As part of our exclusive chat with Rebellion CEO Jason Kingsley and Lead Game Designer Steve Bristow on Battlezone, and developing a game for Sony’s virtual reality platform (Project Morpheus), we asked whether there are any sacrifices that need to be made in order to bring a game to VR.
Bristow commented that they had to “dial” down the tricks and gimmicks they normally use in games to achieve intensity, since the native VR experience is “inherently more intense” already.
Steve Bristow: Certainly, we find ourselves dialling (sic) down the kind of tricks and gimmicks we normally use to achieve intensity but this is because the native experience is inherently more intense. It makes you realise just how over-the-top we have to be in conventional game design in order to wring a bit of adrenaline out of a player. Movement has been a complex issue to address but we’ve ended up with something that feels so much more dynamic and physical than you can get from a flat screen. In that sense I don’t see it as a sacrifice at all.
That’s certainly a different way of sacrifice, no? Can VR usher in a different kind of intensity that wasn’t possible on more traditional gaming methods? And more importantly, would you even want new to experience it?
Don’t forget to check another snippet of our interview where studio CEO Jason Kingsley mentioned how he thinks VR is not a gimmick, and how it will stand alongside “flat screen” gaming.
Stay tuned for our full chat coming up very soon.
