It was announced yesterday by IGN that Elijah Wood, of Lord of the Rings fame, would be partnering with Ubisoft’s FunHouse studio in Montreal to create an as yet unannounced VR game. Along with that Dean Evans, of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon fame, will be part of the team that will work with Wood and his production company SpectreVision. When IGN spoke with Wood at the Sundance Film Festival he had this to say about the partnership,
As a longtime gamer, I’m first and foremost a fan and admirer of Ubisoft. So to be collaborating with them within the realm of VR is an incredible treat!
Evans also announced his involvement via Twitter.
I can now share something that I've been working on. Can't wait to see the future. https://t.co/x2JZ7zIChc @UbisoftMTL @_SpectreVision
— Dean Evans (@SpleenZilla) January 21, 2016
SpectreVision CEO Lisa Whalen said this during the announcement at the festival.
We’re thrilled to partner with an industry leader like Ubisoft to explore the innovative and burgeoning technology that is virtual reality. Together, we can tell an infinite number of unique stories in a bold and original new format.
SpectreVision was founded by in 2010 by Wood, Daniel Noah and Josh C. Waller with the simple goal of telling “heartfelt, character driven stories tackling real emotional and social issues that test the boundaries of the genre space.” SpectreVision’s body of work includes film, music and now video games. Some of their projects include Cooties, a movie about teachers fighting off zombie kids, and Open Windows, about a fan forced to stalk his favorite actress via her webcam.
With the incoming wave of VR games and consoles it’s easy to lose track of who’s making what, but you’re going to want to keep an eye out for whatever this group has planned. Fingers crossed for something involving Frodo riding robot dinosaurs with laser eyes.