Geneva-based independent game studio Apelab have announced that upcoming title Break A Leg will be part of the range of videogames and experiences that will fully support the new Gear VR Controller at launch.
The story of Break A Leg is curiously reminiscent of the plot to classic Doctor Who episode ‘The Greatest Show in the Galaxy’ in that the player takes the role of a person trapped at the mercy of the owner of the Intergalactic Grand Theatre, who has been kidnapping human magicians and illusionists in search of entertainment. The player character is forced to learn the tricks of the stage magician’s trade: sleight of hand, conjuring, levitation and more. A bad performance is a death sentence, so it is wise to master the techniques quickly.
The developers researched stage magic heavily as part of the development process, looking into the works of famous performers and illusionists like Houdini and Daniel Fritzkee, using their written ‘guide books’ to inspire the ticks used within Break A Leg.
Apelab previously worked on SpacialStories, an interactive script-writing tool designed specifically for virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) applications. According to Apelab, Break A Leg was entirely built using the SpacialStories toolset. The developer claims that SpacialStories should be easy enough for beginners and non-programmers, but maintains the level of depth required for engineers and coders.
The first chapter is launching for free on the Oculus Store. The full experience is planned to be released later on this year.
You can watch the launch trailer below.
VRFocus will bring you further updates on Gear VR and Break A Leg when they come in.