Cortopia Studios – Page 2 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

March 9, 2020

Down the Rabbit Hole to see Physical EU PlayStation VR Release in April

Later this month Cortopia Studios – the developer behind magical combat title Wands – will release its next title, a puzzle adventure inspired by the classic novels of Lewis Carroll, Down the Rabbit Hole. Today, the studio in conjunction with Perp Games has announced that PlayStation VR gamers will be able able to own a physical copy in April.

Down The Rabbit Hole

Created as a prequel to Carroll’s classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, the story follows an unnamed girl as she’s looking for her pet Patches, stumbling into the fantastical world in the process.

Featuring familiar faces like the Cheshire Cat and the White Rabbit, Down the Rabbit Hole is a 360-degree interactive diorama where players control the girl through detailed rooms with hidden secrets. Players also interact with the world by tree roots, moving them to get a better view and peer inside each location. Squirrelled away are invitations to the Queen of Heart’s party to be found, finding them all unlocks one of the videogame’s multiple endings.

Ricky Helgesson at Cortopia Studios said in a statement: “Working with Perp Games to launch Down the Rabbit Hole at retail has been a blast. We really look forward to delighting customers with our Wonderland tale in stores.”

“Cortopia Studios have built a game that’s filled with smart ideas and madcap characters. Down the Rabbit Hole has such a unique approach to puzzle-solving, multi-branched storytelling, and in-game interactivity. You’ll love every minute of it,” adds Rob Edwards, Managing Director of Perp Games.

VRFocus originally previewed Down the Rabbit Hole at Gamescom 2019, finding: “From what was shown Down the Rabbit Hole is going to be a delightful little puzzle adventure. The gameplay uses the characteristics of VR in all the right ways, from all-encompassing scenes to deliver the story to lots of interactive elements that can be grabbed and pulled.”

Down the Rabbit Hole is scheduled to hit the shelves of European retail stores for PlayStation VR on 24th April 2020. A North American version has yet to be announced. The worldwide digital launch for PlayStation VR, Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, Valve Index, HTC Vive and Vive Cosmos is taking place on 26th March. For further updates on the puzzle adventure keep reading VRFocus.

February 13, 2020

Wonderland Puzzler Down The Rabbit Hole Releases Next Month To Quest & More

From the moment we first saw Cortopia’s latest project, Down The Rabbit Hole, we were drawn in with pure curiosity and intrigue. In the latest preview trailer released by Cortopia Studios, developer of Wands, we get a real sense of how this Wonderland adaptation is sprinkled with sarcasm and sassy characters.

Down The Rabbit Hole is getting an all-rounder release date of March 26th for Quest, PSVR, and PC VR.

In the gameplay trailer above we get to see yet more of the title’s puzzles and character interactions, including a task from the White Rabbit to deliver the Queen’s invitations, and it still looks as promising as ever.

We previewed the title back at Gamescom in Germany where Jamie gave more insight into what the game has in store, including a shift in point of view from first to third-person depending on what you’re doing. Jamie went into detail, saying “reasoning with the King of Spades, who’s face changed from one scribbled emotion to another was a rare moment of VR magic.”. We then later featured it in our Holiday VR Showcase where you guys seemed to be just as interested as us.

Down The Rabbit Hole is Cortopia’s second title after Wands, a magical mobile VR game in which you cast spells using – you guessed it – a wand. We gave it a 7/10 back in 2016, which makes us realise it’s been quite a while since we’ve heard from the studio.

You can already add Down The Rabbit Hole to your Steam, Oculus and Viveport wishlists, and it is coming to the PlayStation Store soon.

Are you looking forward to taking on Alice’s adventures in Down The Rabbit Hole? Let us know below!

The post Wonderland Puzzler Down The Rabbit Hole Releases Next Month To Quest & More appeared first on UploadVR.

February 13, 2020

Puzzle Adventure Down the Rabbit Hole Emerges in March

The start of 2020 has been a little slow when it comes to new virtual reality (VR) titles but things are starting to pick up. Cortopia Studios, the team behind magical combat game Wands is preparing to launch its next project, a puzzle adventure called Down the Rabbit Hole. A launch date has now been slated for March.

Down The Rabbit Hole

Originally revealed during Gamescom 2019, Down the Rabbit Hole’s storyline is a prequel to Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice in Wonderland tale where players step into this fantastical world before Alice ever does.

In Down the Rabbit Hole an unnamed girl searches for her lost pet, stumbling into Wonderland in the process. The world wraps around the player as an immersive diorama which can be grabbed and spun as more locations are unlocked. Certain puzzles transport players inside scenes, offering new viewpoints and challenges.

