The iPhone has some of our favorite games available for any mobile platform. Here are the best iPhone games for every big-name genre, whether you're into puzzles, strategy, or something else entirely.
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In 2014, Ella Darling changed the world of adult film by taking virtual reality (VR) technology and putting it to work in an erotic setting – a VR pornographic movie. This marked a sort of beginning for VR’s involvement in adult films.
A few years down the road and VR porn is revolutionising the porn industry with the immersive, interactive experiences it can provide, but with all the hype surrounding the technology, has it lived up to expectations?
After researching the topic, I’ve come up with the only true answer I could find – “It depends on who you ask.”
My basic experiences with VR porn have been mainly through using my Samsung Gear VR (which works seamlessly with my Galaxy smartphone) and VR porn tube sites to stream free vids. It should be known that I am by no means a VR porn expert. I’ve watched perhaps ten movies, and only sampled the higher end VR headsets such as HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. My knowledge is more theoretical and research based. I did notice however that the experience is quite good and could easily become addictive. One thing that my experience taught me is that I like VR porn more than I do regular 2D porn. You find yourself alone, with a sexy porn star and they’re, you know, going about their business – you can’t help becoming immersed in the scene.
“VR is the biggest (porn) niche since MILF,” according to Ian Paul, Naughty America’s CIO. “It’s a niche that’s on fire. So, it’s a force to be reckoned with, and it can easily go from being the biggest niche to the mainstream, to the dominant force in the industry.”
VR porn is already on its way to a potential industry take over, with PornHub receiving over 500,000 views daily of their 2600+ VR video library. Those are incredible numbers and the wave doesn’t look like breaking any time soon. The porn industry has also been known as a major driving force when it comes to adoption of new technology and it, along with the video game industry, is the biggest driver for VR.
VR porn has found support for headsets through third-party applications, and even though the catalogue of available videos is still dwarfed by regular pornography, it’s growing larger every day.
VR porn naysayers are also not difficult to find. Talk to video game execs and they’ll tell you that gaming is the future of VR. This type of attitude made Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus VR, feel inclined to take a pot shot at some of the major VR companies, bemoaning the fact that “they pretend that adult VR doesn’t exist.” He also claimed that if he were to jump back into a major VR company, he would, “secretly fund adult VR content because pornography has been an important driver for every recent form of media.”
There are also plenty of industry insiders that claim augmented reality (AR) will be the future and render VR obsolete. I myself am more of the opinion that there will always be space for both technologies and that their uses can overlap quite easily.
An issue that seems to be holding the adoption of VR back is the lack of standardization within the industry. VR headsets are all using differing technology – from varying displays to tracking techniques. This makes software more difficult to develop and keeps production costs high. From a pornographic perspective, peripherals such as the Kiiroo or Lush teledildonic sex toys cannot be released fast enough. These bring the much-needed element of touch and haptic response into the equation, making the technology that much more appealing and useful.
Speaking with Mike Hartman of VRSmash about his vision for the future of VR, he was very positive. He said, “Imagine how quickly VR – not just porn specifically, but in general – would be adopted by the masses if touch was added to the visuals. Couples in long-distance relationships could have a “physical” connection to each other no matter where they are. Dating or friendship could become truly global and relationships as we know them could change forever. Once this side of the technology catches up, there’s no telling how large the snowball can grow.”
For now, there are valid opinions on both sides of the fence and it remains to be seen if VR and VR porn will not only survive, but also prosper like many think it will.
Doom VFR publisher Bethesda faced heavy criticism yesterday when it was revealed that its latest VR game from id Software was not working on the Oculus Rift, but everything seems to be working itself out.
Though compatible with SteamVR, which is designed to support all VR headsets whether optimized or not, Doom VFR booted Rift players back out when reaching the title screen, while it worked fine on the HTC Vive (the only PC-based platform it’s been officially released on) and even on at least some of the new Windows-based mixed reality headsets. At the time, it seemed entirely possible that Bethesda may have deliberately blocked Rift support, perhaps due to an ongoing legal dispute between its parent company, ZeniMax Media, and Oculus itself.
