There are certain virtual reality (VR) titles now that could be called classics. Videogames all fans of the technology should have tried at least once, such as Job Simulator, Battlezone, EVE: Valkyrie and Space Pirate Trainer to name just a few. The developer of the latter experience I-Illusions has today announced a sequel, set in the same universe but going multiplayer – Space Pirate Arena.
Space Pirate Trainer was a purely single-player experience set in a 360-degree environment but with an interactive area of just 180-degrees. With no movement, it was great to showcase VR to new players. Space Pirate Arena aims to turn that gameplay on its head, providing a genre-defining experience for standalone headsets.
At present, Space Pirate Arena is a PvP shooter designed to work in court-sized environments – think basketball, tennis, any sort of sports hall – in what can be described as a frenzied game of hide and seek. With an open area to run around in, Space Pirate Arena creates a virtual environment with walls, doors and such like. It’s all designed around movement and getting players active in VR (a theme becoming far more commonplace).
“Space Pirate Trainer gave a glimpse of what happens when you add physicality in gameplay,” said I-Illusions’ founder Dirk Van Welden in a statement. “We wanted to push it further because we believe in the added immersiveness of one to one movement in virtual reality. There’s zero motion sickness, and feels incredibly real.”
I-Illusions has released a teaser trailer showcasing an early version of the videogame in action and it certainly looks promising. Recorded using Oculus Quests and GoPro camera’s the studio hasn’t finalised which VR systems Space Pirate Arena will support, although Oculus Quest seems to be a given. Untethered devices like HTC Vive Focus are the most likely avenue to go down for complete freedom in the large areas required.
Supposedly there isn’t a limit to the number of players which could participate, so scaling up is definitely going to happen. When is also a mystery, with I-Illusions yet to settle on a release window. When further details are made available, VRFocus will let you know.
via Mint VR