the thing though, this doesn’t actually make the game any better than playing outside of a headset. It’s a nice-to-have presentation, but the fundamental gameplay is unchanged, meaning the most accessible and comfortable way of playing the game is still not putting on a headset.

(This is the same problem 90% of made-for-VR games have: they are designed around the tropes of flatscreen gaming, and do very little with the headset that directly enhances the gameplay beyond the experience of a flat screen. If you see a VR game with icon-based inventory management controlled with a laser pointer… this is what you’re looking at)

However, once headsets are more comfortable and we’re spending more time in them *anyway*, it’ll be great to have these kinds of more interesting visual presentations of flatscreen content available, even if it doesn’t change the actual game.

Brad is someone who already spends tons of time in a headset, so making this kind of visualization as a hobby project makes total sense, and it’s awesome to see his experimentation and progress.

[Brad Lynch @SadlyItsBradley]

Improved the Character sprites to walk smoothly

Added 3D Dialogue/Context Bubbles that appear over the interacted character’s head

Experimenting with a Mixed Reality “Room” Feature that reskins your real world with textures from the game area you’re in

Battles are still WIP

[Road to VR @RtoVR]

Steam Frame Launch Looks Imminent Following FCC Certification

https://t.co/rQESXjUdzD

The launch of Steam Frame has grown tantalizing close following the publication of documents from the FCC showing the headset has cleared required regulatory certification.

[Ben Lang @benz145]

@Heaney555 Office documents and web browsing

[Ben Lang @benz145]

Is Macbook Neo a good deal for someone wanting a budget productivity laptop under $700?