Wreak Havoc And Raise Cities To The Ground In VRobot For HTC Vive, Oculus and PSVR

Something went badly wrong… Robots and driverless cars have flooded Earth! Humans have built a Giant Robot to help reclaim civilisation, enter VRobot!

Moscow, Russia – 1st June, 2017 – Independent VR development studio Luden.io today announced its city sized robo smash ‘em up, ‘VRobot’ is now available exclusively on Steam for HTC Vive via the Early Access program for £10.99/€14,99/$14,99. Other major VR platforms such as Oculus Rift and PlayStationVR will follow later this year.

Earth has been taken over by robots! Humanity’s last hope now rests with the giant VRobot built to combat the invasion and wipe the slate clean. Destroy everything in your path and help rid the earth of the robot scourge!

VRobot can acquire various weapons to annihilate major cities as well as the new robot overlords. Use a devastating tractor beam to pull skyscrapers towards you and fire them out to sea. Summon gigantic tornadoes capable of sucking up entire neighbourhoods and direct them with your tornado maker device. Battle SuperRobot 3000 and restore civilisation so humans can return to their homes.

“What started life as a test project for Epic Games Mega Jam in 2016 has literally turned into something mechanically monstrous!” commented Oleg Chumakov, CEO of Luden.io. “We’re really looking forwards to adding a giant robot sized amount of content to VRobot in Early Access, getting feedback from the community and ultimately launching the game across all VR platforms later this year.”

About VRobot:

• 8 cities to destroy
• 2 additional weapons to unlock (Tractor Beam & Tornado Makеr)
• Run amok against the clock! Ensure 100% destruction within the time limit
• Awesome interactive with objects (shake buildings, speak with robots, catch planes and ships)
• Great realistic entourage (shadows, changes of time of day, dusks and downs)
• Full support at Early Access
• Due for launch across all major VR platforms 2017

VRobot is available on Steam Early Access here
VRobot official website is here
VRobot assets can be found here
VRobot YouTube trailer can be found here<

Follow Luden.io:
Official Website
On Twitter
On Facebook
On YouTube

About Luden.io
Luden.io was initially started as a Research and Development group at Nival. Nival’s track record includes best-selling PC strategy games like Blitzkrieg, Heroes of Might and Magic V, Silent Storm and Etherlords.

First experiments in VR started in 2013 with the very first development kit from Oculus. Free games InMind and InCell were published in 2015 for all VR platforms including Google Cardboard, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Gear VR. The games reached over 3 million installs.

The company is working on a new ways of mixing science and gaming as well as experimenting with VR and AR devices. More at https://luden.io/

MIDAS TOUCH INTERACTIVE LAUNCHES “MIDAS CREATURE” – 2D AUTOMATED ANIMATION ENGINE AND WORKFLOW TO QUICKLY AND EASILY CREATE COMPLETE ANIMATIONS

Developed by Veteran Technical Director at Pixar, Jiayi Chong, Premium Editions of Cutting-Edge 2D Animation Software Now Available

REDWOOD CITY, CA – (June 1, 2017) – Midas Touch Interactive, a groundbreaking physics based animation and VR/AR interaction technology studio, today released its latest product, Midas Creature – a Directable Automated Animation Engine and workflow for quickly and easily creating complex 2D animations for video games and other creative applications. As part of the product rollout, the company is also launching a new website that contains product information along with a purchasing shop.

Midas Creature was developed by Jiayi Chong, a former Technical Director at Pixar Animation Studios whose experience includes working on many feature films, including Toy Story 3, Wall-E, UP, Brave, and Monsters University. Chong’s role at Pixar spanned ten years and involved developing physics simulation tools and engines, including simulations for rigid body dynamics, deformable solids, cloth, hair, fluid dynamics, and skin simulation tools. In his role as Technical Director of Animation for Midas Touch, Chong leads his team on creating cutting-edge animation pipeline and service, such as Midas Creature, that is made available to both internal projects as well as licensing partners.

“Midas Creature is the ideal pipeline for game developers and anyone else looking for a more powerful, efficient, and easy-to-use 2D animation process,” said Kevin He, CEO of Midas Touch Interactive. “The Directable Automated Animation Engine of Midas Creature allows you to create animations you might have previously thought impossible with key frame or flash animation. This includes motion like hair and cloth fluttering in the wind, as well as 3D-to-2D Mocap transfer.”

