Tron: Identity review: this great Tron game isn’t what you’re expecting
Tron: Identity makes the best use of the Tron IP since its arcade days.
The VR Job Hub: Bithell Games, FS Studio & Looking Glass Factory
Welcome to another VR Job Hub where every weekend gmw3 gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industries, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.
| Location | Company | Role | Link |
| Remote, UK-based | Bithell Games | Lead Artist | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote, UK-based | Bithell Games | Senior Animator | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote, UK-based | Bithell Games | Office Coordinator | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote, UK-based | Bithell Games | Console Programmer | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote – Boulder, CO | FS Studio | Technical Lead | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote – Toronto, Canada | FS Studio | Unity Developer | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote – Emeryville, CA | FS Studio | Mac/iOS Application Engineer | Click Here to Apply |
| Paco de Sousa, Portugal | FS Studio | Senior UI Engineer | Click Here to Apply |
| Paco de Sousa, Portugal | FS Studio | Cloud Backend Software Engineer | Click Here to Apply |
| Kent, WA | FS Studio | Test Engineer II | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote, CA | FS Studio | Senior C++ 3D Engineer | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote – Sand Francisco, CA | FS Studio | Android Developer | Click Here to Apply |
| Brooklyn, New York | Looking Glass Factory | Channel Sales Manager | Click Here to Apply |
| Brooklyn, New York | Looking Glass Factory | Lead Engineer – Unity and Other Plugins | Click Here to Apply |
| Brooklyn, New York | Looking Glass Factory | Senior Software Engineer | Click Here to Apply |
| Brooklyn, New York | Looking Glass Factory | Product Manager | Click Here to Apply |
| Brooklyn, New York | Looking Glass Factory | Test Engineer | Click Here to Apply |
Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there are always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hub to check as well.
If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (community@gmw3.com).
We’ll see you next week on gmw3 at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
The VR Job Hub: Bithell Games, Warpin Media, Gizmodo, Mozilla & More
Every weekend VRFocus gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industry, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.
| Location | Company | Role | Link |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | Lead Artist | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | 3D Character Artist | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | Character Concept Artist | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | Environmental Concept Artist | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | Senior Animator | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | Designer | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | Marketing Manager | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | Senior Programmer | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | Console Programmer | Click Here to Apply |
| Stockholm, Sweden | Warpin Media | Senior XR Developer | Click Here to Apply |
| Stockholm, Sweden | Warpin Media | 3D Artist | Click Here to Apply |
| Stockholm, Sweden | Warpin Media | UX/UI Designer | Click Here to Apply |
| New York, | Gizmodo | Staff Reporter (VR) | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote US, Remote Canada | Mozilla Hubs | Community Manager | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote US, Remote Canada | Mozilla Hubs | Lead Frontend Software Engineer | Click Here to Apply |
| Los Angeles, CA/ New York, NY | Snap Inc. | Snap Lab Product Designer, Wearable Experiences | Click Here to Apply |
| Toronto, ON, Canada | Dark Slope Studios | 3D Modeller | Click Here to Apply |
Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hub to check as well.
If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).
We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
The VR Job Hub: Bithell Games, Warpin Media, Gizmodo, Mozilla & More
Every weekend VRFocus gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industry, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.
| Location | Company | Role | Link |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | Lead Artist | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | 3D Character Artist | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | Character Concept Artist | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | Environmental Concept Artist | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | Senior Animator | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | Designer | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | Marketing Manager | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | Senior Programmer | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote/UK-based | Bithell Games | Console Programmer | Click Here to Apply |
| Stockholm, Sweden | Warpin Media | Senior XR Developer | Click Here to Apply |
| Stockholm, Sweden | Warpin Media | 3D Artist | Click Here to Apply |
| Stockholm, Sweden | Warpin Media | UX/UI Designer | Click Here to Apply |
| New York, | Gizmodo | Staff Reporter (VR) | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote US, Remote Canada | Mozilla Hubs | Community Manager | Click Here to Apply |
| Remote US, Remote Canada | Mozilla Hubs | Lead Frontend Software Engineer | Click Here to Apply |
| Los Angeles, CA/ New York, NY | Snap Inc. | Snap Lab Product Designer, Wearable Experiences | Click Here to Apply |
| Toronto, ON, Canada | Dark Slope Studios | 3D Modeller | Click Here to Apply |
Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hub to check as well.
