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// Alex Colgan

Who said Unity developers have all the fun? From building virtual hands in Three.js to browser-based virtual reality, we’re also developing new tools to enable truly 3D interaction on the web. This week, we’re happy to announce LeapJS Widgets – basic UI elements can be used in a wide variety of experiences. It’s a brand new library, simple enough to be used with just a few lines of code, but with near-infinite possibilities for experimentation and customization.

After six weeks of heated competition, the 3D Jam closed with 150+ final submissions from developers in more than 40 countries around the globe. Now the first round of judging is underway – and you can vote for your favorites!

Sci-fi space odysseys and mysterious forests, quirky puzzles and addictive games, action-packed thrills and artistic experiments – there’s an incredible range of beta demos for you to download and play. Virtual reality was enormously popular among the jammers, with over 50% of submissions designed for the Oculus Rift.

With just one week until our 3D Jam submission deadline, we’re hosting another Let’s Play session today! At 2pm PST, join us on Twitch TV to see the latest demos and chat with your fellow game lovers.

While we ran into some technical difficulties with our audio setup and framerate last time (sorry about that, folks!) we’ll be up and running with a much stronger rig. To set a reminder, subscribe here, and we’ll email you five minutes before the session begins. While you wait, here are last week’s 3D Jam Let’s Play highlights!

This weekend, we saw 50+ early submissions to the Leap Motion 3D Jam! To celebrate the milestone, we’re hosting a live Let’s Play tomorrow at 4pm PST on Twitch TV – where you can join developers, gamers, and tech lovers to offer your commentary on these early contenders for jam supremacy.

It’s been a busy month on the Leap Motion Twitch TV channel! With our 3D Jam Let’s Play! coming up on Wednesday, we thought we’d highlight our recent tutorial and Q&A sessions, which are now available on YouTube.

At the top of the post, you can watch as we build a mock application live, incorporating lessons we’ve learned about UX/UI design for 3D space. Topics range from creating slick menu systems, to the art of robust interaction design, to the intricacies of “immersion,” and beyond.

Ever feel like destroying everything around you? As developers push to release their early builds for today’s 3D Jam milestone, we thought we’d spotlight one of our earliest #ScreenshotSaturday submitters. Inspired by the classic arcade game Rampage, LabCoat Studios’ Mega Creature Smash is an over-the-top action game all about destruction and revenge.

One of the great appeals of motion control is that it gives us an enormous feeling of power and control over our digital environment. But what if someone took that control away from you? For their Select 3D Jam submission, Chad Toprak and Yang Ho are developing a unique two-player experience for the Oculus Rift – dualcyon, a blind co-op puzzle experience.

Inspired by the classic arcade game Out Run, the upcoming 3D Jam submission Ferrari Cops brings a new spin on an old favorite. Along with fast-paced gameplay and challenging courses, it also features the ability to blitz through the streets and control guns with your fingers.

This week, as the global 3D Jam’s Open track continues to heat up, the 16 teams chosen at IndieCade 2014 have been hard at work building 3D experiences for the Select track. One of the teams competing for more than $75,000 in cash and prizes is Lazy 8 Studios with Rhythm Red Alert.

Ever wondered how a subatomic particle feels as it accelerates through the supercollider on the road to annihilation? From the developer behind Kyoto and Lotus, Collider is a new audiovisual experience that takes you on a journey through a psychedelic vortex of light and sound. Now featuring full head-mounted support for the Oculus Rift DK1 and DK2, Collider brings together raw infrared imagery with full 3D immersion – and it’s available free on the Leap Motion App Store.