The version of the app shown to select members of the audience at ESL One focused on providing deep insights via a simple user interface to Android devices. The first part highlighted AI-driven story beats through the narrative feed. The second showed spatial data such as player positions, lane dominance, and tower health on a map view with the ability to scrub through time. Lastly, the third area allows viewers to really get their teeth into comparing key performance indicators between players.
OD Pixel, a Dota 2 caster and brand ambassador for Weavr was at ESL One, getting up close and personal with the app and getting feedback from fans: “The app allows people to interact with a game they love in a very different way. Straight away, people are excited to see data contextualized in a way they haven’t been able to see before. The immediate reaction from most of the fans here is ‘wow, it’s something new, it’s exciting'”.
On 15th Aug at an event in London, the outcomes from the first Weavr project demonstration at ESL One were shared and next steps were revealed. The consortium will soon be bringing Weavr to virtual reality, taking the best parts of watching esports remotely and in-person to create a whole new experience. Beyond that, the consortium is talking to traditional sports to see how technology can improve their viewing experiences as well.
So, next time your friends suggest watching the game together, you may well be doing it in virtual reality.
Coronavirus is having an unprecedented impact on the events scene, but the virus doesn’t have to bring the industry to a halt.
Virtual reality (VR) offers a solution to the travel bans companies all over the world are facing and the restrictions on large gatherings that are being imposed by governments.
HTC has reacted to the current situation by hosting the first fully-virtual industry conference. The HTC Vive Ecosystem Conference (VEC) is usually held in Shenzhen, China. This year, the organizers will be hosting their conference entirely in virtual reality.
Re-styled as the Virtual Vive Ecosystem Conference (V2EC), the event will be going ahead on March 19th.
The conference will be taking place within ENGAGE, the virtual reality training and education platform developed by Immersive VR Education. The platform enables educators and companies to host meetings, presentations, classes and events with people across the world. Using the platform, virtual reality training and experiences can be created in minutes. The tools are very easy to use and require no technical expertise. Sessions can be hosted live or recorded and saved for others to experience later.
“We have a close working relationship with HTC and so when they asked if we could assist in hosting HTC 2020 VEC via ENGAGE, we were delighted to help out.
#V2EC: As industry events are being cancelled WW, we’ll hold the world’s first fully #virtual industry #conference in #VR! 3/19 via #Engage. Access in 6DoF VR or live stream on 🖥💻📱. Top speakers+amazing conf experience!🦄 Zero carbon🌏, zero travel🛫& no 😷 needed! @htcvive pic.twitter.com/OqLOVB6QwJ
— Alvin Wang Graylin (汪丛青) (@AGraylin) March 6, 2020
Coronavirus continues to impact us all and we feel that by hosting this conference virtually we can mitigate some of the disruption that it has and continues to cause businesses globally,” said David Whelan, CEO of VR Education, in a statement.
“Whilst there is no monetary value to this agreement, we believe that it marks the first time an official physical industry event is fully replaced by VR. It also provides us with an excellent opportunity to showcase the exciting capabilities of our ENGAGE platform to a truly global technology-led audience. We hope that this might, in turn, lead to further commercial opportunities for the Group going forward.”
Attendees will be tuning in remotely, either via VR headset or by viewing a livestream on a monitor. The conference is slated to begin at 1.30 AM GMT on March 19th. It will be simulcast in both Chinese and English. Registration closes on 17th March. You can register here.
There are many benefits to hosting a conference in VR. These include the possible removal of attendance limits on keynote talks, the option to replay sessions that may have been missed, and zero travel—saving costs and the planet. With the coronavirus situation changing daily, it definitely a medium that can help connect people, without risks.
While HTC is hosting the first industry conference in VR, events in VR are nothing new. Back in November 2018, High Fidelity, the real-time social VR platform founded by Second Life creator, Philip Rosedale, hosted a world-first—a virtual reality festival. Available on all High Fidelity platforms, up to 500 people could experience interactive games, giveaways, and one of the first live music shows in VR.
FUTVRE LANDS presented a vision of the future. One where you can experience all the joys of a festival from the comfort of your living room. In light of the current situation, the unique benefits of VR have never been more relevant. VR can offer a strong alternative to real-world events and conferences.
