Ahead of the full launch, Sprint Vector contestants from across the United States have strapped themselves into a VR headset, donned controllers and raced against players for a chance to advance onto Alienware VR Cup in Las Vegas on January 8-10, 2018.
In November and December, competitors from across 14 states and 14 participating LAN centers have pumped their arms like they’d never pumped them before. One of the lucky 8 emerging sprinters will level up to the Sprint Vector and Alienware VR Cup and have a shot at winning $10,000 in hardware prizes, which are likely to be of Intel, NVIDIA and Oculus origin since they are sponsors of the event.
What Is Sprint Vector?
Sprint Vector, a Survios created VR game, takes place across several futuristic looking and elemental environments where players are Contestants in a virtual game show hosted by a robot named Mr. Entertainment. The competitors, typically two at a time, race across stages by pumping their arms like they’re running in place and punch two arms forward to activate a speed boost.
How Does Sprint Vector Work?
Players will run around a multi-level track that involves maneuvering around crystals and obstacles while using the hands/controllers to climb up walls and grab boosts and power-ups. These boosts will make players go faster, jump higher, and gain a speed advantage on the track. The player will need to make it to various checkpoints across the map in order to not be taken back to their last checkpoint and further away from the finish line.
Using your arms to scale up a wall and pumping your arms may seem easy but it’s not. This is a highly competitive and physical game that has fluid locomotion mechanics that ditches typical teleportation. So, if the player runs and doesn’t run fast enough and misses a jump to a platform they can lose their momentum, lead, trophy, and ultimately their standing to advance to the Alienware VR Cup.
eSports & Sprint Vector
The top 8 contestants to sprint their way to glory will be taking part in the first ever Sprint Vector and Alienware VR Cup. VRFocus recently reported that Intel, partners with Dell and thus Alienware, would be working with Survios for the premier VR tournament.
Survios Co-Founder and CEO, Nathan Burba, stated,“Survios is one of the pioneers of virtual reality technology for mainstream audiences and we’re honored to work with Intel to bring the industry-changing medium of VR to the eSports world,” and that “Sprint Vector, optimized for Intel’s most advanced CPUs, will be an important milestone for fans of sports, eSports and VR gaming.”
Spectating eSports
What makes Survios’ Sprint Vector kind of a big deal is it’s Dynamic Spectating, or the ability for outside viewers to watch players as they climb up towers and jump across platforms in VR. Viewing your favorite Contestant in the first person creates a new perspective that could draw in more players to the Sprint Vector Championship Intergalactica! Instead of an over the shoulder onlooker at an arcade, the viewer can be in the stands viewing the games on the big screen.
Sprint Vector, like CSGO and Echo Arena, is unique in that the game can be viewed in a large venue with large screens — hence, Vegas. Support from seriously established tech companies like Alienware (Dell/Intel), NVIDIA and Oculus will likely bring VR and gaming crowds in from across the globe. Live game streaming is unknown but expected for fans who can’t make it to Las Vegas in January, since they already have a Twitch channel dedicated to VR gaming.
VR Fitness Potential
Swinging your arms is arguably the most important movement in running. Players won’t be running and using their legs in Sprint Vector, but as an athletic VR game, it relies on the upper body for movement found in sports like cross country skiing or sprint skating.
Pumping your arms in the game will work the shoulders, chest, and mid-upper back muscles. If you’re a player who will be advancing to the tournament in January or want to get game ready for future competitions, you’ll want to focus on these areas to strengthen and on building up your stamina with cardio VR games.
Off To The Races
If you were a competitor in November and December and moved on as a finalist for the 2018 Alienware VR Cup in Las Vegas on January 8-10, we wish you the best and light speed to your arms!
If you look forward to potentially watching streamed placement games of Sprint Vector competitions through Twitch or other streaming services, please let us know in the comments section below!