If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).
We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
VR Puzzler Arcsmith From Bithell Games Available Now On Oculus Quest
Arcsmith, the new VR puzzler from Thomas Was Alone developer Bithell Games, is now available on Oculus Quest.
The game was announced a month ago, and will blend storytelling and puzzles together in a sci-fi setting. You’ll be solving engineering puzzles that involve assembling machines, like radio and drones, and connecting their circuitry.
To celebrate the release, the Oculus blog posted an interview with Game Director Nic Tringali talking about the development process and the goals the studio had in mind for the game. From the sound of it, the puzzles in Arcsmith won’t just have one solution. “Our starting point was wanting to do this kind of open-ended puzzle game, where the game gives you a goal but how you solve it is up to you.”
Tringali went on to cite Kerbal Space Program and Opus Magnum as big influences for the style of puzzles in Arcsmith, but said that “aesthetically it’s a blend of classic sci-fi films” and the cartoon-y look of the Disney cult classic animated film Treasure Planet.
In terms of storytelling, a lot of effort was put into the environments and animation as a form of immersive storytelling. “From the animation side as well, VR is much closer to sitting in a theater than watching something on a screen, so the animation had a lot of considerations around the player’s location and sight lines, which is a lot different from placing a camera in an environment.”
You can read the full interview with Tringali over on the Oculus blog. Arcsmith is available now for Oculus Quest for $24.99. We’ll have a full review of the game later today.
Review: Arcsmith
You may not remember Bithell Games’ virtual reality (VR) debut, a simple sci-fi puzzler called EarthShape. That’s probably because it arrived in 2016 as an exclusive for the now-defunct Google Daydream View, never seeing a port to any other device. The studio’s next VR project Arcsmith also happens to be a sci-fi-inspired puzzle experience but this time it ramps up the complexity and should make it in front of more eyeballs as it’s exclusive to Oculus Quest.
There’s a vast difference between the two videogames though, Arcsmith instantly showcases the type of immersive, hands-on gameplay all VR gamers love. Set on a remote space station with the grumpy master arcsmith Korith Dinn and his robotic assistant – a rolling, talking tool chest called Toolie – you’re begrudgingly welcomed on board as an apprentice, ready to learn his engineering skills.
Arcsmith is a story-driven puzzler where you’re given an assortment of components to build all sorts of devices, all of which are orders from vessels about to engage in an intergalactic battle. As each device is built the next part of the story unfolds, learning a little bit more about Dinn’s life and why he’s in this corner of deep space.
Set up at your own little workbench each order will have specific parts which need to be combined with basic, core components that you can requisite like radiators, batteries, scaffolding and more. Arcsmith is one of the puzzle titles which is really easy to pick up and start experimenting with, with all the components magnetically snapping together like a toy set. Some can only attach at specific points but you’re given free rein to build the device however you please.
The one caveat to that process is dealing with the heat and power demands of each component, this is where Arcsmith’s complexity really ramps up. Every component has its own attributes when it comes to heat and power, so you can create a beautifully built device, test it and BOOM, one part suddenly pops out because it gets too hot.
You’re not left to blindly poke around in the dark when it comes to figuring out a solution. The active bench allows you to switch between heat and power distribution whilst a portable tablet gives you extra info such as the power output of the crystal generator. So much like an engineer sitting at their workbench solving problems, Arcsmith wants you to get comfy and take your time. There’s no rush here, think of it as good old fashioned block building, just in space, and you don’t have hands; just futuristic lasers instead.
Which makes for a very comfortable gameplay experience. Entirely seated, because you’re at a workbench there’s literally nowhere else to go, occasionally seeing spaceships fly by as the story unfolds. However, that doesn’t mean Arcsmith is a laidback, relaxing experience, because it can be incredibly frustrating at points.
The issue is to do with the magnetic coupling of components. On the earlier, simpler puzzles it’s not too noticeable. Sometimes pieces instantly snap together or they may take a couple of attempts. As Arcsmith progresses and the devices you need to build get ever more complicated, that snapping functionality becomes annoyingly erratic. Two components pulled apart abruptly rejoin whilst others at the same distance fail to. There were points where throwing the damn thing across the room felt like the best course of action, the whole process becomes more complicated than it needed to be.
