Japanese based Yomuneco are trying to change the way videogame players interact with characters while sword fighting. VRFocus spoke to Kiyoshi Shin, CEO of Yomuneco Inc. and Producer of their latest virtual reality (VR) title Gargantua about how it’s making sword fighting more realistic.
With the title as it is you may think, Shen says, that Gargantua is the name of a giant within the videogame. But in fact the the title gets its name of a pentalogy of French novels, The Life of Gargantua and of Patagruel, which was written in the 16th Century by Francois Rabelais. Though they don’t exactly follow the same story, Gargantua is set in a fictional land where robots and humans are fighting for control of the world. With two generations of giants existing, humans are now trying to overthrow the mechs and regain control.
Utilising an Oculus Rift, VRFocus got hands-on with Gargantua at this year’s Game Developers Conference, getting to grips with the various melee weapons, as well as learning techniques and ways to deal with enemies. Through a combination of a tutorial and then getting stuck into various waves of enemies, you learn how to use each weapon, as well as how ebst to use shields and the lock-on mechanisms to both attack and defend yourself.
Shin explains that the majority of VR videogames consist of first-person shooters (FPS), something that Japanese videogame developers and audiences are less interested in. Instead, they’re more focused on role-playing games (RPG’s), fighting big bosses and wielding large swords. With Gargantua they’re hoping to bring elements of RPG’s into VR; specifically those with sword fighting. Yomuneco have developed a new collision system which can detect where enemies are hitting the player’s arm – something missing from previous VR sword fighting games.
He indicates and showcases on his right arm where a sword can hit, and the development the technology around it. However Shin’s biggest source of pride is making Gargantua for four player co-op. At the moment Gargantua is being developed for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, however he says that it might also be coming to mixed reality (MR) headsets. Gargantua will have around six hours of gameplay and will be focused on PC VR. Shin believes that what they’re doing in terms of new developments and systems will help make fighting bosses altogether more enjoyable and fun. Magic and spellcasting are also set to be introduced to Gargantua in the future, allowing player the chance to try different tactics. Replayability is also set to be high with random waves of enemies and bosses waking up – so you’d best keep on your toes whenever you go in because it’ll be different every time.
Gargantua will be released at the end of 2018 and will be available to play for four people, to find out more watch the video below.