DigitalBadger Design LLC – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

May 18, 2017

Competition: Win Your Own Bar (Well, A Virtual One) With A Copy Of Flairtender

Do you know your Manhattan from your Mojito – and if nmot would you like to? VRFocus has teamed up with the developers behind the game drink crafting game Flairender to bring you the chance to win one of five codes for the game.

Flairtender, a Steam Early Access title by DigitalBadger Design LLC with virtual reality (VR) support for Oculus Rift with Oculus Touch and HTC Vive. Let’s you channel your inner Tom Cruise in the film Cocktail and learn how to mix a selection of drinks in a bar environment, all the while earning enough cash to upgrade your drinks selection. And more importantly not having to fork out for large amounts of alcohol, or spilling vodka all over your house.

Flairtender Screenshot You can read all about it in our preview, here.

You have just over a week, with the competition Time is relatively short on this one so we’re running up until midnight (UK time) on Friday, 26th May 2017. The competition is open to everyone, though naturally you’ll need a Steam account and an HTC Vive or Oculus Rift with Touch in order to enjoy the title. To enter all you have to do to is use the app below and be either a follower of VRFocus on Twitter, be a subscriber to our YouTube channel or visit our Facebook or Google+ pages. That’s it. You get an entry for any of those so make sure you check everything out. You can also tweet about the competition for another entry.

Win Flairtender on HTC Vive or Oculus Rift (Steam)

We’ll let winners know as soon as possible after the competition ends. Normal terms apply. Good luck!

May 10, 2017

Preview: Flairtender – Bring Your Bartending Skills into VR

DigitalBadger Design LLC’s first virtual reality (VR) videogame was not birthed out of the intention to become a thought leader in a rapidly moving industry. It wasn’t due to fascination with modern hardware, and it wasn’t motivated by the fresh green pasture of new genre possibilities. Flairtender was, according to DigitalBadger Design LLC’s Robert Frank, designed to save him a few bucks.

Flairtender Screenshot

How would a VR videogame save you money, you ask? Well, put simply, alcohol is expensive. If you’re the creative type and find yourself kicking-back with a cocktail every now-and-then, you’ll have no doubt found that without some practice most of what you make won’t live up to even the most basic mix at your local bar. Flairtender aims to change that; helping you to learn to make the best of your spirits and mixers without the hefty shopping bill each time.

The core component of Flairtender remains a videogame experience: serve customers accurately poured drinks, save up a wedge of cash, buy new equipment for your bar, offer a new selection of cocktails. It’s a simple and obvious learning curve combined with the traditional ‘one-more-go’ approach to sticky gameplay. In this case however, it’s more like ‘one more drink’.

For some however, it’ll be the tuition part of Flairtender that stands out. The core gameplay doesn’t have the humour of Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives, nor does it have the depth or variety. What it does have however, is a core principle that relates directly to the real-world, much like Starship Group’s presently absent CyberCook.

Flairtender Screenshot

The videogame offers a menu of selected cocktail recipes and all the ingredients required to make them. It presents a breakdown of the mix required and the order in which each component should be added to the glass, plus suggests the appropriate garnish, too. It’s not the most detailed instruction you could ask for, but is certainly comparable to a mixology book.

Despite all of this potential, Flairtender does have some significant ground to cover while in Steam Early Access. The visual quality is poor, at best, with a lifeless bar presented in front of you. The liquid animation appears little more than stock assets – given how much a part of Flairtender liquids are, this certainly needs improving – and much of the mise-en-scene is simply without character. Worst of all, Flairtender’s basic text presentation doesn’t do the image quality any favours.

So Flairtender is an intriguing prospect, but not one without issue. You’d be hard pressed to suggest that DigitalBadger Design LLC are without knowledge of the problems – mostly cosmetic – that Flairtender currently faces, but tidying them up isn’t as easy as developing a unique concept in VR. VRFocus will be closely watching Flairtender to see if it can live-up to its potential.

May 7, 2017

Mix-up Your Drinks with a New Flairtender Trailer

DigitalBadger Design LLC’s Flairtender is set to launch for Oculus Rift with Oculus Touch and HTC Vive later this month, and a brand new trailer revealed by the developer showcases just what the videogame entails. Learn how to mix cocktails in a bar environment, all the while earning enough cash to upgrade your drinks selection.

Flairtender is an unusual virtual reality (VR) release, eschews the now traditional wave shooter and puzzle solving mechanics for something much more down to earth. At the same time, DigitalBadger Design LLC hope to offer a comprehensive tutorial for how to mix cocktails for yourself at home.

Flairtender is currently set to be available via Steam Early Access on 19th May 2017, priced at $14.99 USD. VRFocus has a hands-on preview of Flairtender coming this week, so check back for all the latest details.

May 5, 2017

Practice Your Mixology Skills in Flairtender on HTC Vive and Oculus Rift

DigitalBadger Design LLC is bringing its debut virtual reality (VR) videogame to Steam Early Access later this month, as Flairtender is set to arrive with HTC Vive and Oculus Rift plus Oculus Touch compatibility. Starting with the basics, players will earn cash to purchase new drinks, glasses, garnishes and more.

Flairtender includes a basic tutorial mode to get you started, as well as a campaign mode in which you must accurately mix drinks to earn money from customers. Furthermore, the videogame also includes a basic mixology mode in which you can learn about creating cocktails gaining transferable skills for the real-world.

“Why a bar related game? Well they always say “write what you know.” While I have never been a bar tender myself, I always like experimenting with different drinks at home. However, it can get fairly costly to have a bunch of bottles of liquor around, and I thought it would be fun to practice them in VR,” stated Robert Frank of DigitalBadger Design LLC in communication with VRFocus. “I found that it was actually pretty enjoyable and decided to make a game out of it where one can learn some real life skills as well.”

Flairtender is currently set to be available via Steam Early Access on 19th May 2017, priced at $14.99 USD. DigitalBadger Design LLC will be offering a 10% ‘Launch Discount’ for a limited time, bringing the price down to $13.49. VRFocus has much more coverage of Flairtender to come, so be sure to keep an eye on this one in the run up to launch.