Owlchemy Labs to Release Anticipated VR Title ‘Vacation Simulator’ on April 9
Owlchemy Labs, the award-winning virtual reality (VR) studio behind Job Simulator and Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality, today announced the highly anticipated release of their next multi-platform VR title, Vacation Simulator.
The studio’s follow-up to smash hit Job Simulator will be available April 9th on SteamVR and Oculus for $29.99. The game will release on PlayStation VR in Summer 2019. Announced alongside the game’s release date are the vacation destinations featured in the game: Vacation Island’s Beach, Forest, Mountain, and Resort.
In the year 2060— after record enrollment in the wildly successful Job Simulator— robots decided to uncover what else humans did besides ‘job’. After years of balancing buoyancy levels, cataloguing campfire chronicles, and securing ski slope safety protocols, their research led to the creation of a rough approximation of ‘not jobbing’: the Vacation Simulator.
Built from the ground-up for VR, Vacation Simulator presents a humorous, fully-interactive experience to rediscover the true meaning of ‘time off’! Explore the vibrant world of Vacation Island and make real memories of a simulated vacation with feature-rich destinations, a colorful cast of Bots, and endless interactions. Reallocate your bandwidth and get ready to splash, s’more, snowball, and selfie your way to optimal relaxation!
“Vacation Simulator is bigger than anything we’ve done before, and we’re excited to see how everyone experiences ‘vacation’ in their own way,” says Devin Reimer, Chief Executive Owl at Owlchemy Labs. “The sheer interactivity and connected world we’ve built with Vacation Simulator makes for truly mind-boggling possibilities. It’s VR— there is no wrong way to play.”
The destinations of Vacation Island let players experience RECREATION beyond the theoretical limit. Beach, Forest, Mountain, and Resort destinations offer players typical vacation activities with a not-so-typical twist thanks to robot misinterpretations of human pasttimes. Fans of the tongue-in-cheek humor from the ‘Bots’ of Job Simulator will rejoice in expanded interactivity with the large cast of characters that inhabit the world.
“To interact with Bots in Vacation Simulator, all you need to do is wave,” explains Andrew Eiche, Chief Technology Owl and Cable Slinger at Owlchemy Labs. “You don’t need a button, you immediately go to wave and it just feels natural. It’s a simple, powerful interaction that allows players to interact with characters and connect with the VR world in a very personal way.”
In addition to innovations in character and world interactivity with Vacation Simulator, Owlchemy placed a focus on representation with the introduction of a robust avatar customization system. In a recent blog post, the studio shared the various customization options for avatars— skin tone, visor color, hair style, hair color, facial hair, and glasses— as well as the intensive research and development hours put in to make an inclusive avatar system in VR.
“We believe everyone should be able to enjoy VR and feel like themselves,” Reimer says. “At Owlchemy we strive to make VR for everyone, and I believe we’re taking huge steps towards achieving that with Vacation Simulator.”
About Owlchemy Labs
Owlchemy Labs is a creative studio with a passion for polished and unique VR experiences and games. Founded in 2010 and based out of Austin, TX, we believe that interaction and using your hands is what truly makes virtual reality the most incredible place to build unique content that blows players minds. We love building experiences oozing with style and full to the brim with our unique brand of humor. Our titles include the award-winning VR triple launch title “Job Simulator”, the Emmy-nominated “Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality”, and our upcoming original VR title “Vacation Simulator”.