However, as we reported late last night, SteamVR creator Valve promptly issued an update to the platform’s optional beta version that “added placeholder hidden area mesh for Rift users as a work around for Doom VFR and other titles experiencing launch issues.”
We’re not exactly sure what that means, but we can indeed confirm Doom VFR — which launched today — now works with the Oculus Rift.It works pretty well, aside from a few performance issues which are likely on the PC side, but the button layout translates very comfortably. Valve’s Joe Ludwig, meanwhile, did explain a little about what a ‘mesh area’ means, though.
Mostly what he said. Except it’s used to kill pixels rather than geo. Because VR rendering is usually fill bound. See Alex Vlachos’s second(?) VR rendering talk for details.
— Joe Ludwig (@joeludwig) December 1, 2017
The question remains, though, as to if this was an intentional block on Bethesda’s part, or if it was a simple bug. The company hasn’t replied to our requests for comment sent as soon as this story broke, but we’ve asked once more now that the situation has seemingly resolved itself.
Either way, Rift owners can now start enjoying the game which is a very good thing. Earlier this morning we updated our official review with new impressions on the Vive version and found it to be a fair bit better than the PSVR edition.
Tagged with: Doom VFR
At the beginning of this year Oculus VR said at the Game Developers Conference (GDC), San Francisco, that 2017 would be the year of content for their platform. Jason Rubin, VP of Content for Oculus, says that there are now more than 300 titles for the Oculus Rift that support Oculus Touch controllers and over 2,000 titles for the Oculus platform. The recent Oculus Unwrapped, London, showcased many of these videogames and experiences.
Among the titles playable at the event was a variety of different experiences from studios all over the world, including:
With three rooms filled with various Oculus Rifts, Oculus Unwrapped also held panel discussions where Warner Bros. Entertainment confirmed that they are invested in virtual reality (VR) and are bringing their franchises and IP over to try and get more consumers to buy VR headsets. Elliot Grove, the Founder of Raindance Film Festival, spoke about how the content for the VRX Awards Raindance hosted this year showcased mature pieces of VR stories. He believes that when the New York Times started handing out free Google Cardboards and launched their VR app in 2015, that VR leaped from ‘geekdom’ into the mainstream. Yelena Rachitsky, Executive Producer for Experiences at Oculus VR agrees that for the first time VR is starting to cultivate talented and experienced developers that are starting to throw the rule books out when it comes to the creation of content.
It seems there was an overall consensus among the panelists that 2017 marked the year of very good VR experiences and stories. An example of the big impact VR will have in the future is Alejandro González Iñárritu winning a Special Oscar for his VR experience Carne Y Arena. VR has come a long way this year. As content creators continue to experiment, and companies such as Oculus VR help cultivate a growing community consumers can expect to experience exciting VR experiences.
Stay up to date and wait for VRFocus‘ upcoming interviews with Jason Rubin, VP of Content for Oculus VR and Yelena Rachitsky, Executive Producer for Experiences at Oculus VR. While you wait, you can watch this little recap video of Oculus Unwrapped.
Have you ever considered what it’s like to fly? In terms of human history, we have, as a species defied gravity for only a fraction of our time on this planet and yet the ability to take to the air has evolved swiftly. Moving from the briefest of trips above the ground conducted by the Wright Brothers, to great passenger airlines, supersonic jets and even the ability to leave the Earth altogether.
Last month we brought you news of The First Class VR, a new cinematic virtual reality (VR) experience from Chinese independent developer Zodiac Interactive which features around moments in time where man took flight. From the aforementioned first flight of the Wright Brothers up past the present with journeys into space courtesy of Elon Musk’s company SpaceX. Not only that The First Class VR dips into myth and legend with the story of Icarus and even past this into what the future might be envisioned as.
Zodiac Interactive has now confirmed that the title, which is coming out with support for the HTC Vive, will now go live on Steam as of December 14th 2017.
“We wanted to push the envelope with the future of interactive cinematic storytelling and I think The First Class VR does just that.” Explained An Pu, the Lead Creative Producer at Light & Digital Technology. “The story you will experience is inspired by the Hugo Awards Best Novel Winner the Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu. We feel very honoured that the author Cixin Liu played the game and gave it his blessing.”