“We’re excited to share that Down the Rabbit Hole, our long-anticipated, new VR game, will be available to play starting March 26,” says Ola Björling, chief strategist at Beyond Frames Entertainment, publisher of Down the Rabbit Hole in a statement. “For those who are curious, our team at Cortopia have been taking all the impossible things — from playtests to design updates to mad tea parties to bring this new adventure to life.”

Down The Rabbit Hole Björling added, “We are all very excited for players to experience our interpretation of the magical and mythical world that Carroll created and look forward to delighting players with many surprise encounters, challenging puzzles and hidden secrets as they explore our miniature Wonderland diorama. It’s truly a Wonderland experience, and we cannot wait to share our creation with gamers and see their reactions when the game launches in March.”

Cortopia Studios will launch Down the Rabbit Hole across multiple platforms including PlayStation VR, Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift and Steam VR on 26th March 2020.

November 27, 2019

Miniature Puzzler Down the Rabbit Hole Coming Q1 2020

One of the more interesting puzzle titles to appear at Gamescom 2019 was Cortopia Studios’ Alices Adventures in Wonderland-themed Down the Rabbit Hole. Offering puzzle scenes which unfolded around you, the videogame was only shown on Oculus Quest with the studio saying other headsets would be supported. Now more have been added as well as the confirmation of a release window for early 2020.

Down The Rabbit Hole

Cortopia Studios has previously confirmed that Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR would all feature versions, but now Valve Index and HTC Vive Cosmos have also been added to that list. It wouldn’t have been too much of a stretch to imagine those devices supporting Down the Rabbit Hole thanks to SteamVR compatibility, at least it confirms the fact for players interested.

Down the Rabbit Hole uses the characters from the famous children’s book, so you’ll see the Cheshire Cat pop up as well as the Caterpillar, yet the story itself will be original. This time there’s no Alice, as the story takes place before she ever discovers Wonderland. So you control an unnamed female character who stumbles into this fantastical world, challenged to solve a variety of puzzles to find a way home.

Rather than a fully realised 3D world, in Down the Rabbit Hole you are essentially like the title states. In this underground hole, the levels appear as little diorama’s, growing and expanding around you as area are explored and puzzles solved. Because of these fluctuating scenes, players can turn the cave by grabbing onto various roots growing out of the walls. The experience isn’t entirely viewed from this point either. While some puzzles are interacted with directly, at various times you’re pulled into the scene for an immersive view of the experience.

When VRFocus previewed Down the Rabbit Hole at Gamescom 2019 we found: “From what was shown Down the Rabbit Hole is going to be a delightful little puzzle adventure. The gameplay uses the characteristics of VR in all the right ways, from all-encompassing scenes to deliver the story to lots of interactive elements that can be grabbed and pulled.”

Originally slated for a 2019 launch, Down the Rabbit Hole has shifted to Q1 2020, for what sounds like a multiplatform launch. As further details are released, VRFocus will keep you updated.

September 19, 2019

It’s a Kind of Magic as Wands Appears on Oculus Quest

Indie virtual reality (VR) developer Cortopia Studios’ first immersive title was a magic spellcasting videogame called Wands, first appearing on Samsung Gear VR. The title has come a long way since then, appearing on multiple mobile and PC-based platforms. Today, it’s the turn of Oculus Quest.

Wands is a multiplayer experience which casts you in the role of a powerful mage who is able to wield a number of powerful and deadly spells. Just like all wizards like to do, practice makes perfect so you can dual opponents from around the world using a mixture of 24+ spells – which you have to unlock through playing – offering both offensive and defensive capabilities.

Offering 1 vs 1 dual in expansive arenas, before each match you must select four spells to attach to a magical staff. As you unlock more these can be mixed and matched to suit your play style. To ensure the matches are fast yet comfortable for most players, the arenas feature teleportation points dotted high and low. You cast spells by the selecting the desired one rather than gesture-based spell casting like you’d find in The Wizards.

To ensure you can usually find someone to fight Cortopia Studios has made Wands compatible with Oculus Rift, Oculus Go, HTC Vive, Valve Index, Samsung Gear VR headsets. Should that prove to be difficult in August the studio released its 1.6.0 patch which added a new feature, an AI opponent called Machina, allowing you to practice first.

Wands

While Cortopia Studios has continued to support Wands at the recent Gamescom 2019 event in Germany the developer showcased its latest project in the works, Down the Rabbit Hole, a puzzle title inspired by The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland. Take a look at VRFocus’ preview of the videogame on Oculus Quest or the gameplay footage.

As further Wands updates are released VRFocus will let you know.

