Creatives across the map – indie filmmakers, emerging musicians, dancers, actors, installation artists, and beyond – all flock to Vimeo to forge their personal brands and spread their work around the world. Likewise, savvy culture-mongerers from far and wide visit Vimeo to hunt for the next big thing, or perhaps just to find a 5-minute slice of high-def humanity to punctuate their day.
Vimeo Couch Mode for Leap Motion places the power of Vimeo navigation at your fingertips, so you can “leap into your couch” when it’s time to dim the lights and depart from real life for inspiration. Now you can show off your own videos, browse your News Feed, or sift through your Watch Later list – all with your hands in the air. To celebrate, we’ve assembled an all-star team of Vimeo videos featuring touchless interaction. You can reach into the whole collection right here, right now. Here are just a few:
You can access Couch Mode from virtually anywhere on Vimeo – just look for the couch icon in your favorite videos and channels. We’ve highlighted it in red below. Once you see it once, you’ll discover it everywhere on Vimeo.
The screen will go dark. When you place your hands above your Controller, you’ll immediately see your fingers identified as small circles. Tap to play or pause, fast forward with a twirl, and swipe to move on to the next video.
This week in Airspace, stay alive for a minute at a time with Flow Studio’s newest fast-paced arcade game. Plus, foosball reimagined, match-3 cubes, Korean pop rhythms, an alcoholic balancing act, and 3D interactive mechanical models.
Can you survive for 60 seconds? Flow Studio’s latest game is a minimal arcade thrill ride where you must spin your eight-sided world to dodge speed bumps and holes. Each level lasts only a minute, but time flies fast inside Octagon.
Victory is your goooooooal!Foosack is a twist on classic foosball with one player per team – an attacker, defender, and goalie in one. Play against the computer or battle your friends in split-screen two-player mode.
Time is not your friend in cube world.Revertis3D is a unique match-3 game where you must draw on cubes and complete the sequences – before time runs out.
Spilled beer is a tragedy. Be a hero and keep your beer aloft in this fun balancing game, featuring retro graphics and energetic Irish music. Challenge your friends and prove that you can stay level-headed under pressure.
Dive in and master the beat. Wave your hands or fists, master the tempo, and hit falling lights with this rhythm action game that features multiple instruments and several Korean pop remixes.
Explore mechanical creations. The Leap Motion plug-in for SolidWorks mechanical CAD software lets you zoom, pan, and rotate through virtual models – with support for part, assembly and drawing documents. Navigate cars, engines, and everything else mechanical in a whole new way.
Ever wanted to smack a troll in the face with a smelly fish? Thanks to the latest free Airspace game, your wait is finally over. Also free this week, play with a magical puppet theater and learn how to write the letters of the alphabet. Plus, defeat wisecracking aliens and read the latest business news by swiping through a Japanese-language online newspaper.
Reach into an RPG fantasy realm. From the creators of Sortee and Midnight comes a new free game for Mac and Windows. Orc’s Arena throws you into the ring to fight monsters with motion control. Take swipes with hand swings, cast spells with gestures, and fight your friends to upgrade your orc.
Create and play with your own stories. Free for Mac and Windows, Marionette Zoo takes you into the whimsical world of puppet theater. Express your imagination through four exotic settings and fun characters like Bird, Monkey, Octopus, and T-rex.
Learn the broad strokes. For small children, learning how to read and write feels like gaining a superpower. Skywriting Alphabets is a free Windows game that helps little writers learn by writing letters in the air. Along the way, you’ll hear the story of baby alien Kaju, and discover practice and time trial modes for hours of fun.
Obnoxious aliens have invaded Earth. Now what are you going to do about it?Alien Frackass lets you take control of a cosmic paddle and whack balls at the invaders. Defend your turf against 5 wisecracking alien species across 18 levels.
Featuring high-quality reporting and in-depth analysis, The Nikkei is a Japanese language newspaper that covers economic and business news. The online edition is now available with Leap Motion interaction, allowing readers to browse its archives and read the latest news and trends.
