Wow, it’s 2017! Time really does fly when you’re having fun!

Happy 2017! We had an incredible 2016 at Cascade Game Foundry, adding awesome new gear and VR capabilities to our diving simulation game, Infinite Scuba®, expanding our reach to new audiences, and doing super-cool contract work for our innovative clients, so we wanted to get you up-to-date on our adventures.

We started the year creating a virtual experience for Jurassic World – The Exhibition, which opened in Melbourne, Australia in March and is currently at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. We integrated assets from the movie into our Dino Design Station and holographic videos, and we learned 3D printing.

 

Our travels took us to the annual Game Developer’s Conference in San Francisco CA in March, where we co-presented with Intel. In April, we presented at Earth Day TX in Dallas, then at the Serious Play Conference in Chapel Hill CD in July, SIGGRAPH (short for Special Interest Group on Computer GRAPHics and Interactive Techniques) in Anaheim (July, w/Intel), World Conservation Congress in Honolulu HI (September), and the DEMA dive industry show in Las Vegas (November).

In April, our partners at Mission Blue (Dr. Sylvia Earle’s ocean awareness non-profit) invited us to co-present the latest version of Infinite Scuba in their booth at Earth Day TX, the largest and oldest Earth Day event in the world. We created an Oculus Rift VR demo of a dive with Dr. Earle in Belize that had long lines every day of the show.

Back home in Seattle in May/June, we continued to get rave reviews for our #VR and conventional game at local indie game shows: Power of Play, iFest, and the Intel Buzz Workshop, where we earned a Runner-Up award.

In July, we road-tripped to the East Coast for business meetings and a speaking engagement. Our talk (21st Century Tortoise – Slow & Steady Indie Survival) and our game were enthusiastically received at the Serious Play Conference (Chapel Hill NC), a gathering of visionary educators and software developers who believe games can revolutionize learning.

In September, we presented Infinite Scuba at the World Conservation Congress (WCC) in Honolulu in the #NatureForAll Pavilion and the Mission Blue booth. Dr. Earle did a #VR dive with herself in our game – we continue to be honored by her support. During WCC, two articles we co-authored were published in the academic journal Aquatic Conservation – Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems during the event. We also snorkeled with spinner dolphins, courtesy of local surfing and videography legend Ray Hollowell (PlanSea.org). #AchievementsUnlocked

Sylvia Earle Dives with #VR Sylvia Earle, World Conservation Congress 2016

During the summer and fall, we developed and delivered Rescue Bear Operation, a children’s forest-fire prevention game getting great reviews.

  

We presented Infinite Scuba (#VR and conventional Windows/Mac) at the annual DEMA (Diving Equipment & Marketing Association) show in November for the 4th consecutive year, where we received numerous invitations to demo at other events around the world in 2017. The ocean artist Wyland loved our #VR dive!

Wyland points out a whaleshark in our #VR dive, DEMA 2016

In December, we hit the milestone of 250K downloads of Infinite Scuba, a staggering accomplishment for an indie game. We are wrapping up 2016 with the final work to launch Infinite Scuba on Steam Early Access, the premier site for downloadable games. Our first #VR release on the Oculus Rift store is also scheduled for 2017.

We are registered as a Social Purpose Corporation (SPC), B-Corp, in the state of Washington. Our social goals are environmental education and the promotion of STEM skills. Throughout the school year, we visited and presented virtually to many schools in Washington and around the country, ranging from elementary to high school, about game development and ocean/environmental issues.

As we start 2017, we are excited to release our first cold-water dive site (Salish Sea, Puget Sound), new dive gear, final Steam release and new activities, as well as advance our #VR work and evaluate new contract work for clients. We are grateful for the opportunity to work with so many fine partners in the diving industry, software industry, and ocean environmental world. Thank you!

Best wishes for a healthy, peaceful, and productive 2017!!

Your friends at Cascade Game Foundry

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