Video game developers and others can use Midas Creature’s powerful Skeletal Rigging and Animation tools to build, pose, warp, and bring their art to life. These tools are made to streamline the user’s workflow, reducing time and money spent while maintaining high-quality results.

“We’re very excited to have Jiayi on our team as he brings tremendous passion and expertise,” continued He, “which he utilizes to build and implement our next-gen AI driven physics based animation pipeline helping to further establish Midas Touch Interactive as a burgeoning immersive entertainment technology expert developing cost effective and deeply interactive content creation services.”

Midas Creature caters to 2D developers of all sizes with its “Creature Enterprise” and “Creature Indie” levels. Enterprise is a premium offering that gives users everything they need to get started using Creature for their company and projects. This is the full-featured version of the tool and gives users a license for Sprite Bump, a normal mapping tool that gives 3D lighting effects to 2D images. Unlimited support tickets are included in the Enterprise package. And for first-year Enterprise customers, a Creature Lead Engineer will offer one hour a month of feedback on their projects. “Creature Enterprise” is offered as a subscription, renewed annually.

Indie is designed for small-scale development teams who prefer more flexibility without an annual commitment, while still offering product complete features and support for indie teams to realize their animation needs. The “Creature Indie” license is available to those with less than $100,000 in gross revenues in the current year, and can be purchased for $19.99 per seat for a 30-day license and to be renewed month-by-month. Committed to inspiring young and aspiring creative developers, Midas Touch is also offering students a version of Midas Creature that allows them (with proof of enrollment/student ID) to use the tool free for one month.

Midas Creature is a blend of traditional tools and new technologies. Both premium levels will have comprehensive customer support to aid user needs.  Early adopters have used Midas Creature and seen positive benefits, including a 10x increase in speed of art pipeline performance (source PlayStudios).

Midas Creature is available at the shop page: http://www.creature.midasphysics.com/shop

About Midas Touch Interactive:
After holding senior positions at Blizzard, Roblox, and Disney Interactive, Midas Touch Interactive CEO Kevin He had a unique vision for next-generation AI driven physics based animation technology. Instead of focusing on key frame animation for linear media, as other solutions had in the past, Kevin felt that it was more important to use artificial intelligence and simulation to drive character movement and interaction for games, film, VR and AR. His vision has been realized in the company’s first of its kind tech demo game released from the Midas Touch Games studio, Fist of Physics, a robot beat ‘em-up featuring robot opponents that respond to attacks precisely as they would in real life, with no canned animations; and followed by the introduction of Midas Creature, one of the multiple products to be unveiled in the year to come. Learn more about Midas Creature at: http://creature.midasphysics.com/

Charm Games Launches Surreal Virtual Reality Game FORM on HTC Vive Today 

Vancouver – June 1, 2017 – Discover the inner dreams, fears and hopes of the human mind as independent video game developer Charm Games today launches psychedelic, virtual reality puzzle game FORM on HTC Vive for $19.99. To celebrate release, FORM is available for a 25 percent discount until June 8th. In addition, FORM will release on Oculus Touch this summer and on PlayStation VR in early 2018.

Set in a remote Alaskan research facility, players guide Dr. Devin Eli, a brilliant physicist with superhuman powers of geometric visualization, on a VR journey to uncover the secrets behind a recently discovered ancient artifact, The Obelisk. As Dr. Eli, players solve stimulating puzzles and explore surreal environments built from Dr. Eli’s memories, dreams and fears.

In FORM players assemble puzzle pieces, unlock doors and open rifts to alternative realities. While advancing through the game, puzzles and environments become more complex and intertwined, accessing the deeper and more distant recesses of Dr. Eli’s mind. By solving these puzzles and “unlocking” the constraints of Dr. Eli’s mind, players will ascend through progressively higher levels of consciousness to discover a path toward Dr. Eli’s true destiny.

