Joe van den Heuvel

Founder, Phantom Animation. Former Apple, Valve, HoloLens, EA. Board @ SecondStory Rep

[Joe van den Heuvel @ImplicitAction]

I'll be at AWE in Long Beach next week — say hi if you're around!

[Joe van den Heuvel @ImplicitAction]

After 25 years in games and XR I've started something new.
Phantom Animation is a studio for live animated performances. Not a recording, not a film, not a game — theatre that happens once and is never the same twice.

https://t.co/7nlIHSTWSc

[Joe van den Heuvel @ImplicitAction]

@animtechdebt Congrats, looks amazing!

[Joe van den Heuvel @ImplicitAction]

Having a full circle moment; having fun developing using an API standard I helped draft a small piece of and (in one instance) implement.

[Joe van den Heuvel @ImplicitAction]

If you’re in the Seattle area, come see our production of The Cake at SecondStory! Proud to be working with this talented cast and crew. https://t.co/v3x5ItlRVp

[Joe van den Heuvel @ImplicitAction]

@clongmire42 We used this a lot in Half-Life: Alyx. The soldiers needed to transition between sprinting forward and straffing to aim at the player. What really worked well was having run-to-idle spin transitions so they would turn to face the target as they came to a stop.

[Joe van den Heuvel @ImplicitAction]

@NeilCastle @QuantumG You mean Microsoft when we released HoloLens 10 years ago? That company?

TBH I’ve had these views for quite a while, and have sought out companies doing work in this area, not the other way around.

[Joe van den Heuvel @ImplicitAction]

I believe AR/VR will eventually see broad adoption, but it won’t be games that drive the demand. It will be productivity, just like it was for all the other major computing platforms, and games will follow after.

Thread/

[Joe van den Heuvel @ImplicitAction]

@NeilCastle @QuantumG Basically any scenario where viewing information in-context would reduce time, costs, or mistakes. If it makes a business money, then it becomes an easy purchase.

[Joe van den Heuvel @ImplicitAction]

@NeilCastle @QuantumG Imagine a contractor being able to see where the pipes and wires are behind existing walls without making a hole. See if you like a paint color on your room before you paint it. Walk through a new layout for a retail store to optimize product placement.

[Joe van den Heuvel @ImplicitAction]

@Haulik Maybe so. The thing giving me pause here is the human factor. Wearing something on your face enters a whole new social dynamic, as the GlassHole phenomenon showed us. I’m curious 10 years later to see the public’s reaction to the meta ray-ban glasses. So far it seems positive

[Joe van den Heuvel @ImplicitAction]

@EnOle_ I don’t know if XR will ever fully replace smart phones. Smart phones didn’t replace the laptop/desktop; each are better at different things.

[Joe van den Heuvel @ImplicitAction]

So, what does that mean for mainstream XR game design? My guess:
- Hand tracking, not controllers
- AR, with VR optional
- Seated
- When in VR, teleport as default

And dedicated XR gaming devices will be the opposite.

[Joe van den Heuvel @ImplicitAction]

There will be dedicated gaming VR headsets that target improved gaming experiences, like the Switch is to the iPhone in the mobile space today. But those won’t be what ushers in the mixed reality future that many are pursuing.

[Joe van den Heuvel @ImplicitAction]

@lFibreOpticl and since the mocap actor naturally looks in the direction they are about go, the result meant that the characters head would look ahead on the path just by playing the full-body animation unmodified.

[Joe van den Heuvel @ImplicitAction]

An early test of the npc locomotion tech developed for #HalfLifeAlyx #animation #VR

[Joe van den Heuvel @ImplicitAction]

@lFibreOpticl Not in the video above, no. Procedural look-at logic was sometimes added as a layer on top when the AI wanted to make the character look at the player. But the system works by picking the animation clip based on the corner the character is _about_ to turn…