September 19, 2019

Multiplayer Magic Battler Wands Lands On Quest Today

Cortopia Studios’ popular VR magic battler, Wands, finds a home on Oculus Quest today.

Wands was one of the earlier entries into the VR spellcasting genre. Unlike Carbon Studios’ The Wizards (which is also on Quest), though, the game is focused on multiplayer battles. Players kit out their own wands with an array of spells. It’s closer in style to Insomniac Games’ more modern take on spell-binding battles, The Unspoken.

https://youtu.be/12NQBimzwUw

Wands Quest Launch Trailer (Cortopia) – Quest, Rift, Vive, Go, Gear, Daydream (https://youtu.be/12NQBimzwUw)

The game also features a single-player survival mode in which you take down multiple enemies in different arenas. Check out the launch trailer for the Quest above. It looks like the game is still looking sharp on the platform.

Over the years Wands has received several updates adding new maps, workshops, characters and other tweaks to the game.

We first reviewed Wands all the way back in the Gear VR days. For the time it carried gorgeous visuals and fun combat. The game felt at odds with the three degrees of freedom (3DOF) tracking on mobile platforms, though. That issue was rectified when the game came to PC VR headsets later on. With Quest, though, you can play Wands on a mobile platform with full head and hand tracking for the first time.

Elsewhere, Cortopia is currently busy developing its next VR game, Down The Rabbit Hole. As the name suggests, it’s set in the world of Alice in Wonderland. We got to try the game at Gamescom last month and found something with a captivating mix of storytelling and gameplay styles. Suffice to say, we’re really looking forward to it.

The post Multiplayer Magic Battler Wands Lands On Quest Today appeared first on UploadVR.

September 3, 2019

Head Down the Rabbit Hole with 9 mins of Gameplay Footage

Gamescom 2019 had an impressive amount of virtual reality (VR) content thanks to a lot of European developers showing up in force. One of those was Cortopia Studios who demoed its new puzzle experience Down the Rabbit Hole. For VRFocus’ final piece of coverage on the title from the show, it’s time to see the videogame in action.

Down The Rabbit Hole

As VRFocus has previously written, Down the Rabbit Hole is a collection of mini-scenes which appear and surround the player as they progress through this fantastical world. While inspired by the classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland children’s novel, the storyline takes place prior to Alice, featuring another girl who just so happens to stumble upon the realm.

Still featuring some of the book’s most well-known characters, Down the Rabbit Hole’s puzzles are a mixture of third-person interaction by way of controlling the girl or other characters and direct interaction as some sort of godly overseer. For example, you need to run her around a series of doors to find the right path, then in another instance directly hit plants to make a musical melody.

Played on the Oculus Quest, Down the Rabbit Hole is being developed for multiple VR headsets including PlayStation VR, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. A release date is expected before the end of the year. To learn more about the videogame also check out VRFocus’ interview with Cortopia Studios.

Down The Rabbit Hole

VRFocus previewed Down the Rabbit Hole, noting: “From what was shown Down the Rabbit Hole is going to be a delightful little puzzle adventure. The gameplay uses the characteristics of VR in all the right ways, from all-encompassing scenes to deliver the story to lots of interactive elements that can be grabbed and pulled.”

Take a look at the first gameplay footage from Down the Rabbit Hole, or head on over to VRFocus’ other gameplay videos from Gamescom 2019 including The Curious Tale of the Stolen Pets and Acron: Attack of the Squirrels. For further updates fro Cortopia Studios keep reading VRFocus.

September 2, 2019

Gamescom 2019 Interview: Cortopia Studios Re-envision Alice’s Wonderland

Cortopia Studios has had plenty of success with its virtual reality (VR) PvP title Wands, bringing the magical combat experience to several headsets. Now the studio is working on something slightly different, a puzzle experience called Down the Rabbit Hole, inspired by the classic children’s novel Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland. Making its debut during Gamescom 2019, VRFocus spoke with the team to learn a little more about this particular re-imagining of the tale.

Down The Rabbit Hole

While inspired by the book Down the Rabbit Hole doesn’t use the storyline. So there’s no Alice in this version as it takes place before she ever discovers Wonderland, but there are still a few familiar faces to be found along the way. For this edition, you control an unnamed female character who stumbles into this fantastical world, solving puzzles to find a way home.

The title puts you in a sort of cylindrical cave, with the levels displayed as little dioramas which can be peered into. As you progress through each one a new scene will appear, sometimes higher or lower than the last. Because of these fluctuating scenes, players can turn the cave by grabbing onto various roots growing out of the walls. The experience isn’t entirely viewed from this point either. While some puzzles are interacted with directly, at various times you’re pulled into the scene for an immersive view of the experience.

