Epic Games, the company behind such franchises as Gears of War and Unreal Tournament, and the widely used Unreal Engine, was out in full-force at the Game Developers Conference this week, with two devoted game demos at its booth in the main hall. They included the finally-confirmed Star Wars: Trials On Tatooine experience created by Lucasfilm’s ILMxLAB division, along with a full VR lounge, where attendees could try over ten different demos.
This was on top of a stellar keynote held by the company earlier in the week, where it showed-off its next-level motion-capture technology for games. Highlights included a live demonstration, where an actress’s movements and expressions were captured in real-time for Ninja Theory’s Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, a upcoming action game with a dark medieval fantasy story. Real-time motion capture is bound to have an impact that will go beyond video games and into animated films.
Epic’s virtual reality demos were among the most impressive available, with the most notable being Star Wars. Players had to battle with Stormtroopers while protecting R2-D2 as it made repairs to the Millennium Falcon. Bullet Train presented a dynamic action experience, where players could warp around the room and shoot at enemy agents using a variety of weapons.
Traditional games weren’t forgotten among the VR frenzy. There were plenty of demos on hand for its forthcoming free-to-play shooter Unreal Tournament. However, a great deal of attention was given to its upcoming MOBA, Paragon, which was recently revealed to be a PlayStation 4 console exclusive that can be played cross-platform with PC. The game launched its Early Access beta today.
Whether it comes to virtual reality, stunning games like Paragon, or providing a free-to-use engine to develop them, Epic Games is positioning itself at the forefront of interactive entertainment. The Unreal future is a bright one.
