Vicon Introduces Shōgun 1.2 at GDC 2018 with a Virtual Escape Room
Daily Presentations with New Unreal Engine 4 Content Project and a Multi-Person Virtual Escape Room Take Center Stage at Vicon’s GDC, Located in the South Hall Booth #241
OXFORD, UK – March 13, 2018 – Vicon, the industry leader in motion capture camera systems, returns to the Game Developers Conference (GDC) to help Epic Games unveil a new Unreal Engine 4 project, and to debut the next stage in its expanding entertainment software platform, Shōgun 1.2. But instead of simply telling people what Shōgun can do, Vicon wants GDC attendees to experience it. Participants will enter Vicon’s booth and be transported into a VR multiplayer escape room, where they will have to use their wits to solve puzzles and beat the clock!
Since its launch at GDC 2017, Shōgun has become the entertainment market’s leading platform for motion capture. Along with its use in feature films like the Academy Award-winning “Blade Runner 2049,” Shōgun is also being utilized in the game industry by publishers like Electronic Arts, Ubisoft and Activision. This major update offers several new features, including the ability to calibrate and record SDI video directly into the Shōgun pipeline. Support for custom game rigs in Shōgun Live and Shōgun Post has also been added, allowing users to animate and solve directly onto their game characters. That data can then be streamed directly into game engines, so game designers can see the results on their characters in real-time.
Shōgun now also works with Epic Games’ Live Link, making it the only optical motion capture technology capable of streaming data directly into Unreal Engine 4. The latest updates will further expand Shōgun’s potential for game developers and VFX artists alike, and at GDC, attendees will not only be able to see how, they can try it for themselves.
Escape a Virtual World (with a Friend)
To highlight the new Shōgun 1.2 and give a practical look at what it can do, Vicon created the Vicon Experience (VEX), an interactive multiplayer VR escape room made specifically for GDC to showcase the possibilities of location-based VR. The VEX escape room features puzzles and a futuristic setting created by DesignGame, with real-time facial tracking courtesy of Dynamixyz. Popcorn FX also added its real-time FX to bring the environment to life, and the entire experience is then driven through Unreal Engine 4 using Shōgun and Live Link to animate the players’ avatars in real time.
Two players will simultaneously step into Vicon’s booth, which will be transformed into a large capture volume using Vicon’s Vantage optical system. Cameras will track the participants’ movements, and using Shōgun’s new custom skeleton solving, they will appear inside of VEX as avatars. A third performer will then guide them through the experience using real-time face animation driven by Dynamixyz Performer software.
Mixing live full performance in VR with location-based gameplay is a world first and not to be missed.
Epic Games’ New Unreal Engine 4 Project
Details on this new project will be revealed during Epic’s “State of the Unreal” opening session on Wednesday, March 21 at 9:30 a.m. at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts Theater. The session will also be livestreamed to YouTube, Facebook and Twitch. Vicon will pull the curtain back on the making of this project at GDC, where attendees will be able to witness it live at its booth on Wednesday through to Friday from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
First Look at Cara Lite
Vicon will also offer a first look at the finalized version of Cara Lite, the entry-level version of Vicon’s popular Cara 3D production facial capture solution system. GDC attendees will be able to try on the new unit, and experts from Vicon will be available to answer any questions.
Demonstrations will be held at Vicon’s booth, located in the South Hall at booth #241. Epic Games’ presentation will run from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., while the VEX demo will run from 2 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. To see a demo or schedule a meeting, please contact [email protected]
About Vicon
Academy Award®-winning Vicon is the world’s largest supplier of precision motion capture and tracking systems. It serves customers in the CG animation, object tracking, virtual and augmented realities, engineering, broadcast, biomechanics, sports and clinical sciences arenas.
Vicon is a subsidiary of Oxford Metrics (LSE: OMG), the international software company servicing government, life sciences, entertainment and engineering markets. Other holdings include: Yotta, a provider of software and services for infrastructure asset management.
Amongst many others, Vicon global clients include:
Entertainment: Framestore, Audiomotion, The Imaginarium, Quantic Dream, Ninja Theory, Konami, Activision, Sony, Dreamworks, ILM, USC, EA, Capture Lab, 2K Games, CD Projekt, Digic Pictures, IO Interactive, Creative Assembly, Plarium Games, Mocap Lab, Seasun
VR: Artanim, VR Tech, Dreamscape VR, Canon, Samsung
Broadcast: Vizrt, hunan TV
For more information about Oxford Metrics and its subsidiaries, visit: www.oxfordmetrics.com, www.vicon.com/ or www.yotta.co.uk.
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Liaison Inc.
Ryan Fleming
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