Mint Virtual Reality

After going hands-on with the upcoming looter shooter-turned-RPG, I came away wondering exactly what makes a game Borderlands.

via Mint VR

Shadow Warrior 3 accomplishes everything a video game has to without breaking a sweat or overcomplicating things.

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Valve’s Gabe Newell has dropped yet more hints that the Steam creator is working on a standalone VR headset of its own.

In another interview surrounding the release of the portable Steam Deck device — this time from Eurogamer — Newell alluded to how work with Valve’s current VR offerings had helped build the new handheld. Similarly, work on Steam Deck could then go on to influence what the company does next in VR.

“You know, all of these things relate to each other, right? A lot of the technology that we might be using and future versions of that comes, you know, from technology that we have to develop for VR,” Newell explained. “And then if you flip it around and you look at that as like a highly performant mobile PC gaming device, you sort of say, well, why can’t I have that in a tetherless integrated VR solution?”

“With headsets, you have a lot more ability to do things like neuromodulation or the direct sensors and stuff on people’s heads, or you’re looking at information that’s easy to convey through sensors close to somebody’s hands,” he continued. “All of these things tend to snowball over time, and with each one of them we think what are we going to learn? What are we going to help software developers do? How does that translate into building compelling solutions for gamers?”

Valve has been hinting at the possibility of a standalone VR headset ever since Steam Deck was announced last year, with Newell recently branding the device as a “stepping stone” to it. With that said, in last week’s interview he also noted that Valve wasn’t “really there yet” when it came to actually building the device and, given Steam Deck pre-orders are already backlogged into next year, we’re not likely to see it anytime soon.

Still, reports from 2021 indicate that Valve is working on the device, currently codenamed ‘Deckard’. Just don’t hold your breath for an announcement anytime soon.

via Mint VR

While companies like Meta and HTC Vive are investing in their metaverse vision, governments are notoriously slow when it comes to technological changes. Unless you’re South Korea, of course, which has announced plans to invest 223.7 billion Korean won ($186.7 million USD) in a national metaverse project aimed at stimulating growth for businesses.

The investment was pledged by South Korea’s Ministry of ICT, Science, and Future Planning, to be spent accomplishing four main goals across an ecosystem dubbed the “Expanded Virtual World”. Aiming to support both digital content as well as corporate growth, this metaverse plan will be somewhat different to others as it’ll also look to expand real-life cities onto the platform. It will also be used for education and to help nurture youth experts.

Part of the investment will be used to attract content creators to help build it. The ministry will be hosting community-oriented activities such as a metaverse developer contest and hackathons. Furthermore, the government will also look at creating regulatory systems and laws that would be favourable to the metaverse.

“The Ministry of Science and ICT through the ‘Expanded Virtual World New Industry Leading Strategy’ aims to create a sustainable and expanded virtual world ecosystem based on public-private partnerships. Focus also on inter-company collaboration, technology development, and regulatory innovation so that domestic companies can compete with global companies,” the South Korean ministry said in a statement.

This isn’t the first time South Korea has looked to decisively position itself within the metaverse. Last year South Korea’s capital Seoul announced the ‘Metaverse Seoul’ project that would be created by 2026 thanks to a $33 million investment.

Similarly, the country’s $200bn sovereign wealth fund, Korea Investment Corp (KIC), revealed its increasing investment in Silicon Valley startups with a particular focus on metaverse ventures.

As South Korea continues to push into the metaverse, gmw3 will keep you updated.

via Mint VR

There’s yet another fitness-focused VR boxing subscription service on the way to Quest. This time it’s Liteboxer.

Set to release on March 3, Liteboxer has you punching targets to the beat. You’ll get tips and tricks from trainers, and the game tracks the power, accuracy, and timing of your punch.

Liteboxer Coming To Quest

Unlike other rhythm-based games, Liteboxer sees you working with a terminal that lights up where you need to hit rather than a constant stream of notes coming towards you like in Beat Saber. Music, meanwhile, promises tracks from Justin Bieber, Bon Jovi, The Weeknd, and Imagine Dragons amongst others.

Liteboxer hopes to compete with Supernatural and FitXR, joining the list of VR apps with a monthly subscription service. We recently updated our list of the best apps to get you moving in VR and published a guide on how to get started. As for Liteboxer, membership costs $18.99 a month, though there’s a free seven-day trial for anyone that wants to take a look.

Fitness has become a big part of the VR landscape since the launch of the original Quest a few years ago. If you’re looking for something that lets you experience what VR fitness has to offer with a one-time fee, we quite enjoyed the recently-released Les Mills Bodycombat.

Will you be trying out Liteboxer? Let us know in the comments below!

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Japanese virtual reality (VR) developer Amata K.K. only revealed its next project, The Tale of Onogoro, last month and now the immersive adventure is just weeks away from launch. The team has confirmed that the Meta Quest exclusive will be available in mid-March.

From the same team behind escape room title Last Labyrinth, The Tale of Onogoro is a fantasy world filled with traditional Japanese culture and steampunk elements. Similar to Taisho-era Japan, Amata K.K. has combined this with the invention of the steam engine as well as ancient magic called Ki.

