Category: kickstarter

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Sword Reverie: How This VR Action RPG Channels Its JRPG Roots

Isekai Entertainment’s Sword Reverie has gained significant traction these last few weeks. Bringing us a single player JRPG-inspired action RPG to VR, it’s been in the news thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign.

First revealed last year with some gameplay footage, it reached their $10,000 funding goal in 72 hours and Isekai are now seeking to hit further stretch goals, including further content and support for both PSVR and Oculus Quest. As of the time of this publishing it’s got about 4 days to go.

Reminiscent of Sword Art Online, last year’s VR RPG Nostos, and VR MMO Ilysia it utilizes a hand-drawn anime visual design within a single player experience, designed to make you feel like a JRPG protagonist. 

Playing a nameless Hero summoned to this realm, it takes place across an open world with explorable villages, boss fights, and dungeons. Placing you amidst a war between humans and Elementals, it promises a story-driven experience that follows this plot: 

“After a thousand years of peace, the boiling tensions between the “kingdom of man” and the elemental lords continue to escalate. Seeing that the threat of a catastrophic war is imminent, the Guardian Magnus uses his powers to summon you the “Hero” to his realm, to become his new apprentice. The Guardian explains to you, that he believes the Elemental lords have grown too powerful and as legend goes, only a “true hero” from a faraway land, can bring balance, peace, and prosperity to all the realms.”

With the Kickstarter campaign finishing very soon we reached out to one of Isekai Entertainment’s founders, Frank Zhang, who was kind enough to tell us more about this exciting new project.

Sword Reverie Quest

Henry Stockdale, UploadVR: Firstly, thank you for agreeing to this interview. Could you please introduce yourselves and your game?

Frank Zhang, Isekai Entertainment Co-Founder: Hi, my name is Frank. One of the co-founders of Isekai Entertainment. We are a game studio founded in 2018 to develop anime and manga inspired VR games. 

Our game, Sword Reverie, is a single-player JRPG inspired VR action game. In Sword Reverie, you will be an anime protagonist who fights off hordes of Elementals using your sword and launches powerful abilities using body gestures. You will explore a large fantasy world alongside anime-style characters in a thrilling story-driven adventure.

 

UploadVR: Sword Reverie was announced last year but it’s only just gotten a Kickstarter campaign. Why choose to do this now, rather than when you first revealed it?

Zhang: Our original plan was to release the game directly to Early Access by the end of 2020. However, during our playtests this summer, we had an outpouring of support from players who wanted to see the game developed further before Early Access to realize its full potential and were asking for ways to support us financially to do so. We believe Kickstarter is the best way to continue the development of Sword Reverie with feedback and support from our community.

 

UploadVR: It’s planned for early access release in Spring 2021. What can we expect to be included at launch, compared to the full release?

Zhang: The Early Access release will include the first map and boss fight. The game will be roughly 2~3 hours at Early Access, with a smaller amount of enemy types and weapons. The full release will include 5 maps, 4+ boss fights, and additional enemies and weapons for 8~10 hours of gameplay. The full story of Sword Reverie will also be completed in the full release.

 

sword reverie vr action game

UploadVR: JRPGs aren’t really something we’ve previously seen in VR, though similar ideas were used in Nostos and OrbusVR. How does Sword Reverie distinguish itself from those experiences?

Zhang: Like Nostos and Orbus VR, Sword Reverie has a large fantasy world and epic stories. However, Sword Reverie is a single-player game with a greater focus on satisfying VR combat. Our game has a unique elemental combat system and players use different body gestures to launch abilities. We also do a great job recreating the anime experience with our art style and voice actors.

 

UploadVR: Perhaps inevitably due to the concept, we’ve seen plenty of Sword Art Online comparisons with your game and I noticed the Kickstarter FAQ discourages use of life-threatening hardware mods. All joking aside, is there any major similarities between SAO and Sword Reverie?

Zhang: We want Sword Reverie to be a game that immerses you in a VR fantasy world with thrilling action combat. Our team is a big fan of Kirito’s use of dual blades and the fights in SAO were exhilarating to watch. This is why we created a combat system that allows players to launch larger than life JRPG like abilities by doing cool battle poses using dual blades.

 

UploadVR: You’ve previously shown off open-world gameplay footage, showcasing combat and village exploration, so how much freedom will players have here? Can you go off adventuring to complete some side quests, or does it mainly focus on the campaign?

Zhang: Certain details are still being designed, but the player will be able to freely explore large sections of the map during the campaign and will be rewarded with experience and loot for venturing off the beaten trail. The focus is on the campaign, but side quests are a possible addition.

 

sword reverie town concept art

UploadVR: In true JRPG fashion, will there be a fishing minigame?

Zhang: Currently, the answer is no, but additional VR interactions may be added in the future.

 

UploadVR: Regarding combat, Sword Reverie promises a physics-based approach, using a rock-paper-scissors style system for elemental attacks and you’ve also got physical weaponry. How do these two aspects combine?

Zhang: The elemental system means that you need to change elements and use different abilities to deal with different enemies. The physics weaponry means you can’t just wiggle your sword around, that weapons have weight, and that you need to pay attention to how you are attacking enemies, such as where to attack, and when to dodge or block. You will need to choose the right element and strategy against enemies but also fight hard to dispatch enemies quickly.

 

UploadVR: We know that the Hero is joined by Magnus and Stella during this adventure. Stella and Magnus will join us during combat, but can players control/influence their actions during fights? Or do they operate independently?

