In 2017 indie developer White Elk Studios released successful virtual reality (VR) experience Eclipse: Edge of Light exclusively for Google Daydream, receiving several awards and nominations in the process. Now the studio has widened support by bringing the title to standalone headset Oculus Go.
Eclipse: Edge of Light’s story finds you crash landing on a sentient planet. Upon discovering the ruins of an ancient civilization, you then come across a device known as The Artifact, allowing you to interact with their technology whilst bestowing seemingly magical powers upon you. In order to uncover the secrets of the planet and this long-lost civilization, eventually hoping to escape, players must recover the pieces of The Artifact that have been scattered across the landscape.
Discussing the title in a recent Oculus Blog posting, White Elk Studios President and Creative Director Jonathan Hawkins revealed the goals behind the project: “I wanted to tell a unique story without a protagonist. Instead, I wanted to use the immersive nature of VR to make players feel like the story is about them. It’s about you crash landing here and your actions in this world—it’s you uncovering the story of the planet.”
Back in 2016/17 developers were still experimenting with locomotion in VR titles, some opting to remove it all together to avoid nausea. “I wanted to innovate and find a way for people to move without nausea,” says Hawkins. “For myself, VR excels when I’m able to feel like I’m there and I can move around like in the real world. I wanted to see if we could figure out what triggered simulation sickness, and then create a full and comfortable locomotion movement system for players to explore their surroundings. The solution I found was creating a world that encourages slow-paced movement in spaces that feel huge in real life, but with the correct field of view and movement speed.”
It was through this innovation and stunning visuals that Eclipse: Edge of Light became a must-have title for Google Daydream. Now Oculus Go and Samsung Gear VR owners can see what it is all about for £7.99 GBP. For any further updates from White Elk Studios, keep reading VRFocus.