The storyline sees you partner up with a high priestess named Haru, helping her battle giant creatures called “Kami” who go on deadly rampages. You have to quell five of these beasts on the sacred floating island, Onogoro Island, whilst locating the man behind their appearances, an ex-priest and friend of Haru’s, Masatake Arakida.

The Tale of Onogoro is going to mix together plenty of action elements when fighting the Kami, having to protect Haru who’s chained to a quelling stone that you have to manoeuvre. As a ghost-like character, you interact with Haru’s world using ancient relics called Celestial Weapons. These give you the ability to solve puzzles (of which there seem to be many), fight the Kami and make sure Haru doesn’t perish.

If Last Labyrinth is anything to go by, The Tale of Onogoro will likely include some fiendish puzzles and a fairly abstract narrative to discover along the way.

The Tale of Onogoro will release for Meta Quest on 17th March 2022, retailing for $29.99 USD. For continued updates on the latest Quest 2 videogames, keep reading VRFocus.

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The cord-free, standalone Meta Quest system is one of the best options for VR fitness, exercise and workout routines. Here are our picks the best Quest 2 fitness and exercise apps to get your blood pumping.

[This article was originally published in March 2020. It was edited and updated in March 2021 and again in February 2022.]

The following list is in no particular order, however there are two general categories of apps on the list.

The first category is apps that are specifically designed for working out in VR — usually with specifically designed sessions that you follow for a workout session.

The second is incidental workout apps — apps and experiences that weren’t designed specifically for working out, but can be used in such a way because they get the blood pumping enough when played at a high intensity.

Workout and Exercise Apps — Quest 2

FitXR

Originally launched as BoxVR, this Quest fitness app was revamped and relaunched with new features in 2021. Since then, it’s also added a bunch of new programs, formats and coaches, along with some seated workout classes for increased accessibility.

Despite all these new additions, the basic premise has always remained the same — it’s features rhythm-based boxing, dance and HIIT routines that gives you points for speed and accuracy. In July last year, the app also added a bunch of notable artists to its music catalog, including Calvin Harris and Tiesto.

FitXR is free to download on the Quest Store, with a subscription-based service in place for access to workouts. There’s a 7-day free trial for new users.

Read more: FitXR’s Head Of Fitness Talks Designing VR Workouts

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Supernatural

Let’s not beat around the saber – initially, Supernatural started out as a fitness-focused Beat Saber clone. Notes fly at you in time with music, which you have to hit in-time using bats and occasionally you’ll be forced to squat to avoid obstacles. However, the service has since added new boxing workout as well, expanding its offering of guided coach workouts.

Every 24 hours, there’s a new workout playlist/routine for you to run through. The aim is to get you sweating with big arm swings and quick squats. The better you perform, the harder the routine will get, thanks to Supernatural’s adaptive difficulty.

Supernatural is free to download on Quest, but is only currently available in select regions. Access to workouts uses a subscription pricing model, with a free trial period for new users.

Read more: Interview Q&A With Supernatural’s Head Of Fitness Leanne Pedante

Supernatural Update Makes It Easier To Find The Right Workout

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Les Mills Bodycombat

One of the newer entries on the list, Les Mills Bodycombat is an attractive option for those looking to avoid a subscription model.

The app is brought to you by the Les Mills brand, which has gyms globally as well as a substantial online workout offering. The Quest Bodycombat app adapts one of these online workout classes into 30 boxing workouts for VR, available as a one-off purchase.

You’ll be punching and squatting to the beat of the music, with the option to select a playlist between five and 20 minutes. It’s not the most original VR workout option, but it gets the basics right in a polished experience available for a one-time price.

Les Mills Bodycombat is available on Quest for $29.99.

Read more: Les Mills Bodycombat Is An Effective Quest Workout Without The Subscription

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Holofit

If you’re looking to pair a physical fitness machine with a virtual workout, then Holofit is one of two apps that lets you do so. The app pairs your headset with compatible bikes, elipticals and rowing machines, allowing you to use your physical machines in a virtual location.

However, even without any machines, the app also has HIIT, fat burn and time-attack programs that see you recreate skiing, running or cycling using movements with the Touch controllers.

Holofit is available on Quest via a yearly or monthly subscription model with a 7-day trial for new users.

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VZFit

Another option for connecting physical machines and fitness trackers, VZFit uses Google Street View to let you virtually exercise anywhere you want. The app has Strava and Fitbit support, alongside connectivity with “most smart bike devices and trainer sensors.”

There’s also full body workouts and support for an optional cadence sensor, which you’ll have to buy separately, that allows you to connect a stationary exercise bike that’s missing smart bike functionality.

VZFit is available for Quest with a 7-day free trial and $9.99 monthly subscription.

Read more: VZfit Fitness Service Comes To Oculus Quest Store With Google Street View

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Incidental Workout Apps – Quest 2

Beat Saber

Beat Saber was definitely never intended to be used as a workout app, but there’s a significant amount of people who use it for just that. A couple of levels on Expert or Expert+ in Beat Saber will get your heart rate pumping like there’s no tomorrow.

Beat Saber is available for Oculus Quest for $29.99.