Please note that the site is only offered in Japanese, and requires a subscription to the Nikkei online edition. You can sign up for the Nikkei online edition at nikkei.com. Once you’ve subscribed, check out leap.nikkei.com to access the financial world at your fingtertips.
Want to conquer an ionic storm, build a model airplane, or feed a baby turtle? Today, we’re featuring the three latest games to hit the Airspace Store, plus a creative tool that lets you create vivid sculptures in your browser.
Ride through a subatomic storm as a lone ione against an endless stream of red dots in this free game for Mac and Windows. Along the way, you’ll collect powerups, gather lives, and see how long you can last before being neutralized.
Your turtle is hungry – can you feed him quickly enough to stay alive? Grab and deposit fish eggs into his mouth in this simple Windows game. Gather yellow vitamins, avoid red and black balls, and watch your cute hatchling grow into a healthy adult turtle.
Reach out with your child to build a virtual model airplane with this free construction game for Mac. Designed for young mechanics aged 3 to 6, Build and Play 3D lets you add colorful propellers, wings, windows, and wheels. Slide the pieces together and watch your creation take flight.
Leopoly is a fun design app that lives in your browser. Create and shape your own 3D models with a variety of sculpting tools, then paint your creation in bright, vibrant colors. To try your hand at Leopoly, make that you’ve checked the “Allow Web Apps” box in the Leap Motion Control Panel (General tab). We recommend Google Chrome for all Leap Motion web apps.
From musical serenity to hardcore action, 2013 was a great year for Leap Motion gaming. Whether you like fighting violent mobsters and evil aliens, riding musical beats, or exploring a mysterious puzzle, the Airspace Store has lots of great games for you to discover. You can browse a full list of games in our gaming category or see the most popular apps in our Play collection.
But for the real breakout hits of the year, look no further than our Best Apps collection. Here are the top seven games of 2013 – plus how GameWAVE lets you reach into a wide variety of games.
Your finger is your weapon in Blue Estate Prologue, a first-person Windows shooter designed exclusively for the Leap Motion Controller. Load your gun and leap into the gritty world of sarcastic gangster Tony Luciano as he fights through wave after wave of bullets and swords from rival gangsters. Battle through outlandish locations that include a burlesque show, a steam bath, and secret doors. Get the app »
From the legendary co-creator of Spider-Man™ comes the latest high-tech superhero – Verticus. Equipped with a heat-resistant jump suit and charged with defeating an evil alien race, you must fall from outer space and into the Earth’s core. Dodge obstacles, collect powerups, upgrade your suit, and stay alive to save the world. (You can try the free version before purchasing the full app.) Get the app »
Smash and explode your way through 55 levels of chaotic demolition with Boom Ball Adventures for Mac and Windows. The cubic creatures of planet Crebos are rapidly forming walls in exotic locations around the world – the Egyptian pyramids, Japan, under the sea, and even in outer space! Knock them down with the Boom Ball using paddles, lasers, and more. (Want to try it first? Download the free trial before downloading the full version.) Get the app »
Ride the beats and rack up points in Dropchord, a music-driven score-challenge game for Mac and Windows. Use your fingers to manipulate a beam crossing a circle to dodge scratches and collect notes. Featuring an original soundtrack and mesmerizing visuals, it’s a unique experience that’s fun for all ages. Get the app »
Travel to a land of mystery and melancholy. Free for Mac and Windows, Kyoto is a serene experience that takes you into an ambient puzzle of sound and harmony. Reach out to explore a moonlit river, uncover the surprises hidden within, and get inspired by the game’s mind-melting original soundtrack. Get the app »
Slice fruit with your bare hands and master the art of the ninja with one of the world’s most popular games, now available on Windows for the Leap Motion Controller. Spray the walls with the juice of your delicious targets, avoid dangerous bombs, and rack up points to become a true food warrior. Get the app »
Feed everyone’s favorite candy-munching monster with Cut the Rope, free for Mac and Windows. Collect gold stars, swing sweets through the air, and overcome a series of physics-based puzzles. Get the app »
Take Control with GameWAVE
Available for Mac and Windows, GameWAVE lets you control almost anything on your computer – from your favorite games to your operating system. On the Leap Motion blog, we’ve explored several custom mappings for games like Diablo III, World of Warcraft, and Godus. But we just scratched the surface. On the developer’s site, you can discover over 50 custom mappings, or contribute your own. Community forum users have reported successful GameWAVE mappings and playthroughs for the following computer games:
GameWAVE and Second Life
The Drax Files is a mixed-reality YouTube channel dedicated to showcasing the creations of Second Life – a massive shared online virtual reality space. With the show, creator Bernard Drax reveals how designers, developers, musicians, social activists, and historical reenactors around the globe are using Second Life’s built-in 3D modelling tools to bring wonderful new creations to life.
