Kickstarter campaign going well for Dimensional – a ground-breaking VR-only game that makes you move
Dimensional is an experimental VR game with innovative movement mechanics, in which you use physical actions to navigate dangerous chambers and save an alien race.
Dimensional bucks the current trend and is bringing a game to the Oculus Rift that not only allows for standing and physical movement, but insists on it. The game, which also aims to release on the HTC Vive, draws together various key elements that the developer, Brett Jackson, sees as essential components to create a sense of presence in virtual reality.
Most important among these elements is the innovative, nausea-free locomotion system that allows the player to physically walk through the virtual environment, even if they only have a small area in which to play (minimum 1.2m x 50cm). Players can expect to explore by walking around, and to see their way ahead and dodge dangers by crouching and leaning.
The system instructs players to mark out the playing area they have available and displays a grid on the floor in-game, to show where it is safe to move. The grid can be teleported around the environment and even rotated, enabling players to reach areas of interest. Other unique techniques ensure you’re regularly facing the tracking camera and positioned within your grid to allow you to complete the many physical challenges.
Other key elements for immersion include: making players feel an innate sense of danger, interacting with physics-enabled objects and even taking immersion-breaking problems such as dealing with HMD cables into consideration. You can read much more on Dimensional’s Kickstarter page.
Dimensional’s Kickstarter campaign had a strong start, gaining over 50% of the goal within the first week and being highlighted by Kickstarter as a “Project we love”. It has gone on to pass it’s £1,000 goal and is now hoping to reach one or more stretch goals.
Dimensional needs to be played to appreciate how standing, physical gameplay increases immersion. It came as an early blow to the project when Oculus told Jackson that, despite previous arrangement, Dimensional would not be listed on Oculus Share due to the platform having issues that no one has time to fix. “Oculus Share was an important way to reach DK2 owners. I can only ask and hope that people share the demo so that it finds its way to more players.” said Jackson
About the game
Dimensional puts players in the role of a rookie soldier tasked with saving an alien race from extinction. Years ago, the aliens hid their offspring from hunters in secret chambers on Earth. Now, the hunters have found these chambers and players must navigate these dangerous spaces and get to the offspring first.
You can try a demo of Dimensional today on the Oculus DK2. See the Kickstarter page for full details.
About the developer:
While Brett has 27 years of software development experience, this is the first game he has worked on. Inspired by the re-emergence of VR he has been working full-time on VR projects for the last 12 months. “There’s such a lot to learn. I was having doubts about whether to carry on, but then I entered the VRTGO VR competition last year and won. The prize included ongoing mentoring from nDreams. Talking to experienced professionals and getting their input has been a great help. I’m now confident that I can deliver the game that I envisaged.”
Brett first released a playable demonstration of his locomotion system (The Play Pit) in July 2015. He has since continued to refine the system and explore its potential.
Winner of VRTGO VR Competition in November 2015
http://vrtgo.co.uk/vrtgo-launches-competition-for-new-innovative-vr-titles/
Kickstarter link
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/708582338/dimensional-a-ground-breaking-vr-only-experience
Assets download
Oculus statement on the Share Platform
https://forums.oculus.com/viewtopic.php?f=34&t=29874
Website
www.DimensionalGame.com
Contact
Head Start Design – www.HeadStartDesign.co.uk
Brett Jackson (Developer) – brett@HeadStartDesign.co.uk
Tel. 0114 2830832