Read more: Top 10 Best Beat Saber DLC Music Packs

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Synth Riders

Synth Riders is, yes, another VR rhythm game and while it takes some visual notes from Beat Saber and other entries in the genre, the gameplay is quite different. You’ll hit floating spheres to the rhythm of the music, and move your hands in circular or curved motions to follow tails that fly off each sphere. It’s similar in concept to other rhythm games, but with its own spin.

The game has implemented a variety of fitness-focused features, such as a calorie counter and a fitness update that arrived earlier this year and included live VR workout sessions, guided by a trainer.

Synth Riders is available for $24.99 on the Oculus Store for Quest.

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OhShape

Jamie described this game as “Beat Saber for your body” and said it was a “genuinely authentic fitness game.” It’s not a workout in the traditional sense, but it will get your blood flowing as you throw your body around to the music, fitting and moving yourself into all different shapes.

With the intensity ramped up, you might end up burning calories faster than some of the other fitness games on this list.

OhShape is available on the Oculus Store for $19.99.

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Pistol Whip

Pistol Whip might seem like a strange entry for a VR exercise list at first, but play a couple of the levels on harder difficulty and you’ll quickly see how Pistol Whip could qualify as a workout. The ducking and constant quick movements will have your glutes and quads burning after a long session.

There’s also loads of modifiers and new levels added over the last year, allowing you to customise how you play to maximize the impact and frame the experience more towards a workout to your liking.

Pistol Whip is available on the Oculus Quest store for $24.99.

Read more: 5 Best Pistol Whip Styles: Which Modifiers To Use For Workouts Or Extreme Challenges

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Until You Fall

While not designed as a fitness app, Until You Fall is a VR roguelike that will have you hacking and slashing in heart-racing melee combat. At its most intense, the game should offer you something comparable to a light upper body workout. That being said, its roguelike mechanics means it’s more game-y than other entries on this list. If you’re looking for something fun to play that also gives you a bit of a workout along the way, Until You Fall might be best.

Until You Fall is available on the Oculus Store for $24.99.

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The Thrill of the Fight

There are a number of boxing games available on the Quest, but The Thrill of the Fight uses mechanics that aims to be more of a true-to-life simulator in a boxing ring, as opposed to a workout-first approach to VR boxing. A few rounds in the ring and you’ll be sweating profusely. We definitely prefer this one over Creed VR on Quest.

The Trill of the Fight is available on the Oculus Store for $9.99.

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Oculus Move

Oculus Move isn’t a VR workout app, but rather a feature that will let you track your progress, workouts and calories burned while in VR. It was announced in 2020 at Facebook Connect and should work Quest-wide on all of your apps. It’s a good option to natively track your fitness and workout sessions in VR across all activity on Quest.

Oculus Move can be enabled in the Quest system settings.

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What are you favorite Quest exercise apps that keep you active in a VR workout session? Let us know in the comments.

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Following on from teases last week, BigBox VR has confirmed that Population: One is getting an all-new map next month.

The map is called Metropolis and goes live on March 17. A tweet confirmed the news after we speculated that last week’s teaser would be for a new section of the existing map and not, in fact, an entirely new area.

Population: One New Map Revealed

Coming Soon – Our NEW MAP: Metropolis!!

Full Battle Royale: ALL in Metropolis
Combat Elevated: Chaos high and low!
A city labyrinth to endlessly explore & master

Launching Mar. 17 @ 12pm PT

Daily tours of this massive city next week! pic.twitter.com/0YoPVvKuG5

— POPULATION: ONE (@populationonevr) February 25, 2022

But the tweet confirms this new map offers a full battle royale mode in the futuristic urban sprawl, where neon-lit cities dominate. The new environment will look to mix things up by adding more verticality and twists and turns to the game.

Metropolis, then, is arguably the biggest change to Population: One since BigBox VR put its premium battle pass plan on hiatus in summer last year after two seasons. Since then, the developer has been pursuing a strategy of free updates and events for the game, bringing in limited-time duos and solos experiences.

There’s still a lot to learn about this coming update, though. Will players still be able to access the original map? Will there be any other new concepts or ideas added into the game at the same time? We’ll be sure to let you know as soon as we have more information.

Will you be heading into Metropolis next month? Let us know in the comments below!

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After a long journey through betas and releases on smaller storefronts and platforms, Ancient Dungeon has been approved for an official Quest Store release.

Huge news! Ancient Dungeon has been approved for the Official Quest Store
We do not have a launch date yet, but it will happen in combination with a big content update that we are working on. Thank you everyone for supporting the project to make this possible!

— Eric Thullen (Ancient Dungeon) (@dv_eric) February 23, 2022

Ancient Dungeon developer Eric Thullen announced the news on Twitter a few days ago. He said that the app had been approved for the official Quest Store, with no specific release date.

Howeven, Thullen also said that the launch, whenever it is, will coincide with a big content update that the team is working on.

Ancient Dungeon is currently available in beta on Quest through App Lab for free. Presumably the official store release will mark the transition out of beta and therefore likely move from a free to paid experience just like it is on Steam.

