14 Dec 2021 Year in Review and a Look Ahead
My, what a year it has been! From exciting project recognition to incredible internal productions, we have certainly stayed busy. All the production we’ve tackled this year wouldn’t have been made possible without adding new, exceptional talent to the team. We are thankful to have welcomed multiple developers, artists, and designers—each with a unique voice and perspective to bring to our work. Several other changes accompanied our return to in-person collaboration: a hybrid workweek and a brand new office! While we’ve enjoyed West Midtown Atlanta for the past six years, our new office home allows us to step into nature (how fitting for Amebous Labs’ game production). If you visit us in the future, you should join us for a walk through the Zonolite Park Nature Conservancy.
We’ve worked with many amazing clients this year, but I want to highlight two projects, in particular, as we look back on 2021. To start, our team had the pleasure of recreating Mt. Everest Base Camp in AltspaceVR for Vestigo, building a VR experience that brings corporate teams through the daring Everest Crevasse crossing.
We are proud to share that the JLG AR App was recognized for not one but two awards! The app received “Technology Enhancement of the Year” by RER Magazine and made Fast Company’s Innovation by Design Awards list. During this year’s Augmented World Expo, I had the pleasure of speaking alongside Korry Kobel, Sr. Director of Product Development at JLG Industries, about the journey of developing a suite of AR tools for global deployment. We couldn’t innovate as we do without incredible partnerships like Vestigo, JLG, and many more.
I am so incredibly thrilled to give an update on Loam, Amebous Labs’ gardening simulation game. After a lengthy design and development process and exhibiting for new fans at Southern Fried Gaming Expo, we’re finally ready to launch the early access version of our game—Loam Sandbox. From the start of development in March 2020, Loam’s production has been a labor of love, keeping our team together and moving towards a common goal. With many pivots and redesigned features, we’re still building, but it’s great to be at a point where we can give our fans a taste of what’s to come via Oculus Quest App Lab. Stay tuned for our official launch date!
Loam Sandbox – Trailer
While we love reminiscing upon what’s happened internally, it’s also fun to look at the industry as a whole. We finally got to demo hardware again! Several members of our team tried out the Varjo Aero, we got our hands on the Vive Flow VR glasses, and I saw the Lenovo ThinkReality A3 glasses powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon. Trying out this technology made a few themes clear: graphics are getting MUCH better, and hardware is getting MUCH smaller—two things needed for this industry to continue to succeed.
Besides hardware, other components of the industry’s success are content and connecting with others. That’s why the flurry of news about the metaverse (and Facebook’s rebrand to Meta) has been so prominent. Generally speaking, people are moving beyond the focus of single-purpose content and expanding to multiplayer worlds where anything is possible. By constructing a metaverse, people will become more connected, experiences will feel more cohesive, and adoption will boom. And once everyone and their grandmother is in the metaverse, people will want to own things in that world. Enter: NFTs, the other hot topic of the year. People are already buying artwork, real estate, and more in the virtual world. If you haven’t yet, jump into an Oculus Quest! Or, if you don’t know where to start, just let me know.
In such a crazy year, I want to take a moment to step back, breathe, and say thank you. Our friends, family, clients, and fans mean so much to us; you’re the ones allowing us to innovate and explore the unknown. We like to say we “design a new reality” every day. People always ask us what’s coming next. To that, I say that you can’t always predict it, but you can prepare for it. The best way to ready yourself is to be agile in thought and action—don’t be afraid to take risks and make mistakes, and keep an eye on opportunities that will allow you to live in this space. It’s been one heck of a ride, but I wouldn’t have it any other way!
We are excited to cap this year of company growth, exciting projects, and thrilling events with the debut of our first-ever augmented reality holiday card. Worlds collide as Futurus’ technology meets the land of Loam in this fun and interactive seasonal experience. In true Futurus fashion, the card is a Web AR experience accessible via any mobile device with augmented reality capabilities by tapping here. Remember to turn the sound on for the full experience!
