Those who’ve been following the virtual reality (VR) industry since at least 2016 may remember a beautiful looking title called Gnomes & Goblins, created by Wevr, MWM Immersive and Jon Favreau (director of films such as The Jungle Book and Iron Man). A free preview was released and then nothing, with the title seemingly dropped and never to return. Three years later, however, and Gnomes & Goblins has sprung back into life with a dedicated website appearing.
Wevr recently sent a teasing tweet linking to the website which lists one important piece of information ‘Coming Soon’. While that is a little ambiguous, the tweet and site point to a positive outlook for the interactive, story-driven videogame.
The site describes Gnomes & Goblins as a ‘fantasy adventure VR simulation’, were you can “Encounter inhabitants of a fantasy land, build a relationship with them, become part of their society, and save them from their foe.” The initial 2016 preview put you in the middle of a wooded area, allowing you to interact with a tree-dwelling resident. As it’s free on Steam and compatible with HTC Vive and Valve Index VRFocus recommends giving it a look.
“The appeal is to have somebody who is not a gamer and never had a VR experience, be able to enjoy this without feeling that they need to have a certain skillset, but we also don’t want it to be passive cinematic experience where people just sit and enjoy it like a ride,” says Favreau. “It needs to be something where you engage in the way that you would in life. It should feel like you’re developing a relationship with these characters.”
As yet no new content has been shown, and while the concept was original back in 2016 the art of an interactive story has been well developed in 2019. The most notable of which is Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series, with the first episode released in May for Oculus Quest (followed by Oculus Rift/Rift S), plus new details unveiled last week.
Hopefully, more information will be released soon for Gnomes & Goblins. When that does happen, VRFocus will let you know.