Even with those frustrations, it’s hard not to quickly become fond of Arcsmith, offering the kind of classic puzzling solving Bithell Games is known for, updated for VR. The same goes for the beautiful soundtrack by Dan Le Sac and Sarah Williams White, a perfect mix of electronic beats to accompany your building exploits. It might not be perfect but Arcsmith is a little slice of indie VR gold, keeping most players entertained for a good few hours.
Bithell Games Return to VR With Arcsmith for Oculus Quest in July
It’s been a while since Bithell Games released a virtual reality (VR) videogame, the last and only time being Earthshape for the now discontinued Daydream View headset in 2016. Today, the team has revealed its latest project, a puzzle title set in space called Arcsmith, and its due to launch next month for Oculus Quest.
In Arcsmith you become a space engineer guided by a rather reluctant master arcsmith Korith Dinn. Onboard his usually quiet space station you’ll learn how to construct a variety of space-based items and machinery, fitting parts together in your own way. Whilst these three-dimensional engineering puzzles have specifications to work to, the modular design of the components means you can get creative with each assembly, whether you’re building space drones or an antimatter generator.
Just like Bithell Games’ first title Thomas Was Alone was known for its procedural score by David Housden, whilst playing with this intergalactic Lego Arcsmith will also feature a premium soundtrack written by Dan Le Sac & Sarah Williams White. All whilst Dinn and his robotic companion Toolie discuss the ongoing chaos outside.
In keeping with the playful style the studio has long kept to, Arcsmith also blends in a narrative where an intergalactic space struggle is being waged right in your part of the galaxy. So building items like a working radio is fairly important to entertain the crew with cosmic tunes or vital news reports.
“It’s been exciting developing a spatial puzzle game for virtual reality,” said Nic Tringali, Game Director for Arcsmith at Bithell Games in a statement. “We’ve given players a variety of tools at their workbench to design and diagnose their creations, and VR gives us a unique way to present a game with an open-ended puzzle design.”
Bithell Games will be launching Arcsmith on 29th July exclusively for Oculus Quest, priced at £18.99 GBP/ $24.99 USD/ €24,99 EUR. Check out the first trailer below and for further updates from the studio, keep reading VRFocus.
Arcsmith Is A New Oculus Quest Title From Bithell Games
Arcsmith is the new Oculus Quest title from Bithell Games, the studio headed up by Thomas Was Alone developer Mike Bithell, and it’s releasing next month.
You can check out a trailer for the game below. There looks to be two sides to Arcsmith: story and puzzles. For the latter, the player solves engineering puzzles, assembling machinery like radios and drones. Based on the trailer, you’ll be putting pieces together, ensuring circuitry works.
But the puzzling is set against an interesting backdrop. Players embody an apprentice that learns from a master arcsmith named Korith Dinn. You carry out your work on a space station orbiting a planet. But, when the station becomes embroiled in a wider conflict, Korith decides to step in. It looks like an interesting blend of storytelling and gameplay, something the team’s built its reputation on these past few years.
Arcsmith will launch on Oculus Quest on July 29, and you can already wishlist the game from the Oculus Store.
This actually isn’t Bithell Games’ first VR effort. Back around the launch of PSVR the studio released an expansion to its third-person stealth game, Volume, that supported the headset. Then, when Google Daydream launched later that year, the studio also put out another VR puzzle game named EarthShape.
Will you be checking out Arcsmith when it launches next month? Let us know in the comments below.
Review: EarthShape
Bithell Games has built a reputation for going against the grain: developing videogames that riff on established convention to offer something new. The team’s debut virtual reality (VR) title, EarthShape, is no exception to this rule, using the traditional rules of a puzzle videogame in a unique and interesting way.
Surprisingly, EarthShape doesn’t do this in a way which is exclusively taking advantage of the unique properties of VR. The mechanics of the videogame would arguably work just as well on Wii or with PlayStation Move, or with any motion-controller. It’s in that use of motion-controls that EarthShape achieves something new; a puzzle videogame that marries forethought with an encouraging risk-reward system.
Dressed up as a cartoon outer space adventure, at its heart EarthShape is a simple virtual rendition of single-player Pong. The player has a dot-based grid ahead of them, into which a ball is fired. They must guide this ball to the exit without it going out-of-bounds. The ball will only move in straight lines, so drawing barriers between two horizontal or vertical dots will reverse its direction while diagonal lines will alter trajectory by 90 degrees. It sounds simple – and it is – but the challenge comes when attempting to gain points and with increasing ball speed.