Down The Rabbit Hole

Speaking with Ola Bjorling, Chief Strategist for Beyond Frames Entertainment (an umbrella group for Cortopia Studios, Zenz VR, Odd Raven Studios and Moon Mode) he reveals how the experience came about and what to expect from the puzzle title.

Check out the video below or take a look at VRFocus other interviews from Gamescom including Somnium Space, Pixel Reef, Dark Curry and Carbon Studio. For further updates from Cortopia Studios, keep reading VRFocus.

September 2, 2019

Preview: The Wizards – Dark Times – A Different Kind of Magic

When Cortopia Studios released The Wizards in 2018 the virtual reality (VR) title offered decent fantasy gameplay, with its main feature being gesture-based spells. The main downside was the feeling it was merely an advanced wave-shooter, locking you in locations to kill a set number of monsters before moving on. The studio has taken all this feedback on board for its next instalment in the franchise The Wizards – Dark Times.

The Wizards - Dark Times

Attending Gamescom 2019 the team said they wanted to create an experience far more freeing than before, keeping what made The Wizards great whilst dispensing with the less desired elements. This was obvious straight away as the landscape no longer features those arena-like locations. The world was twisted and dark, gnarled tree roots descended down steep rock walls while strange glowing mushrooms scatter the ground. It felt very much like being in the Dark Crystal universe.

While looking the part, this forest location kept to a linear formula so there was no real exploring as such. Paths were predefined with a puzzle here and there to mix up the gameplay design. As mentioned enemies are no longer confined to specific locations so it was very nice to find deadly mushrooms popping up and charging unexpectedly, or some sort of demonic creature staying back and launching a volley of arrows.

This all made The Wizards – Dark Times more dynamic and enjoyable to play. Just as in titles such as The Mage’s Tale or Witching Tower there’s now more to pay attention to with few lull moments where you’re wandering around simply heading to the next activation point.

The Wizards - Dark Times

As with any videogame featuring spells and incantations, The Wizards – Dark Times is all about the magic. All those gesture-based spells for attacking and defending are still there but now they’ve been improved, not only making them easier to cast but also great for combination effects. The two spells most commonly used tend to be the fireball and the shield. The fireball was always the simplest to conjure, however, now it’s now available at (the literal) flick of the wrist. While the shield is just an arm movement across the chest. There doesn’t seem to be an issue with getting the gesture exactly right, a problem which occasionally occurred in the original – meaning much arm-waving when an enemy got too close.

There’s also greater depth to the spells. The ice arrow returns where you can once again fire five before recasting. Now, two direct hits will freeze an enemy plus the bow can split into two making dual-wielding swords for close combat. As for those combination effects, freeze a monster, then defrost with a fireball. As they’re now dripping wet a nasty lightning spell is going to be even more effective (cue cackling laugh).

Only a few spells were on offer during the demo with Cortopia Studios saying 11 will be made available in the final release. Which should open up plenty of strategic opportunities. Especially as the enemies shown so far do actually seem to be fairly intelligent and offer a challenge – apart from the suicidal mushrooms.

The Wizards - Dark Times

From what’s been shown so far The Wizards – Dark Times is definitely on track to offer an even more engaging experience than before. The spell casting works well, the environments look great, and the monsters put up a fight. So hopefully things are only going to get better, just so long as there’s a hefty campaign to back it all up.

September 1, 2019

The VR Job Hub: Tripwire Interactive, Cortopia Studios, HTC and More

Job hunting isn’t one of those activities that people relish. For the most part, you’re looking for a job because you don’t have one or the one you’re in hasn’t quite turned out to be the glorious career path you’d imagined or been sold by the recruiter. Trying to make the hunt less of a chore is the VR Job Hub, your portal to vacancies around the world with some of the best companies involved in virtual reality (VR) content creation.

Location	Company	Role	Link
Roswell, US	Tripwire Interactive	Senior Quality Assurance Tester	Click Here to Apply
Stockholm, Sweden	Cortopia Studios	Software Engineer	Click Here to Apply
Slough, UK	HTC	Product Operations Director	Click Here to Apply
Burbank, California	Insomniac Games	Animator	Click Here to Apply
Burbank, California	Insomniac Games	Environment Artist	Click Here to Apply
Burbank, California	Insomniac Games	Sr. Project Manager	Click Here to Apply
Burbank, California	Insomniac Games	Sr. Engine Programmer: Tools	Click Here to Apply
Boston, US	Harmonix	Senior Server Engineer	Click Here to Apply
Boston, US	Harmonix	Software Engineer: Senior Generalist	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.