“FORM is driven by the game’s robust narrative that makes people think more than just how to solve complex puzzles,” said Alan Jernigan, Co-founder of Charm Games. “Story is often an afterthought in VR so we brought it to the forefront in FORM for an even greater emotional experience. However, FORM is still a game at its core so we’ve intertwined our narrative between challenging and, more importantly, entertaining puzzles that we’re sure VR gamers will enjoy.”

For more information regarding FORM please visit the game’s website, or Charm’s Facebook and Twitter pages.

About Charm Games

Charm Games is one of the world’s leading VR content developers. The company creates extraordinary and mysterious interactive VR experiences that make players feel like they have powers beyond belief. Based in Vancouver, Canada, thanks to the city’s rich history and depth of talent in the game development, digital media, and entertainment industries.

Hits Like a Meteor: ELEX Release Date Announced, Collector’s Edition Unveiled

VIENNA, Austria and ESSEN, Germany – June 1, 2017 – THQ Nordic‘s upcoming science-fantasy, open world, action RPG ELEX, developed by Piranha Bytes, creators of the award-winning Gothic and Risen series, will be out on October 17, 2017 for the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One and Windows PC.

Publisher THQ Nordic and developer Piranha Bytes are thrilled to present a new CGI trailer for the game. Moving to the beat of Benj Heard’s “Whatever Doesn’t Kill Me (Better Run),” the video sets up the road at the heart of the player’s journey, as they walk the line between the many character progression and faction choices that lay ahead.

Developer Piranha Bytes and publisher THQ Nordic are also proud to announce a fine Collector’s Edition for ELEX. Inside the premium package is:

• A 10-inch-high figurine of an Alb Mage
• A 2-inch amulet in the form of a combat drone
• A cloth map, showing the world of Magalan
• The original score on CD
• An artbook
• The game’s manual
• The game itself, obviously

For more information about ELEX, please visit:

www.elexgame.com
https://twitter.com/Elex_Game
https://www.facebook.com/elexgame

About ELEX

Developed by Piranha Bytes, creators of the award-winning Gothic and Risen series, ELEX is a handcrafted action role-playing experience set in a post-apocalyptic science-fantasy universe, putting players into a huge, seamless open world full of original characters, mutated creatures, deep moral choices and powerful action. From swords and axes to bows, crossbows and harpoons, ELEX offers one of the widest selection of weaponry in the history of role-playing. Pick up a shotgun, power up a plasma rifle or unleash a flamethrower – there’s a weapon and combat style for every fighter out there. Then find a companion, choose a faction and influence the world; in ELEX, every choice will forge the future of your game.

EXPERIENCE THE THRILL OF RALLYCROSS IN DiRT® 4™

NEW GAMEPLAY TRAILER SHOWCASES DiRT 4’S AMAZING RALLYCROSS CONTENT

SYDNEY, 24^th May 2017 – Codemasters today released the latest DiRT® 4™ trailer showcasing the game’s incredible rallycross content across various classes and circuits. You can view the new action-packed, wheel to wheel trailer on the official DiRT YouTube channel:

DiRT 4 is the official game of the FIA World Rallycross championship and the new gameplay trailer shows Supercars racing at Lohéac Bretagne, Montalegre, Lydden Hill, Hell and Holjes. In addition to the Supercar class, DiRT 4 also has rallycross racing in RX2, Super 1600s, Group B classics and crosskarts making it a fully-fledged rallycross experience.

Developed in consultation from two time FIA World Rallycross Champion, Petter Solberg, the rallycross handling in DiRT 4 has undergone a complete overhaul to ensure it is as close to the real thing as possible.

Rallycross is thrilling multicar, circuit racing on mixed surfaces made up of both dirt and asphalt. The short, quick-fire races take four to six laps and each car must complete at least one ‘Joker Lap’ which is longer than the traditional lap leading to tactical, enthralling wheel-to-wheel racing. Drivers compete in four qualifying races before the top drivers make the semi-finals and final. The supercar class in the FIA World Rallycross Championship are 600bhp beasts that accelerate from 0-60mph in under 2 seconds – faster than a Formula One car.

Launching on PlayStation® 4 computer entertainment system, Xbox One and Steam on 9^th June 2017. DiRT 4 challenges you to Be Fearless as you take the wheel of the world’s most iconic and powerful off-road vehicles. Featuring two different handling models, Gamer and Simulation, DiRT 4 offers both depth and accessibility for players old and new to the franchise. The game’s innovative Your Stage system allows you to produce a near infinite number of unique rally stages at the touch of a button.