Last month, Drax used the Leap Motion Controller and GameWAVE to dive into Second Life in a whole new way. In the video below, you can see how he can fly, walk, run, and teleport home with a wave of his hand. Read more »
This week in the Airspace Store, you can now download trial versions of Stan Lee’s Verticus and Catch Up Calu! before paying for the full apps. In other news, we have two new pig-themed games for Windows – sending them plunging down wells and soaring through the air. But first, a new artistic toolkit and a free world trip for your photos.
Want to get started on your touchless paint masterpiece? Reach into a highly expressive toolkit of inks, brushes, washes, and tools. Art Kit – Emperor Edition for Windows features over 20 dynamic brushes, an image editor, layers, blending, full-screen canvas mode, and much more. Get the app »
Take a tour of your photos around the world. AirGlobe for Mac and Windows gives you the power to sort your photos by place and go on a journey through time by sorting them chronologically. Take a spin, explore the globe, and relive your favorite memories. Get the app »
When pigs fly, it’s time to swipe them out of the sky. Pig Patrol for Windows pits you against four different types of pigs with unique abilities. Perform combo attacks for bonuses and access a variety of hectic levels. Get the app »
What goes up, must come down. With Bungee Pigs for Windows, you get to hurl a fully customizable pig down a jewel-encrusted well. But don’t worry – your pig is safely secured with a bungee cord. Dodge obstacles and collect gems, tokens, and power-ups. Get the app »
Of course, falling and dodging isn’t just for pigs – high-tech superheroes can do it too! In Stan Lee’s Verticus for Mac and Windows, you must prevent the Earth’s destruction at the hands of an evil alien race by free-falling through the atmosphere and into the Earth’s crust. Try the app »
Ready to be the alien invader? Catch Up Calu! for Mac and Windows features a perpetually late alien who must weave through outer space, farmlands, canyons, and cityscapes to catch up with his companions. Naturally, he encounters a little resistance along the way. Try the app »
Our tiny little device is making a big splash this holiday season. The Leap Motion Controller, which plugs into your Mac or PC, lets you control apps with the wave of a hand. Paint or sculpt clay in the air, drive a car, fight evil robots, explore the universe – it’s amazing what you can do with just your hands. From small kids and home chefs to tech lovers and avid gamers, the Leap Motion Controller is the perfect present for everyone on your list. Maybe that’s why we’ve been featured in such a wide variety of holiday gift guides:
Home chefs who hate smearing their devices with dough and grease will enjoy touchless recipe browsing with AlltheCooks Recipes.
If you act fast and order online today (Dec. 17, 2013), you can still get the Leap Motion Controller in time for Christmas (in the US) for that special someone on your list (even if that special someone is you)! It’s also available at Best Buy stores throughout the US and Canada, and a variety of international retailers. Happy shopping!
The holidays are a great time to reflect on the past year, and with everything that’s been happening at Leap Motion, there’s a lot to look back on. While we’ve already talked about embedding our technology into 12 HP platforms and introducing support for 13 new currencies, here are three other recent developments that make it easier for you to access a wide variety of Leap Motion apps.
