1. Longtime game-makers David Jaffe (“Twisted Metal” and “God of War”) and Cory Barlog (director and writer for this year’s excellent “God of War” title) speculated live about how the two might enter the VR space. -- VENTUREBEAT

“VR has its hooks in me so deep and so wonderfully, that if I could create the opportunity for myself to get back into games with VR, I would be all over it, that’s how transformative it can be if you have a good VR experience,” Jaffe tells Barlog. “The dream was always let’s make games in the holodeck, but we’re not gonna live long enough for that. Room-based VR at least makes you feel like it’s the future of interactive entertainment.” But as far as what kind of experience he’d like to create? “I would want to do a horror game,” Jaffe says. “I have a game about, sort of like when the levees broke in Katrina. I’d like to do a horror game based around, they had all the coffins floating down the street. … I love the idea of doing a horror game that’s like scuba diving and you’re on a boat and it’s constantly raining, kind of like a supernatural version of Jaws set in this sort of flooded New Orleans town. I’d like to do some kind of horror game based on that.”

2. VR title Rec Room has been around since 2016 providing an easy entry point to shared VR, and new multiplayer bowling features will likely only further cement its place in the growing space. The experience is called “Lone Shoe Lanes” and lets up to six players bowl at once, with space for a few observers to “watch and chat,” according to Road to VR. Scoring is taken care of by the app, so this looks to be the VR experience closest to the universally-appealing "Wii Sports" bowling, with the added benefits of multiplayer and immersion. -- ROAD TO VR

1. Intel and Ovum have released new projections about 5G growth over the next 10 years, including that by 2028 gaming “will account for 90 percent of 5G AR data.” Further forecasts show the demand for video data alone “will grow from a monthly average of 11.7GB per 5G subscriber in 2019 to 84.4GB in 2028.” That’s not just because of better quality video, but also “additional embedded media and immersive experience that improve the experience.” This could include data for haptic clothing, heat and pressure, and other immersive techniques. -- VENTUREBEAT

2. VR flight simulators are still finding their wings, but “Flying Aces - Navy Pilot Simulator” from TAS Systems Corp looks to be raising the bar. The title held an unsuccessful Kickstarter campaign earlier this year, but have managed to schedule an OCt. 31 release of the title on Steam for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. “With Navy Pilot Simulator, we’re able to bring the armchair pilot into the cockpit of a fighter jet.” the developers write. “We have long wanted to develop a true pilot simulator, but this wasn’t possible until the advent of virtual reality.” It’s one of several VR flight sims coming down the pipe. -- VRFOCUS

3. Oculus VR CTO John Carmack has signaled his legal battles with game studio ZeniMax may be nearing an end. Carmack tweeted late last week that his “personal legal disputes are over -- Zenimax has full satisfied their obligations to me from the purchase of Id Software, and we have released all claims against each other. (The appeal for Oculus still goes forward).” Carmack’s legal saga started in 2014 after ZeniMax claimed Oculus had used code in its SDK that had been developed at Zenimax. -- VRFOCUS

4. In addition to providing a new, arena-scale standalone headset for the Oculus line, the recently announced Quest hardware officially “complete[s] our first generation of VR products.” The Quest is scheduled for release next spring, and brings 6DOF controllers, inside-out tracking, and cordless use to the growing VR hardware market. As far as Gen. 2, we’re eagerly anticipating any new information on the company’s eye-tracking “Half-dome” prototype. -- ROAD TO VR

9. 360 video from CNN: "The endangered starry sky"

"As the glow of light pollution from cities and towns endangers our view of the night sky, gaze up at the stars from Zion National Park in southern Utah. The park is taking steps to become an official "Dark Sky Place" in hopes of preserving its nocturnal vistas." -- YOUTUBE (ht VRFOCUS)