Key Features:

• OVER 50 OF THE MOST BREATH-TAKING OFF-ROAD CARS EVER BUILT – Including the Ford Fiesta R5, Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VI, Subaru WRX STI NR4 and Audi Sport quattro S1 E2
• 5 INCREDIBLE RALLY LOCATIONS WITH MILLIONS OF ROUTES – Australia, Spain, Michigan, Sweden & Wales
• THE OFFICIAL GAME OF THE FIA WORLD RALLYCROSS CHAMPIONSHIP – Race at Montalegre, Lohéac Bretagne, Hell, Holjes & Lydden Hill in a multitude of different series
• LANDRUSH – Short-course dirt track racing in Pro Buggies, Pro-2 Trucks, Pro-4 Trucks and Crosskart vehicles in California, Nevada and Mexico
• DiRT ACADEMY – Taking place at the DirtFish Rally School in Washington, USA, learn the skills, techniques and practice to become the best
• JOYRIDE – DirtFish becomes your personal playground for time attack challenges, smash attack challenges and a free roam area
• CAREER MODE – create your driver, compete across the disciplines, gain sponsors and build your team with clear goals and rewards
• COMPETITIVE GAMING – Daily, weekly and month-long challenges against fellow players from around the world
• NEXT GENERATION OF RACENET – Live ladder, tournaments and cross-platform leaderboards
• TUNING – Tweak your set-up based on vehicle, track and weather conditions to best suit your racing style
• DAMAGE & REPAIRS – Wear and tear is faithfully recreated with an improved and realistic damage model. Damage can be repaired by hiring Engineers to work in the team’s Service Area between stages but with a finite amount of time available.

LEGO® Dimensions™ Expansion Packs Based on Teen Titans Go!

The Powerpuff Girls and Beetlejuice Announced for September Release Teen Titans Go! Packs Access Exclusive, Bonus Animated Episode

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment today announced five highly collectable, new expansion packs for LEGO® Dimensions™, the LEGO® toy and videogame hybrid, will be available on September 13, 2017. Team and Fun Packs based on Cartoon Network’s animated series, Teen Titans Go! and The Powerpuff Girls, plus a Beetlejuice Fun Pack, will broaden the selection of the world’s most popular entertainment brands available for the game, allowing players to customise their experience by mixing and matching favourite characters and universes with full compatibility.

Players that purchase either Teen Titans Go! expansion pack can access an exclusive, original animated episode to discover how the vibrant team of teenage Super Heroes stumbled upon the LEGO Dimensions multiverse and embarked on hilarious, heroic adventures with new friends.

The Teen Titans Go! Team Pack, includes LEGO minifigures of the DC Super Hero team Raven and Beast Boy. It also features the 3-in-1 T-Car which can be rebuilt into the Forklift and T-Plane for out of this world adventures by air and sea. Players can transform the Spellbook of Azarath into Raven Wings and the Giant Hand to take flight and dig through the earth for adventures above and beyond this universe.

The Teen Titans Go! Fun Pack includes a Starfire LEGO® minifigure. Players can unleash her special abilities to battle enemies and solve puzzles. Players can also build the 3-in-1 Titan Robot for a roller-coaster fun-filled adventure and then rebuild it into the T-Rocket or Robot Retriever for an even more supercharged adventure with the rest of the Titans gang.

Raven, Beast Boy, and Starfire each provide access to the Teen Titans Go! Adventure World in Jump City where players can explore several psychedelic areas from the Titans Tower to Wacka Doodles Amusement Park.

Players can bring Townsville to LEGO® Dimensions™ with The Powerpuff Girls Team Pack which includes LEGO® minifigures of the super-powered sisters, Blossom and Bubbles.  For access to additional special abilities, the 3-in-1 Octi can be rebuilt into the Super Skunk or Sonic Squid, and the PPG Smartphone can be rebuilt into the PPG Hotline and Powerpuff Mag-Net.

