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Oculus hires Valve VR man

Adds Tom Forsyth and robotics scientist Steve LaValle to team

Oculus has made two significant additions to its team, bringing software architect Tom Forsyth, formerly of Valve, and robotics scientist Steve LaValle on board.

"The Rift is a great bit of kit and combines a bunch of different technology together in a very clever package," said Forsyth.

"It was amazing working with it on Team Fortress 2 and seeing the extra immersion people felt inside a game they already knew so well. I'm really looking forward to helping other developers work with this tech as we go towards a consumer version."

Forsyth worked with Valve for nine months, and focused on research and development for virtual and augmented reality systems. He also developed the Valve VR library. He's also worked at Intel, RAD Game Tools and Mucky Foot Productions Ltd.

LaValle is now Oculus' principal scientist, using his background at University of Illinois, Urbana and has worked with the Rift team since September 2012. His projects at the university have explored topics like feedback motion planning and combinatorial filters.

The Oculus Rift is a reasonably priced virtual reality head-mounted display and was funded by a $2.4 million Kickstarter campaign. Oculus Rift development kit and access to the Oculus SDK are currently available to pre-order for $300.

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Rachel Weber

Senior Editor

Rachel Weber has been with GamesIndustry since 2011 and specialises in news-writing and investigative journalism. She has more than five years of consumer experience, having previously worked for Future Publishing in the UK.

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