I am very honored, once again, to be asked to join the jury for the prestigious 2018 Epica Awards. Last year was the first time that a Virtual Reality category was added to the awards and AR/VR Magazine was asked to be on the jury.
The Epica Awards, which are often referred to as “the Golden Globes® of the communications industry,” had a lot of great participants last year and it was a tough call trying to pick the best of the best. Here are the results from last year’s winners.
I will share more about the 2018 participants on AR/VR Magazine when all the submissions are received. If you are interested in submitting your work to be considered for the awards, click the link below to sign up.
The registration period lasts until September 30, 2018. See you there!
Epica is the point where the creative industries (advertising, design, media, PR and digital) meet the world’s marketing and communications press.
Established in 1987, Epica is unique in the crowded awards sector as it is the only prize judged by journalists working for marketing and communications titles. More than 200 magazines and websites from around the world are on our jury.
Epica’s aim is to reward outstanding creativity and help agencies, production companies, media consultancies, photographers and design studios to develop their reputations beyond their national borders, attracting thousands of entries from more than 70 countries.
Today, we announced the launch of Playsnak’s latest VR game, Wanted Killer VR, available now on Steam Early Access. Based on the popular mobile game, Wanted Killer (more news on that soon) the game is an action packed VR first person shooter, which also encorporates booomVR technology in the game’s game lobby.
The game has a unique cartoon-style, cell shaded look, which makes it feel like you are inside a comic book, or an old GI Joe cartoon. It is super fun to play, very physical and so far, we have been getting a ton of great feedback and reviews. It is very exciting to finally get this game out and the guys at Playsnak did an awesome job!
Moving forward, I will be working with the publishing team to do quite a bit of marketing and promotion for this game, so expect great things!
Read the full press release below:
Wanted Killer VR Hits Steam Early Access Today
BERLIN – 23 May, 2018 – Serve up sweet revenge as old-school action and futuristic firepower collide in Wanted Killer VR – an intense arcade-style shooter available now on Steam Early Access for $9.99 or equivalent in local currency.
From Berlin-based developer Playsnak, Wanted Killer VR invites you to leap into combat and take down the evil GENETIC MINDS Corp. before their dreams of world domination become a reality. At your disposal you’ll have an arsenal of upgradeable weapons and a crew of hard-boiled heroes with unique gunslinging traits.
You’ll also have the game-changing ability to teleport from one target to the next in the heat of battle, stealing their guns and making them your own. These unique skills create a fast-paced combat experience that merges breathless action with subtle strategic possibilities. Think fast to rack up killer combos and enter a state of deadly, totally immersive bullet-time flow.
Further setting Wanted Killer VR apart from the crowd, the game has a unique visual style that truly comes to life in virtual reality. Get ready to feast your eyes on a host of spectacular settings as you stalk your prey across skyscrapers and through subway stations – all the time closing in on the awful truth behind GENETIC MINDS Corp.
You can sample Wanted Killer VR right now on HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality by downloading it on Steam Early Access. You can also see more of the game in action and hear from some of the team behind it in this trailer:
Founder and CEO of Playsnak, Paha Schulz, said: “We couldn’t be happier with how Wanted Killer VR is shaping up, and we’re really excited to continue development with input from Early Access players. The team has done an amazing job of creating a world where frenetic gameplay and individual tactical choice go hand in hand, and we can’t wait to hear what people think.”Game Director on Wanted Killer VR, P.J. Esteves, said: “Our goal is put players right at the heart of white-knuckle action sequences. You really are free to find your own flow and get creative in how you put the game’s innovative weapons to work. We had the chance to show the game at gamesweekberlin this month, and the feedback we received was overwhelmingly positive. Early Access will give an even wider audience a full-blooded taste of Wanted Killer VR, and we’ll be listening to everything they say as we keep working to make the game something really special.”
Wanted Killer VR is out now on Steam Early Access and coming soon to the Oculus Store. Find out more at the game’s official website and stay in touch with all the latest news on Wanted Killer VR at facebook.com/WantedKillerVR.
About Playsnak
Founded in 2015, Playsnak is a Berlin-based, globally-connected next-generation games company. Playsnak strives to create groundbreaking experiences for the maturing VR and AR markets. For more information, please visit http://playsnak.com.
This week, I am proud to announce the launch of Neon Seoul: Outrun, a VR hoverbike racing game for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. The game was developed in partnership with Playsnak and incorporates some of the technology from my other project, booomVR, to power the game’s game lobby and marketing portal. The game was launched on Oculus store with Steam and Viveport support will be coming very soon.