The Powerpuff Girls Fun Pack includes a Buttercup LEGO® minifigure. Players can use this cherished champion of justice to fight crime and come just in time with supercool superpowers.  The 3-in-1 Mega Blast Bot can be rebuild into the Ka-Pow Cannon and Slammin’ Guitar to rock extra-awesome combat abilities.

Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup each provide access to The Powerpuff Girls Adventure World where players can unlock iconic locations like Pokey Oaks elementary, Rainbow Land, and Professor Utonium’s lab. When competition beckons, players can go head-to-head in the Battle Arena for endless fun.

The Beetlejuice Fun Pack brings some spookiness to LEGO® Dimensions™ with a Beetlejuice LEGO® minifigure. Players can activate his supernatural powers to scare away the living. Saturn’s Sandworm can rebuild it into the Haunted Vacuum and Spooky Spider for more ghostly powers.  Beetlejuice also unlocks the exclusive Adventure World and Battle Arena.

Developed by TT Games and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, LEGO® Dimensions™ is now available for PlayStation®4 and PlayStation®3 interactive entertainment systems, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and the Wii U™ system.

Follow LEGO Dimensions at:
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/LEGODimensions
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/LEGODimensions (@LEGODimensions)
Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/LEGODimensions (@LEGODimensions)
Tumblr: http://LEGODimensions.tumblr.com

Follow the LEGO Dimensions YouTube series at: http://www.youtube.com/LEGODimensions

LEGO DIMENSIONS Videogame software © 2017 TT Games Ltd. Produced by TT Games under license from the LEGO Group. LEGO, the LEGO logo, the Brick and the Knob configurations and the Minifigure are trademarks and/or copyrights of the LEGO Group. © 2017 The LEGO Group.  THE POWERPUFF GIRLS and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Cartoon Network (s17). TEEN TITANS and all related characters and elements © & ™ DC Comics.  All other trademarks and copyrights are the property of their respective owners.  All rights reserved.

XSEED GAMES REVEALS FIRST TITLE IN E3 LINEUP — SAKUNA: OF RICE AND RUIN

Creators of Critically Acclaimed Indie Shoot-’em-up “Astebreed,” Edelweiss, to Bring Japanese Mythology-Inspired Action Platformer + Rice Cultivation Sim Hybrid to PlayStation®4 and Windows PC 

Torrance, Calif. – May 31, 2017 – XSEED Games, the independent-minded publishing brand of Marvelous USA, Inc., is pleased to reveal the first title in its E3 2017 lineup: Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin. Developed by Edelweiss, the talented indie creators of the highly rated sci-fi shoot-’em-up Astebreed, and revealed last year in Japan at Comic Market 90, Sakuna offers a genre-defying mixture of side-scrolling action with the complexities of rice cultivation set against the mystical backdrop of Japanese mythology. Sakuna is now confirmed for release in North America on the PlayStation®4 computer entertainment system and Windows PC, and will be playable in English for the first time at the 2017 Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) on June 13 – 15 in Los Angeles.

In Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin, players take on the role of Sakuna, a proud yet lonely harvest goddess who is banished to a dangerous island with a group of outcast humans. Sakuna tames the island by defeating demons using farm tools as weapons while also making ample use of her “celestial scarf,” a magical item that allows her to grapple distant enemies and platforms. Along the way, she establishes a home in a mountain village, which serves as a base of operations for crafting weapons and cooking food. Additionally, as a harvest goddess, she grows rice by following a detailed process that encompasses everything from planting to harvesting. Through this process, across each of the four seasons, she’s able to improve the harvest and hone her battle skills alike.

The painstakingly researched storyline incorporates Japanese history and legend, with its heroine facing off against numerous types of demons, great and small, as she traverses detailed landscapes rich with the iconography of classic Japanese mythology. A love letter to Japanese culture, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is also an ode to the artistry of cultivating rice, and features an engrossing simulation of the craft behind the agriculture.

Developed by Edelweiss and published in North America by XSEED Games, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is in development for the PS4™ system and Windows PC and is scheduled for release in 2018. This title has not yet been rated by the ESRB.

For more information on XSEED Games products, please visit www.xseedgames.com. Fans can also follow XSEED Games on Facebook at www.facebook.com/XSEEDGames and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/XSEEDGames.