The game is a physics-driven dungeon crawler with procedurally-generated runs, and started out as a PC VR title available on Itch.io in early 2020. It then made it’s debut on Quest through SideQuest in late 2020, before coming to App Lab for Quest and Steam Early Access for PC VR in 2021.

Needless to say it’s been a long journey for Ancient Dungeon to the official Quest store. Halfway through last year, we named it as one of the best App Lab releases to play on Quest, alongside titles like MultiBrush, Warplanes, Gorilla Tag and Puzzling Places.

Ancient Dungeon will join a growing group of Quest titles that were able to successfully use momentum from an App Lab release to propel themselves onto the official Quest store. Other notable apps to make this transition include photogrammetry puzzle game Puzzling Places and dogfighting plane shooter Warplanes: WW1 Fighters.

Will you be checking out Ancient Dungeon when it releases on the Quest store? Let us know in the comments below.

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Online multiplayer might be all the rage, but there's something to be said for solitary adventures. Here, we list our favorite single-player games available.

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Every weekend gmw3 gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industries, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.

Location	Company	Role	Link
Munich, Germany	holoride	Executive Assistant	Click Here to Apply
Munich, Germany	holoride	PR Manager	Click Here to Apply
Munich, Germany	holoride	Senior Finance Manager	Click Here to Apply
Munich, Germany	holoride	Working Student – Recruiting & Culture	Click Here to Apply
Munich, Germany	holoride	Technical Artist	Click Here to Apply
Munich, Germany	holoride	Technical Director	Click Here to Apply
Munich, Germany	holoride	XR Producer	Click Here to Apply
Munich, Germany	holoride	Senior Backend Engineer	Click Here to Apply
Munich, Germany	holoride	Senior Test Automation Engineer	Click Here to Apply
Munich, Germany	holoride	Product Owner – Blockchain	Click Here to Apply
Munich, Germany	holoride	Product Owner – Web Platforms	Click Here to Apply
Munich, Germany	holoride	Project Manager – Mobility OEM Integration	Click Here to Apply
Munich, Germany	holoride	Wireless Firmware Engineer for Embedded Systems	Click Here to Apply
Boston, MA	Liteboxer	Production Intern	Click Here to Apply
Boston, MA	Liteboxer	Software Engineer	Click Here to Apply
Boston, MA	Liteboxer	Senior Full Stack Software Engineer	Click Here to Apply
Boston, MA	Liteboxer	Senior Mobile Engineer	Click Here to Apply
Remote/Toronto, Canada	Dark Slope Studios	Technical Director (Television)	Click Here to Apply
Remote/Toronto, Canada	Dark Slope Studios	Game Developer (Unreal Engine)	Click Here to Apply
Remote/Toronto, Canada	Dark Slope Studios	Rigger	Click Here to Apply
Remote/Toronto, Canada	Lumeto	Marketing and Strategy Associate	Click Here to Apply
Remote/Toronto, Canada	Lumeto	Senior Technical Artist	Click Here to Apply
Remote/Toronto, Canada	Lumeto	Scrum Master	Click Here to Apply

Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hub to check as well.

If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).

We’ll see you next week on gmw3 at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.

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Want to work out and exercise in VR, but not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered with our VR exercise guide.

It’s becoming increasingly common to exercise in VR. What might seem like a gimmick is becoming increasingly legitimate and popular, with more options than ever to tailor a VR workout to your needs.

Here’s our guide on what headset, apps and accessories will work best for you.

[When you purchase items through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission from those sales.]

Which VR Headset For Virtual Workouts?

When it comes to workouts and exercising in VR, the Meta Quest 2 is the best headset for the job, for a couple of reasons.

First of all, it’s standalone, so there’s no other equipment required and it’s a fully portable device. You won’t have to manage any wires or other connections while working out, and you can use it anywhere in a pinch, even while travelling. It’s versatile and the most worry-free headset while in operation, which is what you want if you’re working out.

It also has far and away the best library of VR workout apps and experiences. While some of those apps are also available on other platforms, the Quest platform is becoming the place to be for lifestyle VR users. It’s already attracted more interest from fitness and workout developers than any other headset, and we expect that to continue.

We’ll be focusing on the Quest 2 below for these reasons, but if you already have a PC VR or PSVR headset, some of the info should still apply. Just check which apps and accessories are available for your particular headset.

You can read more about the Quest 2 and other headset options here.

Best VR Apps For Virtual Workouts

There are two types of workouts in VR — those that are specifically designed as such, usually featuring sessions with standard workout activities like squats and boxing, and other games or apps that weren’t specifically designed for working out, but can be used in that way regardless.

For workout-specific apps, we’d recommend looking into Supernatural, Les Mills Bodycombat, FitXR, Holofit or VZFit. Each has different advantages, features and workout types, along with different pricing models — one-off payments vs subscription models.

For other games that can be used in a workout capacity, maybe look at experiences like Beat Saber, Pistol Whip, Until You Fall, OhShape or Thrill of the Fight. These aren’t workout apps right off the bat, but you’ll be able to tailor the experience to your needs once you’re familiar with them, providing you with some high-intensity exercise sessions.

You can read about the options in both categories in our article here.

