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Affordance at the Game Developers Conference 2016

Affordance attended the GDC on March 14-18 to see what the world of games and technology has to offer. It was really amazing and here are some of the many highlights!

First of all, we had the chance to try out the DeePoon VR M2, designed by Le Xiang Technology Ltd. This VR headset has impressed many high-end VR enthusiasts with its built-in motherboard, trackpad on the side of the headset, Samsung 2K OLED display with 2560 × 1440 resolution, and 96° FOV. Needless to say, it impressed us too!

photo: http://www.allchinatech.com/deepoon-launches-its-all-in-one-vr-headset-for-mass-production/

We also liked the long-distance HD Intel RealSense R200 camera. Compatible with tablets, the RealSense R200 can execute a complete 3D body scan of a person. Another cool feature of R200 is that it can read body motions like a head tilt or fingers waving in the air so you can navigate through a computer interface. Pascal Nataf, president and co-founder of Affordance and Kim Berthiaume, creative director and co-founder, scanned themselves at the event. Spin them around in any direction you want!

Pascal Scan
by affordance
on Sketchfab

Kim Scan GDC 2016
by affordance
on Sketchfab

Combined with the Uraniom technology, the RealSense R200 can transform your 3D body scan into an avatar for any video game. Intel has also developed the Faceshift software which reads and reproduces facial expressions for 3D avatars. Talk about avatar personalization!

source: http://tapahont.info/2015/10/uraniom-creer-son-double-numerique-pour-devenir-le-heros-de-son-jeu-pgw/

We also met the Malaysian game studio ChemCaper which has developed the first RPG game for chemistry students. The game uses Pokemon-style mechanics which will definitely engage children… and even many adults! It’s good to know that other businesses out there share our mission to bring learning games to the world.

source: http://unpauseasia.com/?p=2815

The Manus VR gloves are the first gloves to be developed for the consumer market. Coming from Germany, Manus has made its gloves intuitive so that interacting with the virtual world is as easy as putting on your winter gloves to shovel the driveway. Hopefully, it’s a little more exciting though!

source: http://www.slashgear.com/manus-vr-gloves-let-you-use-your-hands-as-vive-controllers-12431261/

Unlimited Hand is a haptic wristband that sends feedback to the user via electric shocks. So you can really feel like you’re petting a cat or getting hit by an archer’s arrow! Our creative director, Kim, tried the wristband out. She reports that the first shocks were somewhat ticklish but the last shocks stayed with her for 5 minutes after the demo. We’ll have to wait to see how this technology develops in the future.

source: http://techcrunch.com/2015/09/21/h2l-launches-their-next-gen-unlimitedhand-vr-haptic-controller/

We really feel that virtual reality was the main attraction at GDC this year – a sign that plenty of new experiences will soon be available to consumers and gamers all over the world. In fact, the HTC Vive and the Playstation VR are already coming out in September, 2016. Despite the fact that it is barely in its infancy, we are excited to explore the new VR frontiers as well as all the other technological innovations we saw at GDC. We promise to keep you posted as we make new discoveries and find ways to integrate these cool, new gadgets into all of the games we’re making.

See you soon!