VRFocus recently previewed The First Class VR, and found that whilst it was impressive in some areas it felt very much like a mixed bag. As VRFocus’ Peter Graham explained:
“The First Class VR feels somewhat disjointed, like it’s trying too hard to cram lots of information in over a short period of time. There are sequences that step into the bizarre and almost surreal, giant statues looming in the distance, panels and floors that change and then disappear as you move to a new area, and caves twinkling with fireflies that are filled with different spacecraft like the Saturn V rocket or the Sputnik satellite, all whilst sat in a Huey helicopter.”
VRFocus will bring you more news on the title as we get it.
The long-awaited virtual reality (VR) exclusive DOOM VFR is no available for PlayStation VR and HTC Vive throughout North America and Europe. Developed by Escalation Studios in conjunction with Bethesda Game Studios, DOOM VFR is a visceral VR rendition of the familiar first-person shooter (FPS) genre that the original DOOM helped to popularise.
DOOM VFR makes significant adaptation of the traditional DOOM formula to allow for the limitations of modern VR. While the immersive nature of the videogame is second-to-none, the control mechanics are undeniably limiting. As such, one aspect that has seen significant changes is the videogame’s melee system.
What’s better than shooting demons on Mars? Bashing their heads in with the might of your own bodyweight, of course. DOOM VFR may not feature the same horrific glory kill animations as 2016’s DOOM, but the mechanic still exists in a new form, as can be seen in a new gameplay video below.
VRFocus recently delivered a review of DOOM VFR, stating “It’s true that the visual quality has suffered dramatically and the control systems could be seen as far too awkward by many, but the fact that DOOM VFR pushes so hard against the VR grain makes it well worth any PlayStation VR owner’s time and money.”
DOOM VFR is the second of three VR titles from Bethesda Game Studios launching this year, with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR having launched to critical acclaim last month and Fallout 4 VR arriving later this month. However, DOOM VFR is the only title in the line-up that stands as an original title; DOOM VFR is a standalone release that is tied to DOOM in setting only, whilst The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR and Fallout 4 VR are essentially VR adaptations of traditional PC and console videogames.
DOOM VFR is available now with a suggested retail price (SRP) of £19.99 GBP, a remarkable price point considering both The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR and Fallout 4 VR are offered at full retail price. Worth of note however, is that, at the time of writing, Amazon is offering the videogame for £14 on PlayStation VR and £12 for HTC Vive.
You can watch VRFocus grabbing a Berserk power-up and executing numerous demons in the short video below, and be sure to stay right here for more details on Bethesda Game Studios’ other VR titles.
The process of providing energy to homes and business is continuing to go through a revolution throughout the world. Humanity requires more power than ever before and as such the demands on the various national grids grow ever greater too.
As such we are consuming more and more resources in our need to produce greater and greater levels of power. With technology also evolving countries continue to develop new strategies, looking to new forms and sources of energy. Be these hitherto untapped natural resources, such as traditional fossil fuels – coal, gas and oil. Acquired through traditional mining practices or alternatively more controversial methods such as fracking, over which arguments still rage. It might be nuclear power, at the same time as it is being debated as to whether or not the fuel has a future within the UK, works are underway over in both Brazil and Russia on new nuclear-related projects.
Then of course there are the green fuels. With most all countries signed up to the Paris Climate Change agreement, reducing carbon output is most definitely part of the agenda going forward for the majority of the world’s nations. Solar power and wind power are becoming more prominent as the technology develops and countries that have invested in the infrastructure are already seeing returns with energy prices falling and larger percentages of the grid’s power being taken over by each.
All of this does not mean that fossil fuels are not as important now as ten or twenty years ago and today’s video focuses specifically on that area of energy and mining.
The video comes from South African energy and chemicals firm Sasol Limited, who have bene operating in the country since the 1950’s. Sasol was, in fact the very first company in the world to focus on the production of oil from coal and coal is very much still part of their DNA. The video, which is educational in nature, takes viewers on a trip to Sasol Secunda, the largest facility of its type in the Sasol group which sits according to the company 90 minutes away from the capital city of Johannesburg.
Join robot guide Echo as she tells you all about just what the facility does in this virtual tour.