Best VR Accessories For Working Out

While not necessary, there are a few accessories that might help make VR workouts more comfortable.

If you’re still using the standard Quest head strap, something a bit more secure might help with weight distribution and comfort. The official Elite Strap is a good option for this.

Working out with a headset on your face will probably make things quite sweaty — an alternative facial interface or cover, like those available from VRCover, can help slick sweat away and ensure you standard interface doesn’t get gross over time.

Likewise, if you want to minimize sweat and slipperiness when using the Touch controllers, a rubber grip like the ones available from Kiwi or AMVR might be a good option.

You can read more about these options over on our Quest 2 accessories list.

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Do you enjoy working out in VR? Tell us about your experience in the comments below.

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In this week’s episode of the Between Realities VR Podcast, Alex and Skeeva are joined by ShortStackVR, a talented VR YouTuber and video creator for VAIL VR.

ShortStackVR explains how and why he began his journey in virtual reality. Other topics include metaverse platforms, HTC Vive, and the debate between wired and wireless headsets.

–Guest Links–
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/ShortStackVR
Twitter – @ShortStackFVR – https://twitter.com/ShortStackFVR

— Between Realities Links —
Merch Store: https://teespring.com/stores/between-…
Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/BetweenRealities
YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/BetweenRealities
Twitter – https://twitter.com/BtweenRealities
Discord – https://discord.gg/EvNnj2w
Facebook – https://fb.me/BetweenRealities
Alex VR – https://www.youtube.com/Alex_VR
Alex VR’s Twitter – https://www.twitter.com/Alex__VR
Skeeva – https://www.youtube.com/Skeeva007
Skeeva’s Twitter – https://www.twitter.com/Skeeva

via Mint VR

When Lost Recipes launched a few weeks ago, one of the questions that seemed at the forefront of everyone’s mind – my own, my colleagues and even the team at Schell Games – was whether this was actually a game, or something slightly different?

“I would consider it an experience more than a game, even though it definitely has some game elements,” said Lost Recipes Project Director and Schell Games Senior Game Design Manager Melanie Harke. “Of course you’re being scored and there’s lots of different mechanics in it. But in the end, the real goal was for it to be kind of like a vacation.”

Melanie and I had a lengthy conversation in VR last week in UploadVR’s virtual studio. We discussed Lost Recipes’ origins, development and the reasoning behind some of the decisions made by the team at Schell Games during development.

What makes Lost Recipes so unique is that it blends VR gameplay into a much more relaxing, educational experience than we’ve ever seen before in VR. You travel back in time to three ancient cultures and learn recipes in a relaxed, stress-free and educational manner. You can even take what you learn with you back into your actual kitchen — the VR cooking process informs the same process in real life.

This was all part of a plan from Schell Games to appeal to a different kind of crowd – those who don’t necessarily think of themselves as ‘gamers’, especially when using a Quest headset. “I personally think everyone’s a gamer, but you know, they might not title themselves that – instead it’s people who want to use the Quest as maybe like a lifestyle tool,” said Harke.

“We got a bunch of people when they were play testing [Lost Recipes] that said, ‘You know, I haven’t played any games. All I play is Beat Saber, that’s it.’ And they don’t consider that a game either. They’re like, ‘That’s my exercise routine.'”

This idea of the Quest as a lifestyle tool is becoming increasingly popular – just look at the many options for fitness and workout apps on the platform, which Meta itself is using as a marketing angle.

“We wanted to get those people [lifestyle users] in and have them play this. We had a lot of people after the play tests that were like, ‘Oh, I didn’t know they made games that are like this… For me.'”

Even if it doesn’t quite fit into the traditional ‘game’ label as we understand it now, there’s a lot to love about Lost Recipes’ approach. It’s one of the few games on the platform that doesn’t just copy mechanics or gameplay beats from traditional, flatscreen games. This is an experience that only works in VR, and delivers educational content not through lecturing or instruction, but more like a field trip or hands-on activity with game mechanics applied.

It is so brilliantly unique and specific to VR that it is arguably more, not less, of a proper VR ‘game’ than many other titles on the platform.

But before finding its way to Lost Recipes, Schell Games developed lots of varied experiences that would later inform this new venture. There was a mixture of both more straightforward education content, developed for flatscreen platforms, and more ‘traditional’ VR games that the studio has become recently known for — namely the I Expect You To Die series and roguelike action game Until You Fall.

Harke herself joined Schell right back at the company’s beginning, well before VR was part of the picture, working initially in QA and then in design for titles like Disney Pixie Hollow, the Disney fairies MMO, and then later other VR educational experiences as well as mobile educational games based around PBS’ Daniel Tiger show, a spin-off from Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.

After running the gamut on many types of games on many platforms, Schell Games worked with Oculus Education on ideas for a new experience exploring what made education in VR so powerful.

“It’s really about presence,” said Harke. “Being there in the location.” The studio took what it learned from its other educational experiences – Water Bears VR and HoloLAB Champions – but aimed to make something less formally educational in nature. “We knew we didn’t want to be like a classroom experience. We wanted to be something that just a normal, everyday person who’s curious about things – cause we all like to learn – might want to experience. And so that’s really where I think cooking came from.”

