Battle Royale titles like Fortnite and PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds may be milking the cash currently from PC and console players but there are other developers looking to bring this gameplay design to virtual reality (VR). VRFocus has previously discussed BigBox VR’s Population: ONE, due for release this year. Arriving much sooner is CyberDreams tactical shooter Virtual Battlegrounds, scheduled to arrive via Steam Early Access next month.
With Virtual Battlegrounds, CyberDream aims to combine both the awesome parts of VR with the best bits of Battle Royale, with a massive island to explore with plenty of unique settings, lots of guns, and plenty of immersive gameplay.
“With Virtual Battlegrounds I really wanted to create something different, ” said Creative Director Sean Pinnock. “I’ve spent a long time watching the VR games market grow and honestly I’ve wanted more out of the games that have become front runners in the market. They’ve been mostly smaller confined experiences like wave shooters and rhythm games. While they do execute something simple well, they don’t provide the experience that for myself VR is all about. I want to lose myself entirely to a new world. That’s what Virtual Battlegrounds aims to do. Our goal from the start has been to create the ultimate experience in this genre. Compete in a large 2 square kilometre map with a host of physical locomotion options. Squad up, play against other players or bots. Drive around with vehicles or swim, jump, and zipline to your destination.”
One of the big features in Virtual Battlegounds that helps it make use of VR’s immersive features is the physical locomotion. Players will need to use their arms, legs and body to move and make use of the environment. “Personally, I don’t want to be sitting down idly while having an epic experience in VR,” Pinnock continues. “Instead, I want to be fully immersed in the world I’m in. I want to reach out and grab things, use my body to move and avoid things, crouch, jump and maybe even lay down. This has been a major driving factor for all of our design decisions throughout development. In Virtual Battlegrounds you will use your arms and body to climb, swim, zipline, sprint, skydive, prone and even jump. This creates for a much more physical and immersive experience.”
Alongside the important movement controls, Virtual Battlegounds will feature Sniper Rifles, SMG’s, Assault Rifles, Pistols, and Heavy Weapons, with an assortment of scopes, silencers, laser points, sight modifiers to choose from. Additional features will include a Hub Area with Twitch Stream, shooting range and jukebox, basketball, plus Squad and Solo modes.
Virtual Battlegounds is scheduled to launch for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Windows Mixed Reality headsets on 15th March, with the early access period expected to take between 6-12 months. For further updates, keep reading VRFocus.
via Mint VR