For each barrier collided with the player will accumulate points which, during the campaign, result in quicker completion of levels. However, each puzzle has a time limit. The skill involved in successful completion of a stage isn’t simply guiding the ball to the exit, but by achieving as high a score as possible within the time limit. Skilled players will quickly learn the benefit of getting the ball on course to the exit as soon as possible, then preventing it from entering the hole by bouncing it back-and-forth between two local walls until the time limit warning is issued.
EarthShape also includes a Free Play mode in which you can utilise any of the items – visual modifiers and score multipliers/penalties – unlocked during the campaign. Despite its simplicity EarthShape is a considerable timesink; a truly generous videogame when considering the potential hours of gameplay available compared to many of its mobile VR peers.
However, for all its worth as a reformation of videogame puzzling tropes, EarthShape still makes little use of the unique medium it finds itself in. Perhaps as much an experiment for Bithell Games as VR remains for consumers, EarthShape isn’t likely to become the videogame you would chose to demonstrate the medium to VR virgin friends; nor is it likely to become a highlight of your personal software catalogue. It’s a great opportunity to while away a flight or long train journey in the hope of ignoring the strangers around you, but unlikely to be remembered long after arriving at your destination.
Bithell Games on Google Daydream Debut: ‘There’s a responsibility to help set the stage for the games that come next’
Google’s Daydream platform launched earlier this month, beginning with Google’s own range of Pixel smartphones and the Daydream View head-mounted display (HMD). One of the first titles available on the mobile virtual reality (VR) format was Bithell Games’ EarthShape, for which the company’s founder Mike Bithell recently offered his time to discuss the videogame, the format and the general rules of VR development.
Below is the full question and answer session with Mike Bithell, as he discusses the decisions behind the design of EarthShape and the development process. Furthermore, Bithell is open about his view of the Daydream brand’s potential and the pitfalls that lie ahead for VR. VRFocus will keep you updated with all the latest VR works from Bithell Games, but in the meantime enjoy this interesting discussion.
VRFocus: EarthShape has debuted at the launch of Daydream. What made you decide to develop a Daydream exclusive title?
Mike Bithell [MB]: I was super excited to work on a user friendly and incredibly accessible VR device. From conversations with Google I could tell that they were very much headed in a direction of inclusiveness. This is the VR headset you can wear on a plane, the one you’re going to take home for Christmas, I wanted to make something for that.
VRFocus: Aside from the typical VR constraints – simulation sickness, high framerate demands etc. – what problems did you have to overcome in the development of EarthShape?
MB: Creating for mobile takes some consideration and planning. Maintaining performance is the highest priority and that meant top to bottom considerations around gameplay and art budgeting. Also, devising a game that would make sense to mobile players and offer a fun challenge to more hardcore early adopters was a big job.
VRFocus: How has your experience with EarthShape influenced future VR development?
MB: I think it’s taught me the value in interface design, making the game feel great was even more important than the visuals, and we learned a lot of lessons about what was and wasn’t going to work with the Daydream controller (which is great).
VRFocus: The mobile VR audience is arguably wider than the traditional videogame audience. Did you take this into account when developing EarthShape?
MB: Absolutely. We had to assume that not only could this game be someone’s first VR experience, but maybe even their first game. There’s a responsibility there to be a great ambassador, and to help set the stage for the games that come next.
VRFocus: What is your expectation for the market this early on? Both for Daydream View and the Daydream brand as a whole?
MB: I think it’s going to do great, it’s super accessible and hopefully folks will see it as a bargain addition to their new phone. We’re not expecting it to launch as massively as a new console, but we do feel that it’s going to grow rapidly as more phones come out, and people replace their old contracts… this is a long tail situation.
VRFocus: Volume: Coda, an expansion to Volume, is also designed for VR. You’re set to offer Volume: Coda for free to Volume owners while EarthShape is priced at £4.79, which could be considered high for a mobile title. Pricing of VR software has seen a lot of rapid changes of late; where do you think the market will land?
MB: I would say that pricing is incredibly platform and situation dependent. Coda was DLC for an existing game, and we love free DLC! EarthShape being standalone meant that it was starting at a new price… I’m also not sure mobile VR pricing will be the same as mobile pricing more generally, we’re far from the highest priced on the platform… but we’ll see how things go and price accordingly.
VRFocus: Are we likely to see more VR titles from Bithell Games in the future?
MB: You never know!