With development beginning during the pandemic, the idea of escaping to another location – a virtual vacation – also became quite appealing.

“I just don’t want to cook just in my normal house, because I’m in my house 24/7. I want to cook and experience these places that maybe – right now, especially – I can’t get to. That really helped push us into exploring what if you were cooking in locations that are not like your house? How did people cook in ancient times? How did they cook in like prehistoric times, even? That was one of the conversations. And that really got us excited.”

But how did the team decide what cultures would be featured, and how they could be represented in a way that was properly authentic and respectful, even if they were from time periods that have long since passed?

“It really came down to what could we get good data for. That was very important to us, because we did want this to be a very authentic, real experience,” explained Harke. “We wanted to make sure it was a place that we could find a human that was willing to work with us for the long-term. We wanted to have people at the very early [stages], to research, but also looking at the art later on and everything.”

The final game features voice actors playing the chefs, one for each culture, voiced by people representing the closest modern analog for each ancient culture. But it wasn’t just the voice acting that had to be authentic. The team wanted everything — the food, recipes, environments, art — in the game to be as authentic as possible.

They achieved this through connections with subject matter consultants at the Kenner room at Carnegie Mellon university, collaborating and talking to them during the development process. “We had oftentimes weekly meetings with them, because we had so much to talk about. It’s not just the food, it’s… what’s the language that you would use? How would the scene be arranged? What’s the decoration on the walls? What sort of material would they have?”

“They didn’t always have the answer – sometimes they would point us to resources, books to look at – but it was just good to have someone who was connected to the culture, working with us the entire way.”

For Harke, the authenticity that the subject matter consultants and voice actors lend the game is what makes it so potent as an experience. “Without them, we wouldn’t have a game,” she said. “And really, I just hope everyone gains some new appreciation of both how different and also how similar all of our cultures are. How familiar cooking is and how it connects us all together as people.”

Harke’s hope certainly isn’t unfounded either — cooking the recipes in the game does give you a new perspective, with transferable skills and methods. While playing the game for review, I was able to recreate the game’s steamed fish dish in real life, using methods and recipes learned from the game.

“We definitely wanted people to try these recipes in their own homes. We didn’t want people to get bogged down in like super details, and in fact, a lot of ancient recipes, they’re not going to have those super details anyway,” said Harke. 

This was an approach discovered during play testing. Early versions of the game had more details for each recipe, providing more specific instructions than what ended up in the final build. “People got really bogged down in the detail of making sure that the color of the liquid that they’ve made exactly matched the picture that’s on there, and that they’ve measured it exactly… It started to feel really stressful to people. That’s not what we’re going for at all. We want you to feel accomplished, that you can do these things in cooking.”

This was when the team transitioned to using ratios and other looser measurements, focusing less on outcomes and more on process. It was at this point that adding in some tricks from traditional games also helped improved the feedback loop – the little sparkles that shine once an action is finished, for example, help players know when something has been done correctly and avoids unnecessary worry.

Early versions of the game experimented with implementing support for the Quest’s controller-free hand tracking, but it ended up being a less than ideal option. “Really it just became much harder to do things [when using hand tracking],” explained Harke. “People started to look at the technique of how they’re holding the hand and I think it took some of the enjoyment away.”

Hand tracking also made some of the actions, like stirring a pot, problematic — when using hands without any controllers, it often became harder to manage what Harke described as the ‘fakery’ behind some of the physics interactions.

So while the finished product opts for controllers-only, the overall community and critical reception of the game has been positive.

“We’ve got lots of feedback of people sort of saying that this is not like other cooking experiences.” Other VR cooking titles – like Cook-Out or Cooking Simulator – focus on being frenetic and chaotic, but Schell opted for the opposite direction. “I certainly love those games, but we did purposely try to make something different and unique. People have really picked up on [that]. This is a game where I can sort of relax. I can chill in it. And that’s, that’s definitely the vibe we were going for.”

Speaking hypothetically, Harke says the team still has plenty of avenues to investigate. “We have like full lists of other environments that we are excited about exploring, even with some reference people that we might reach out to. I think that that is certainly something that, as a team while making it, we’re definitely thinking about and very excited about. No promises or anything, but…”

When it comes to potential updates, new content or DLC expansions for Lost Recipes, Harke’s lips are sealed.  “Stay tuned. I can’t really speak to that yet. But we really liked the product. We really enjoyed working on it, and we’d certainly love to do more.”

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This feature piece is an edited version of our full conversation with Melanie Harke from Schell Games, available in video format on our YouTube channel here. 

You can read our full review of Lost Recipes here. 

via Mint VR

A new horror game, an update on Requisition VR and a new look at Samurai Slaughterhouse are just some of the other VR games on our radar this week.

Every week we get a lot of updates on new VR games at Upload – so much so that we don’t have time to cover them all. This week we talked about news for After The Fall, Until You Fall and Green Hell VR, but here are some other titles we didn’t get to take a look at.

No More Rainbows

Here’s a fun twist on the fairytale genre. Unbearably adorable critters have flooded your home. The only problem? You’re the beast of the underworld and they’re so not your vibe. Teach them a lesson as you use an arm-based locomotion system to bound through levels. There’s an open beta for the game currently up on both SideQuest and Steam.

