Zero to Start Podcast: VR development for beginners

Happy New Year's Eve! Before the clock strikes midnight I'm sharing a quick message of thanks and appreciation to all of my guests this year and to you, the listeners, who've downloaded episodes in 37 countries across the world.

Our top listeners are from the U.S., Germany, Australia, Canada and the UK.

Our Top podcast episode of 2024 is:
Retail Therapy: My inner child said no to a $4500 Apple Vision Pro

Followed by...

I recorded this episode on the afternoon of Election day in the US...

During the storms of change and chance I take shelter in making VR, buying vinyl and listening to The Cure. 

So I’m in the midst of making a creepy crawly experience based on Lullaby from The Cure’s Disintegration album to match my post-halloween haunted garden. 

However, on today’s episode I wanted to briefly reflect on what I learned - and earned - from returning ...

Since 2018 Virtuleap has been at the cutting edge of combining neuroscience and virtual reality to help increase attention levels, and address cognitive illnesses, disorders, and learning challenges. 

On this episode, Amir Bozorgzadeh, Cofounder and CEO of Virtuleap is back to tell us all about the release of Cogniclear VR, an immersive cognitive screening test that uses gamified scenarios to assess a wide range of crucial cognitive...

Former NASA AI scientist turned VR creative director and producer, Nathalie Mathe, has been pushing the boundaries of VR since the early days of the Oculus DK1 and DK2. 

From creating visual effects on blockbuster films like Total Recall, Fast & Furious6, Skyfall, and The Dark Knight Rises to directing and supervising cutting-edge VR projects for Google, Facebook, JauntVR and Condition One, Nathalie is a powerhouse of innovation...

GameDriver enables video game developers, testers, and producers to automate playtesting; improving time to market, test coverage, and overall quality and revenue.

The company brings over 30 years of test automation expertise to the massive gaming industry, as well as Enterprise - where next-gen user experiences are built using gaming technologies including AR and VR, to deliver consistent, repeatable testing to the app development ...

In just a few short years, mobile gaming has exploded, now accounting for almost half of all gaming, with the market worth an astounding $90 billion dollars.

According to Statista, by 2026 the mobile AR market is predicted to reach $36 billion dollars in revenue. 

As mobile AR gaming evolves beyond Pokemon Go, one company is going all-in to redefine the space with a first-of-its- kind multiplayer augmented reality fighting...

Apple Vision Pro doesn't have anything I really need, just everything I want. They're the coolest goggles on the planet. 

While hot takes about the price, the returns, the meaning of this moment continue to light up our news feed, I’m still integrating the 3 days I spent with The Vision Pro. 

Using Apple's spatial computer for the first time consumed me with intense, satisfying, emotional connections between ...

It's Apple Vision Pro Day! 

• Will it be as paradigm shifting as the first iPhone? 
• If Apple is hedging its bet on spatial computing, did oculus/Meta do the hard excavation work to prove there is an innovative market for XR?
• Does an early adopter really need another headset in their vast collection of goggles, glasses and gadgets?

These are some of the questions Ash Baccus-Clark, Director, Keynote Speaker & Creative Str...

The Apple Vision Pro presale on Friday Jan.19th was a resounding success, erasing any doubt about Apple’s ability to capture the public’s imagination - and their wallets, with its first spatial computer. 

The Vision Pro marks a new day in the XR industry, or rather, a new tune that has the potential to transcend the friction and failures of the last decade. 

Despite some early device limitations and the steep price tag, speculation i...

"The new era of spatial computing has arrived."  Our first episode of 2024 brings you a readout of last week's proclamation from Apple CEO, Tim Cook on the news of the highly anticipated Apple Vision Pro launch, which is just hours away from pre-sale, on Friday January 19th at 5am pacific. Vision Pro will be available in the U.S. on February 2nd.

Are you walking up at 5AM tomorrow to pre-order? We are! (hope...

This holiday we’re celebrating our 25th episode of Zero to Start with a very special guest, Kent Bye, host of the Voices of VR podcast.

Since May 2014, Kent has published over 1,300 Voices of VR podcast interviews featuring the pioneering artists, storytellers, and technologists driving the resurgence of virtual & augmented reality.

Kent is an oral historian, experiential journalist, & philosopher, helping to define...

Are you game for a full-body haptic suit? HaptX Inc. takes us one step closer with the imminent launch of their G1 Glove. 

HaptX invents and builds wearable technology that simulates touch with unprecedented realism, enabling haptic interaction in virtual reality and robotics.  

Joining me to explore the magic of the HaptX G1 glove and the future of human-computer interaction is Linda Jacobson, the Director of Marketing at ...

In the few days since OpenAI's board of directors removed its co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, the future of the company and what it means for the race to AGI Artificial General Intelligence is anyone’s guess. 

Joining me to put this fast moving saga into perspective is Avi Bar-Zeev founder and president of Reality Prime an independent consulting service providing world-class expertise in AR & VR design and engineer...

On December 10th  XRSI will kick–off their 4th annual Metaverse Safety Week - XRSI’s flagship conference, an annual occasion to meet industry leaders and discuss the challenges of safety, privacy and artificial intelligence in spatial computing. 

Kavya Pearlman, Founder and CEO of XRSI, X Reality Safety Intelligence,  a leading non-profit organization globally recognized for advocating safety, privacy, security, and inclu...

Prepare to be amazed and inspired by special guest Michaela Ternasky Holland, Emmy Award-Winning XR Director, Creative Strategist and Impact Producer leading equity and social change in XR and the Metaverse.  

A pioneer in VR journalism and experience design, Michaela shares the evolution of her unique industry journey and how her latest immersive film, Reimagined Vol. II: Mahal, is redefining traditional narratives and Tagalog / Fi...

XR Pioneer Robin Moulder, Founder and CEO of 3lb Games and 3lb XR joins the podcast to share details about their latest releases including VR Workout and Grokit, a hand tracking multiplayer mixed reality game aimed at rapid fire interactions focused on fun while giving newer headset players more confidence - perfect for introducing your friends and family to the magic of mixed reality on a Quest 3 at your holiday gatherings.
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"What if I could make an app that could change an entire play area into a horror game?"
That's what David Montecalvo, Founder and President of VirtualGo LLC asked himself when he saw the black and white pass-through on the Meta Quest 2, inspiring him to create Hauntify, one of Quest 2's earliest mixed reality games that combined the headset's new experimental pass through with a ghostly room-scale expe...

Web AR and social impact is a powerful combination that fuels dynamic connection, community building, awareness and action - at scale. 

On this episode of Zero to Start,  Sarah Porter, Director of Innovative Philanthropy at Hope for Haiti joins me to share the nonprofit's mission, how they started their immersive journey and how you can join 8th Wall's Hope for Haiti challenge happening now - the deadline to enter is Novem...

Discover how Cognitive3D’s SDK for Unreal and Unity empowers immersive creators to unlock player behavior and build better 3D experiences with Calder Archinuk, Developer Evangelist at Cognitive3D. 

Designing for Player agency in virtual environments is one of many challenges in VR development, yet player agency is also what makes VR an essential medium for capturing and studying player behavior.

• How can developers quick...