- #SUMMER LESSON VR NORTH AMERICA FULL#
- #SUMMER LESSON VR NORTH AMERICA REGISTRATION#
- #SUMMER LESSON VR NORTH AMERICA PORTABLE#
#SUMMER LESSON VR NORTH AMERICA PORTABLE#
It’s understandable how a light, portable headset such as the Oculus Quest 2 that enables people to be immersed in a reality that can provide all those things might be particularly attractive in the middle of a pandemic. Without getting too much deeper into that topic, most of us can agree that the experience has made many people recognize how important it is to interact with others as well as to have access to education, entertainment, and fitness options when you can’t leave home. This has resulted in higher rates of depression, addiction, mental illness, and suicide. With schools closed, families and children have largely been dealing on their own with stress, trauma, disability, loss, educational responsibilities, etc.
#SUMMER LESSON VR NORTH AMERICA FULL#
This further opens the door for VR esports.Īccording to a report from UNICEF in March 2021, “schools for more than 168 million children globally have been completely closed for almost a full year” due to COVID-19. Now that people are more aware of options such as immersive tech for education, they also are more open to the possibilities of immersive training, social activities and options for physical fitness and gaming. This is the case for all school-based teams but not yet the case for most VR esports which are mostly virtual.”ĭespite the negative effects of the pandemic, it has helped educators around the globe recognize advantages of virtual learning. This means teams made up of players pulled from the finite student body at school campuses.
“Since the beginning of HSVRL, the intent has been to mainstream VR at high school campuses. “As HSVRL looked at our past and future with VR esports and Echo Arena specifically, we wanted to keep our focus on our end goal,” stated Tyeron Hammontree, Founder of the High School VR League. There are plans to expand to Europe in the future, but it takes time to introduce new opportunities to educators and students. Since Echo Arena involves quite a bit more structure for tournaments to run smoothly, it was important for the league to test the waters and see what would work best with the still segmented groups of high school students across the continent.
#SUMMER LESSON VR NORTH AMERICA REGISTRATION#
These were short-term events that enabled players and admins to experiment with registration requirements, sign ups, format, etc. This was a perfect game to feature during lockdown for the inaugural season of HSVRL.Īs they say, though, where there is a will there’s a way! HSVRL students and leaders were determined to see Echo Arena in the league so they began running Lightning tournaments in early May. Although multiplayer was introduced to Beat Saber in October 2020, for the purposes of competition, students recorded best runs and submitted scores individually. With the uncertainty of the pandemic and millions of students away from the classroom, it also meant that schools couldn’t coordinate team members so Beat Saber, a single-player rhythm game, made more sense. Students and admins of the High School VR League have wanted to incorporate Echo Arena since the league was established in the summer of 2020, but ultimately the decision was made to build the community and focus on other games such until there was a firm leadership team in place to help design the best possible experience. The fact that Echo Arena incorporates a disc rather than a weapon makes it appropriate for educational institutions or parents that might prohibit any esports involving guns. Set in a zero-gravity virtual arena where players must duck, dodge, and jump in physical reality, Echo Arena involves a tremendous amount of physicality that make it more reminiscent of traditional sports than a computer game. The game continues to grow as a popular option for VR enthusiasts and esports fans, but it’s of particular importance for those who want to see immersive esports at high schools.
Ready At Dawn’s Echo Arena has been blazing a trail for competitive VR since it was released in July 2017 and featured in the Oculus-sponsored ESL-run VR League at Oculus Connect 4. The High School VR League continues to introduce immersive esports to high school students across North America and announces the Echo Arena Zone War tournament with a 6-week mini-season starting July 12 that culminates in a Lightning Final on August 29.