Day: July 5, 2018

Ceek: A Brief Introduction

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Ceek is yet another blockchain-based VR app that has ambitious plans to offer live concert events and other experiences:

CEEK VR simulates the communal experience of attending a live concert, being in a classroom, attending a sporting event and other “money can’t buy” exclusive experiences with friends anywhere at anytime. CEEK VR creates, curates and distributes Virtual Reality content for top-class partners using patented headsets and CEEK’s VR platform.

The website is full of references to big-name musical artists such as Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. A YouTube promotional video explains how blockchain technology is used on the Ceek platform:

Here’s a second promotional video, showing some of the VR venues within Ceek:

The Ceek token sale website has more information. Ceek alrready has a partnership with Universal Music:

CEEK VR, Inc.’s partnership agreement with Universal Music Group grants rights to live performances with top tier artists including Katy Perry, Lady Gaga, U2, Sting, Neyo and more! CEEK has upcoming releases with major studios and influential producers.

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CEEK’s mobile ready, VR headset is sold at major retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, Target and includes a $10.00 iTunes reward gift code with purchase.

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CEEK VR is a distributor of cryptographically authenticated immersive content and merchandise. CEEK’s device agnostic platform is compatible with smartphones, Smart TV’s, desktop, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality devices. CEEK’s world class partners include Universal Music, Apple and T-Mobile.

CEEK Tokens are governed by Ethereum Smart Contracts, allowing token holders ability for flexible, tokenized ‘in-world’ interactions, rewards, voting, contests, virtual goods and other transactions utilizing ERC20 compliant Tokens called CEEK.

At the moment, Ceek does not appear to support either the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive VR headsets, Windows Mixed Reality headsets, or Gear VR, although they have issued a press release that they plan to offer support sometime later this summer:

With the mission to be the first to reach one billion “CEEKERS” of content and exciting experiences, CEEK VR will be introducing new environments which will include photorealistic avatars…debuting this summer for ROBLOX in VR, GEAR VR, OCULUS VR, AND MICROSOFT mixed reality headsets.

The Ceek website currently only offers two VR viewer options: a Ceek-branded VR headset for US$99.99, which works with your existing cellphone, as well as a US$14.99 Megadeath-branded cardboard headset, which also works with your cellphone :

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Here’s an unboxing and hands-on review video of the Ceek headset:

I downloaded the Ceek app to my iPhone to test it out (it’s also available for Android devices). It offers two ways for you to view content, either a 360-degree display or the use of the Ceek VR headset:

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Since I don’t have the Ceek VR headset, I chose the first option. Bascially, you get a sort of heads-up display that looks like this:

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What I found incredibly annoying was a pop-up window that appeared over the HUD, which I could not clear:

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I eventually gave up in frustration. I have no idea how well the Ceek VR headset works, but the app seems pretty useless without it.

It would appear that Ceek still has a few bugs to iron out. I’d check back in 6 to 12 months to see what progress has been made.

UPDATED: Cryptovoxels, A Brief Introduction

What? What’s that you say??

You say you’ve got Ethereum burning a hole in your pocket, and you’re actively searching for a monochrome, voxel-based virtual world that supports both virtual reality and is on the blockchain? Well, have I got an offer for you! Take a gander at the sexy monochrome website of Cryptovoxels!!

Cryptovoxels 5 July 2018

But wait, there’s more! There’s a YouTube video showing you just how visually exciting the virtual world of Cryptovoxels really can be!!

C’mon, admit it! Doesn’t that make you want to immediately break open your wallet and part with some hard-earned cryptocurrency to buy your very own monochrome, voxel world? (Hey, c’mon!! It’s way better than Decentraland! You can actually visit it!!)

*sigh* Blockchain-based VR has officially jumped the shark.

UPDATE July 8th: I chatted very briefly today with the developer of Cryptovoxels via Twitter, and I know he’s disappointed that I’ve judged his platform so harshly. It’s an interesting project, and I’m sure that it’s been fun to work on. But honestly, compared to what most of the other metaverse platforms are offering, Cryptovoxels doesn’t stand a chance. I did a quick calculation, and in order to buy a piece of land to build my voxels on, it would cost me at least 0.1 Ethereum, which works out to CDN$64.00:

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Sorry, but I’m not buying, and I don’t think that many other people will choose to invest either. There’s just too many other platforms out there that offer a lot more, for less money. Sansar is offering up to three 4 km by 4 km experiences, for FREE, and you can build in colour! Sinespace is offering one region, which can be up to 32 km by 32 km, for FREE, and you can also build things in colour! Both platforms also allow you to create more than just blocks! You can import mesh objects of just about any complexity you desire.

And if you compare it with Minecraft, a similar voxel-building virtual world, well, that’s only CDN$35.00, half the price of the cheapest plot of Cryptovoxels land, and with much more functionality.

And frankly, I am getting totally fed up with all this blockchain-based virtual reality nonsense. People are putting blockchain into projects where it is a solution hunting around for a problem to solve. I am so sick of the blockchain hype already!

Maybe I’m wrong; maybe Cryptovoxels will be successful. But I doubt it, based on what I have seen so far, and comparing it with other products already on the marketplace. Your mileage may vary.

A Detailed List of VR Cryptocurrencies

VRCryptocurrencies 4 July 2018.pngThere’s a new website called VRCryptocurrencies.com, which has published a list of VR cryptocurrencies. If you’ve been following my blog, you’ll see a lot of familiar names on that list:

Plus a whole bunch of new ones I had never heard of before:

Now, some of these do not appear to be social VR apps, so I won’t bother covering them on this blog. But there are a few interesting ones that merit further investigation!

The VRCurrencies website has a blog as well, which looks like it could be a good place to keep abreast of news regarding virtual reality-based cryptocurrency/blockchain projects in future. As I have stated before, I am extremely wary of crypto/blockchain VR projects at this point:

…I refuse to put one cent of my own money into any cryptocurrency at this point, and I advise anybody who wishes to do so, to do every single scrap of their homework before investing in any product or service. It’s simply too risky.

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The actions of a few bad apples (both individuals and companies) are threatening to spoil the entire barrel. Also, greed is driving investors into ill-informed and risky speculation, and currently, there is a crypto feeding frenzy that is starting to remind me of Shark Week. I fear that this is a financial bubble that will hurt many investors when it implodes. Caveat emptor!