ForeVR Bowl Update

There’s a new 90’s-inspired hall for ForeVR’s social bowling sim. There’s five new designs to unlock that use a blacklight effect and five ‘super bowling’ sports balls. Plus there’s a new optmized throw type. It’s free for all ForeVR Bowl owners.

Labyrinth deLux – A Cruseo Quest

A gorgeous retro art style awaits in this laser-based puzzle game. Guide beams through a series of ancient sites and solve the mystery of a long-lost civilization. Cruseo Quest will be touching down on Quest via AppLab and PC VR on March 3.

Requisition VR

Here’s a new devlog for the zombie home invasion game, focusing on traps you can set to take care of the undead. We also get a look at character customization and some of the weapon crafting.

Deadness VR

Steer through a horrific world in a wheelchair, solve puyzzles to figure out why you’ve been stranded in an old research facility and use stealth to avoid the horrors that stalk you. This looks like one for only the bravest of VR players, and it’s out now on Steam.

Plasmatic

A puzzler in which you repair machines by changing the directions of energy currents. The puzzles look simple but the game definitely tips its hat to Portal with its asthetic. The game’s due out in the near future.

Samurai Slaughterhouse

The new AI/combat update of #SamuraiSlaughterHouse for #PCVR and the #Quest2 is live!

Enemies now block and parry your strikes. They have a lot less health but a lot more skill!

Try it now!https://t.co/l5hslXhdjV#VR #indiedev pic.twitter.com/mQas7uhafM

— Justin – TabGames (@TabGames3) February 19, 2022

Still on the road for a full release sometime in 2022, Tab Games’ bloody stab ’em up just gave enemies the power to block and parry in the playable demo. Still no word on a release date for this one, though.

Return to Kurgansk VR

War Thunder developer Gaijin Entertainment’s incubator arm published this VR re-work of a post apocalyptic survival game from Yadon Studon. You roam the wasteland, fending off mutants and monsters. It looks a little ropey, but maybe STALKER and Into the Radius fans might find something to enjoy here. The game’s now available on Steam.

via Mint VR

Every so often Humble Bundle rolls out an awesome new limited time offer and there’s one available right now for the next couple of weeks. Called the “VR Discovery” bundle, the deal combines seven videogames and one soundtrack for one ridiculously cheap price.

The games on offer aren’t some random bottom of the bin ones either, they actually showcase how varied VR titles can be, from comedic single-player adventures to co-op multiplayer and rhythm action games.

Love cooking with mates? Then try Resolution Games’ Cook-Out: A Sandwich Tale where up to four players have to serve hungry customers as fast as possible. Looking for a puzzle title that’s atmospheric with an engrossing storyline, you want Red Matter? It takes place in an alternate future on an abandoned base on Rhea, one of Saturn’s moons. When it comes to comedic Squanch Games’ Trover Saves the Universe has got you covered. Trover is a purple eye-hole monster trying to save the universe from a beaked lunatic named Glorkon who has kidnapped your dogs and put them in his eye sockets (yup no joke).

There’s more multiplayer mayhem to be found in Blaston, another Resolution Games title, this time a PvP shooter where two players duel it out in slow motion. While Panoptic is a local multiplayer game of cat and mouse, where the VR player is the Overseer trying to hunt down tiny beings controlled by a mate on PC. And then you’ve got Synth Riders, the rhythm action title that features tracks from bands like Muse.

Rounding out the VR Discovery bundle roster is Tower Tag and its accompanying soundtrack. Tower Tag is a sci-fi PvP shooter with 10 maps, 1v1, 2v2, 3v3 and 4v4 matches and Team Deathmatch, Elimination and Goal Tower gameplay modes.

So how much does this all cost? As a charitable endeavour, Humble Bundle runs a pay what you want scheme with a small starting price. The “VR Discovery” bundle with all that content starts at £9 GBP with buyers encouraged to top that up if they can, enabling more donations to be given to organisations like the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund or GamesAid.

For all the latest Humble Bundle VR deals, keep reading gmw3.

via Mint VR

Ziggy’s Cosmic Adventures’ focus on full immersion makes it one to watch, though it’s difficult to judge without those final touches. Read on for our preview.

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I’ve kept a keen eye on Ziggy’s Cosmic Adventures. It’s part of a select breed of VR games that wants to work with the platform’s limitations, not try and defy them. Everything’s interactive in this immersive cockpit simulator, and everything’s within arm’s reach too. There’s no smooth locomotion or teleporting, no climbing or lifting heavy objects – developer Stardust Collective wants to keep VR feeling tactile and tangible.

The Steam Next Fest demo is good proof of this, even if there are some areas in which the game needs a tune-up before launch later this year.

If you’ve played other VR management games like A Rogue Escape or, to a lesser extent, plate-spinners like Cook-Out, you’ll have some idea of what to expect here. Ziggy sees you speeding through the galaxy in a one-man craft, making you personally responsible for its upkeep. Each of the ship’s systems is powered by batteries which you can refuel by 3D-printing the cutesy titular lifeform. Essentially, you need to complete objectives whilst managing power levels and health.