You can read the full press release below:
Take a White-Knuckle Ride Into The Future in Neon Seoul: Outrun – Available Now on Oculus Early Access
BERLIN – 7 December, 2017 – Get ready for the rush of VR hoverbike racing in Neon Seoul: Outrun—an all-new IP from Berlin-based developer Playsnak, available now on Oculus Early Access.
Set in a sprawling cyberpunk universe, Neon Seoul: Outrun places you in the driving seat of a maxed-out hoverbike primed to clock up speeds of over 1,000km/h. You are an OutRunner—a rebel racer defying the AI overlords that control your world, and risking your life for the thrill of unfiltered, off-the-grid speed.
As you weave past rivals and seas of automated vehicles, an innovative control system invites you to lean into VR and steer your bike with intuitive body movements. No two track experiences are ever the same in Neon Seoul: Outrun, giving you endless challenges to overcome as you race to an atmospheric synthwave soundtrack featuring artists such as Isidor, Raphael Gesqua, and Noise Symphony.
The game is also the first installment in a larger cyperpunk saga from Playsnak, which will grow to include different types of VR experiences and storylines set in the same futuristic world.
Game Director on Neon Seoul: Outrun, Patrick Esteves, said: “The game really harnesses the power of VR to give an authentic sense of speed and control in a racing game. Players will enter a universe where the sights, sounds, and stories all combine to fuel the adrenalin rush of fighting for first place. We’re bringing Neon Seoul: Outrun to Early Access today so our community can make its voice heard right from the start and help us to shape not only the gameplay, but also the immersive cyberpunk world we’re building.”
Neon Seoul: Outrun is the second new IP announced by Playsnak this month, following on from news that story-driven adventure Shaman: Spirithunter will come to Oculus Rift in 2018.
Founded in 2015, Playsnak is a global next-generation games company with offices in Berlin, Germany and Los Angeles, USA. Playsnak strives to create groundbreaking experiences for the maturing VR and AR markets. For more information, please visit https://www.playsnak.com.
I am very excited to announce that I have joined the Berlin-based virtual reality game company Playsnak. My role is to act as Senior Adviser for the marketing and publishing teams, helping to promote their next-generation Virtual Reality and Mobile Gaming experiences. Playsnak has a number of VR and mobile games that they will be releasing over the next year, which you can learn about here.
At the same time, Playsnak also partnered with my other venture, booomVR / Rocketbike ARVR, so I will have a dual role, acting as senior director and CMO for Playsnak Realms, which incorporates booomVR technology into their upcoming games.
Lots of exciting things happening, so stay tuned for more cool VR stuff!.
As I mentioned in my last post, I recently joined a new startup called Rocketbike ARVR as CMO & Creative Director. Last fall we pitched and received funding from the Vienna AWS Impulse XS to build a functional prototype for our first VR concept, which I am excited to say, is now completed!
booomVR is a virtual reality web browser and content aggregation platform. It allows for easy browsing, organizing and sharing of 2D, 3D, stereoscopic and 360 VR content within the same user interface.
Business Model
booomVR is targeted towards brands & VR content providers who need a marketing platform to reach VR end users: (aka the current 1.5 Million VR headset owners) We provide them with a solution that can: increase visibilty, discoverablity, engagement & time spent on content. Plus we can be platform agnostic, so it will work on any headset.
Our primary revenue models are providing licensing and advertising solutions to brands, content providers & advertisers. This includes:
White Label Licensing – Basic, Power, Premium & Distributor Liscensing Packages for brands that want their own app, powered by our software
Licensing Branded Content Channels, Portals / Environments in the Main booomVR App, which we will be launching later in the year
Advertising Opportunities within the app.
Seeking Partnerships!
Over the last two months, since we went public, there has been a whirlwind of activity and interest, including our first whitelable partnership, which I will be announcing very soon.
We have currently entered closed alpha release for Oculus Rift, with a closed beta coming soon and our main app launching later in the year. In the meantime, we are having a lot of discussions with investors, content partners and brands for both the main app and white lable projects.
If you are interested in more info on booomVR or how you can get involved, please get in touch!
Follow Us!
Since i’m pretty busy these days and don’t have a lot of time for my personal blog, I encourage you to stay up to date on all the latest info on booomVR and Rocketbike ARVR via the links below and by joining our mailing lists.