10. One of the more promising VR social spaces...

"I had so much fun yesterday at my #VR birthday party in @highfidelityinc! We had a trampoline, awesome music, an upside down dance floor, musical instruments, cake, pizza, toys, and lovely people . To preserve the memories, I'm going to share photos+ gifs in this thread " - @JC_3D (Hi  I study multidimensional kindness• I'm probably in #VR right now• User Engagement Manager @HighFidelityInc • 3D Artist• VR Advisor• #WomeninVRshe/her)

3. Jesus VR story “7 Miracles” won the “VR Film of the Festival” grand jury category at this year’s Raindance Film Festival. The immersive experience is composed of seven chapters, each approximately 10 minutes long, that depict miracles from the Gospel of John. “The main thing that makes VR storytelling so exciting, is that instead of projecting the action in a screen in front of you it puts you right in the middle of the action – You become the hero,” the film’s EP said. The film is expected to come to major VR headsets later this year. -- VRSCOUT

4. Smart toy company WRLDS has released a new SDK for its “connected smart ball” that lets developers build experiences for the AR and Bluetooth-enabled device. The ball is made of lightweight “Moon Foam” and contains an accelerometer, impact and g-force sensors, an antenna, and “Nordic Semiconductor” chip to communicate via BLE (Bluetooth low energy). WRLDS maintains a “hall of fame” for the best smart ball experiences. -- VRFOCUS

9. It sure does...

"Hey, I had a positive time in #VR today. First time in a few weeks. Taking it slow, but it was a great start. Burnout sucks." - DannyBittman (Artist + Musician // I create dream worlds with #VR design tools like #TiltBrush. Advocate for going outside more than VRing.)

10. An amazing use of VR technology...

"Technology is becoming more advanced and #journalists are using it to their advantage. #Interactive journalism is about putting the reader into a story like never before. Visit the U.S./Mexico border with this #VR story by @USATODAY to see for yourself: https://bit.ly/2CcnJYv " - @jessulett 

1. Magic Leap has made many “magical” announcements at this week’s first ever L.E.A.P. Conference, but the one garnering some of the most attention is the humanlike A.I. Mica. VentureBeat received a (chilling?) hands-on demonstration: “I walked into a physical room and sat in a chair. Mica was sitting at the table in the same room. She smiled at me and [looked] at me. I was struck that she wasn’t just looking at me. She was looking in my eyes. She tilted her head from side to side. When I noticed how attentive she was, I moved my head forward and looked in her eyes. She did the same and looked at me. I moved my head back and she moved her head back too. She was mimicking some of the movements that she saw me make. She didn’t talk, but that is coming in the future.” Gaze upon how we’ll be interacting with our smart assistants some day. -- VENTUREBEAT

2. Elsewhere during the L.E.A.P. Conference, the company announced new features coming to the AR headset. Spelling out the upgrades on a software roadmap, Q1 2019 could see such upgrades as Avatar chatting and support for two controllers, login via iris identification, and new Javascript compatibility with the headset’s LuminOS core software. Road to VR also suggests references to “large scale mapping” on the roadmap could refer to compatibility with apps that physically span multiple rooms. -- ROAD TO VR

3. A new report from VR/AR analytics company Digi-Capital shows China investment surging ahead of the U.S. in computer vision and AR. Those investments rose to $3.9 billion (USD), while North American investment fell from $1.5 billion Q4 2017 to $10 million Q3 2018. According to VRFocus, “Chinese venture capitalists have been concentrating on the long-term potential of areas such as computer vision and AR, with late-stage Series C or Series D funding rounds for companies in these areas being supported by Chinese VC investors.” -- VRFOCUS

4. Steve Bambury of VirtualiTeach and JESS Dubai has provided some practical ways VR technology can be successfully deployed in classrooms. Tips include using Rift- and Vive-level VR alongside mobile VR solutions, focusing on small groups over larger cadres, and using VR tools like “Google SketchUp” with the “Kubity” app to create a design-focused digital environment. Like past education environments where a school may’ve only had a single TV or PC, similar techniques translate well to VR if Bambury’s suggested tweaks are put to use. -- VRFOCUS