It’s a little too early to tell you exactly how successfully the game realizes its vision. Certainly, Ziggy has all the nuts and bolts in place, with a highly-detailed cockpit that has multiple elements to memorize and maintain. Get into battle and you’ll want to make sure you’ve got shields powered up and certainly don’t let your mind wander from the O2 gauge unless you want a quick and unpleasant death.

But this demo — by its own admission — doesn’t quite have the polish to deliver a seamless experience. Crucial buttons and switches are colored with the same textures as the wall paneling, making it hard to tell what’s interactive and what isn’t, whilst the game’s virtual flight stick controls need some work. The two-handed stick needs a lot of coordination that I often couldn’t wrestle under control and I couldn’t help but miss the simplicity of the one-handed controls seen in Ultrawings 2 that could then free up my hands for other tasks.

You’re also funneled down a straight path when flying the ship in this early interaction, with a barrier stopping you from straying too far and enemies arriving seemingly on cue, firing for a few seconds and then flying off in a sort of arcade shoot ’em up routine. It’s a shame not to be given the freedom to explore an entire area, but if Stardust can perfect the controls to give you the response needed for a satisfying arcade flight experience I could see myself adapting to this approach more easily.

And, while the game looks immaculate, it’s obviously missing some of the necessary effects to sell you on immersion, like the sounds of enemy ships racing towards you.

Despite these issues, though, I still think Ziggy’s Cosmic Adventures is a really promising VR game that will speak to people that want a fully immersive experience. It will need a more detailed onboarding system than the demo, which only really walks you through refueling batteries, and the wider story which allows for branching paths will need to offer meaningful variety.

If Stardust delivers, though, Ziggy could be a real treat for VR fans who hunger for the demanding, brain-bending exercise of management games or those sick of feeling like a camera gliding through a virtual world.

Ziggy’s Cosmic Adventures is due to arrive on PC VR and Quest 2 later in the year, and we’ll look to bring you full impressions of the final build when we can.

via Mint VR

Horizon Zero Dawn was a critique on techno-militarization. Forbidden West has its sights set on spacefaring tech billionaires.

via Mint VR

You should never run out of things to play on the Nintendo Switch. Expand your library with the best Nintendo Switch game deals that you can shop right now.

via Mint VR

Being surprised by a game is probably the best part of this hobby. It usually only happens within indie development because triple-A publishers drown us in hype videos. Not that Spring, the game I randomly grabbed from the Quest AppLab, could be considered ‘hype’. It’s actually the polar opposite of hype, it’s sedate. Chill. Relaxed. 

It’s a puzzle game that feels more like a meditation than a taxing drain on your grey matter. Each level is presented within a calming vista in a palette of soothing colours. A small cylinder begins dropping balls and it’s your task to manoeuvre them into a star-shaped exit. To do this, you use the objects given to you – cubes, wire ramps, tubes that blast the ball in a certain direction and later, warp portals.

You’ll notice that there are dull grey spheres dotted around, passing the ball through these increases the star rating you receive at the end of the level. The interesting part of this concept is the balls have to stay moving in order for the exit to open. This means that each level acts like a Rube Goldberg machine, with marble-like balls plinking and plonking, bouncing and blasting from point to point.

There’s never any ‘correct’ answer to solving the puzzles, there’s no time limit, no necessity to pass through every sphere, or even use every item granted to you. Some levels are cleared with minimal solid cubes placed at intricate angles bouncing the balls with a satisfying arc through the air. Others are more complex if you choose to string together multiple objects.

Each level is interspersed with inspirational and motivational quotes, when these are paired with the landscapes and ambient soundtracks, it’s clear that this game is about more than completing each puzzle and moving on. Spring is an effort to immerse you within bite-size worlds and forget everything outside of your headset.

This is where virtual reality (VR) has the upper hand versus console and PC; while Spring would play perfectly well on a 2D plane, it’s the encompassing viewpoint that elevates this simple puzzler into a kind of mesmeric playground. I was amazed just how often I sat still listening to the satisfying pops of the sound effects and breathing slowly. Or, taking a step back to ogle my Goldberg-esque flow of the solution.

Everything seems to have a wonderful tactility, turning and rotating the objects is so smooth and the physics ensure that every action has a reaction. It makes solving the puzzle so much more satisfying when you’ve slowly tweaked the angle of a solid surface to create the best bounce of a ball towards a goal.

I had only two issues while playing; firstly, the tight view of the puzzle, which can feel a little too close. Playing in a small area will have you stepping backwards out of the VR headset guardian zone while trying to encompass the full view. Secondly, a true sandbox mode would elevate the game making it more of a toy box, allowing players to set up elaborate mechanisms. But I can’t complain too loudly given the game costs nothing to play.

Spring was such a surprise; I expected an overly simplistic puzzler which I’d quickly tire of. In the end, I was replaying puzzles looking for new ways to solve them or messing around with the objects like a kid with a new toy. It’s not going to tax the hardcore puzzle fans, but if you want something to transport you away and engage your inner child, Spring is a great distraction.

via Mint VR