150+ Apps in Airspace
The Airspace Store hit a major landmark this week with double the number of apps since our launch in July. Over the past five months, we’ve seen a wide variety of apps from a diverse community of developers, from world-class game studios to individual creators. Just in the past few weeks, we’ve launched several breakout hits:
Allthecooks Recipes: a social cooking app that lets you explore recipes without gunking up your computer
Autonomous: a construction game from Double Fine Studios that throws you into a robot apocalypse
Freeform: our free clay sculpting app that lets you create 3D printable models in the air
Stan Lee’s Verticus: a fast-paced freefalling sci-fi game from the co-creator of Spider Man™
The Weather Channel: travel the globe, search for cities, and circle your finger through time
Volantes: take control of a ship and fly through a competitive multiplayer world
PayPal Support
We recently introduced PayPal support in the Airspace Store. By purchasing Airspace Credit with your PayPal account, you can buy apps without a credit card – great news for everyone who uses debit cards, gift cards, and other payment methods. Want to try it? Go to your Leap Motion account and scroll down to Airspace Credit.
Store Shelves Worldwide
For many people, nothing can replace the physical aspect of brick-and-mortar shopping – discovering something new and holding it in your hands before you buy it. When we launched in July, we partnered with Best Buy USA to bring the Leap Motion Controller to stores throughout the country. Since then, our technology has spread to retail shelves around the globe.
You can now find the Leap Motion Controller at Best Buy and Future Shop (Canada), Media Markt (Switzerland and Germany), Dick Smith (Australia), Maplin (UK), Incredible Connection (South Africa), and FNAC (France). It’s also featured on several online retailers, including New Egg and Amazon UK. With each new retail partner, our 3D interactive technology is getting closer to home.
We have lots of exciting projects in the works for the coming new year. As always, you can keep track of the latest developments by subscribing to our newsletter, following us on Twitter and Facebook, and joining the conversation on our community forums.
As any chef can attest, swiping, scrolling, or clicking through a recipe with fingers covered in dough can be a messy, insurmountable feat – not to mention potentially damaging to your devices. Reaching into Allthecooks Recipes with Leap Motion, however, keeps your device batter-free. Watch the difference:
Whether it’s your little cousin’s Gingerbread Village, your grandmother’s irresistible Shortbread Snowball, or your uncle’s infamous Bourbon Buttercream Macaron, everyone has that special cookie they look forward to devouring in December. As generations of bakers pass their prized recipes onto the next, we look to apps like Allthecooks Recipes to spread tradition and cheer throughout the family tree.
We’d love to see what you’ve got in the oven over the Christmas season. Tweet us a picture @LeapMotion using the hashtag #LeapChef or share the deliciousness on our Facebook page. We can’t wait to see what you’ve got cooking.
This week in Airspace, we’ve nearly doubled our apps since launching in July, with over 150 titles for you to discover. These include 3 brand-new web links, 3 Windows games, and a new standalone app for sound designers and professional musicians.
Web Links
To use Leap Motion on the web, make sure your device’s green light is on, and that you’ve checked the “Allow Web Apps” box in the Leap Motion Control Panel (General tab). We recommend Google Chrome for web apps.
Reach into over 15 million songs and the largest online community of music lovers on the web. With Grooveshark, you can access and create playlists, listen to genre-based radio stations, and control your music with a wave of your hand. Check it out »
Now available on the web, PhotoScape is an immersive browsing experience that puts the world’s photos in your hands. Explore your own photos or browse public image streams – including photography, architecture, design, landscapes, and art. Check it out »
Experience a new way to browse, discover, and watch YouTube videos. Videogram pulls the best scenes from each video to create interactive pictorial summaries – so you can explore videos with the same ease and simplicity as photos. Check it out »
Compete against the world in this exhilarating free-runner hit for Windows Phone, now available in the Airspace Store for Windows. Customize your ragdoll and access unique abilities with colorful 3D graphics and intuitive, gesture-based gameplay. Get the app »
Moles have infested your yard – but this time, they mean business. Pound waves of enemies into submission and put out fires with nothing but a boxing glove and watering can. Get the app »
Dive into the breathtaking world of wingsuit flying and soar through a challenging obstacle course with Wingsuit Infinity Flyer for Windows. Master the art of flight by flying further and collecting bonuses. Get the app »
Control sound in real time with WaveWarper, a standalone music app that lets you combine and loop up to six sound layers to create a single dynamic file. From there, you can use your Leap Motion Controller to create custom whoosh, Doppler, and passby effects. Get the app »