Zhang: Magnus and Stella cannot be controlled by the player and will operate independently. However, they will both have major roles in the story.

 

UploadVR: Your Kickstarter video tells us we can combine elemental abilities to create our own playstyles within game. Could you tell us more about how this works?

Zhang: Each combination of elements and abilities have unique effects. When faced with different types of enemies, there are multiple strategies on what elements to use and which threats to tackle first depending on the playstyle of the player. For example, players may prefer to use fire elements to burn enemies or grass elements to root enemies. Each approach will have its pros and cons.

 

sword reverie combat gameplay screenshot

UploadVR: What VR headsets will be supported?

Zhang: We already support all PC VR headsets that run SteamVR (HTC Vive/Vive Pro/Cosmos, Valve Index, Pimax, Windows MR such as HP Reverb G2 and Samsung Odyssey+, Oculus Rift/Rift S/Quest with Link Cable, etc.) and Oculus PC VR (Oculus Rift/Rift S/Quest with Link Cable). PSVR and Quest are stretch goals for the Kickstarter.

 

UploadVR: To bring it to Oculus Quest and PSVR, you’re asking for $20,000 and $25,000 as stretch goals. Is it possible to achieve these goals with just a small financial boost?

Zhang: It will take far more money, and most importantly development time, to create proper Quest and PSVR versions of the game. For the Quest version, due to the performance limitations of mobile processors, we need to make major changes to the game. The Kickstarter is meant to be a gauge of interest in Quest and PSVR versions and not an indicator of the investment needed. If the stretch goals are met, we will seek alternative sources of funding to build these versions or put up more money ourselves.

 

UploadVR: Lastly, is there any message you’d like to share with the fans?

Zhang: Thank you to our Kickstarter backers for backing our project. The Kickstarter has been a huge success so far, and we will do our best to create a game that meets your expectations.

Again, thank you to all the weebs and gamers who have supported us along the way. Your support allowed us to keep moving forward during difficult times. We hope that all our fans will continue to provide us feedback to make the game better and continue to spread the word about Sword Reverie.

For more details on Sword Reverie, you can visit the official website, Kickstarter page, and Steam page. Sword Reverie is currently targeting a Spring 2021 release window for  Early Access.

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Oculus Quest to get its Own Cybershoes

Cybershoes

The Oculus Quest platform is all about wireless freedom to move and interact in virtual worlds as you would in real life. But that’s not always possible, maybe due to location or physical limitations. Which is why Cybershoes has announced plans to bring its product to the platform by way of a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign this year.

Cybershoes

Cybershoes are a locomotion system designed for natural movement in virtual reality (VR). Sat down, you slip on the shoes and start walking, with a roller underneath allowing you move forward and backwards. The original Cybershoes launched last year after a 2018 Kickstarter, only compatible with tethered headsets.

Now the team wants to create a wireless version for Oculus Quest and Quest 2, with the Cybershoes connecting to a headset via Bluetooth receiver attached to the front of the headset.

“Movement and locomotion has been a consistent issue in VR gaming. The main movement mechanics available today – smooth movement via joystick or teleportation – can be jarring and lead to motion sickness,” said Michael Bieglmayer, CEO of Cybershoes in a statement. “By translating natural movement to in-game motion, Cybershoes addresses motion sickness while increasing immersion, activity, and enjoyment.”

Cybershoes

The company plans on launching the Kickstarter at some point this year, although details regarding how much Cybershoes wants to raise and what the funding tiers will cost have yet to be released. Ahead of that, a software development kit (SDK) is now available for developers to integrate Cybershoes into their videogames. One of the latest to do so is Arizona Sunshine by Vertigo Games.

“It is one of our core values to allow players to fully customize their preferred way to play,” said Richard Stitselaar, Managing Director at Vertigo Games. “We have a few people in our office who are sensitive to motion sickness so we take comfort very seriously. Arizona Sunshine already supports a wide range of comfort options and Cybershoes provides an intuitive way to bring the player’s physical motion into the game, allowing our players to experience VR however they like.”

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Cybershoes, reporting back with further Kickstarter updates.

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Oculus Quest to get its Own Cybershoes

Cybershoes

The Oculus Quest platform is all about wireless freedom to move and interact in virtual worlds as you would in real life. But that’s not always possible, maybe due to location or physical limitations. Which is why Cybershoes has announced plans to bring its product to the platform by way of a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign this year.

Cybershoes

Cybershoes are a locomotion system designed for natural movement in virtual reality (VR). Sat down, you slip on the shoes and start walking, with a roller underneath allowing you move forward and backwards. The original Cybershoes launched last year after a 2018 Kickstarter, only compatible with tethered headsets.

Now the team wants to create a wireless version for Oculus Quest and Quest 2, with the Cybershoes connecting to a headset via Bluetooth receiver attached to the front of the headset.

“Movement and locomotion has been a consistent issue in VR gaming. The main movement mechanics available today – smooth movement via joystick or teleportation – can be jarring and lead to motion sickness,” said Michael Bieglmayer, CEO of Cybershoes in a statement. “By translating natural movement to in-game motion, Cybershoes addresses motion sickness while increasing immersion, activity, and enjoyment.”

Cybershoes

The company plans on launching the Kickstarter at some point this year, although details regarding how much Cybershoes wants to raise and what the funding tiers will cost have yet to be released. Ahead of that, a software development kit (SDK) is now available for developers to integrate Cybershoes into their videogames. One of the latest to do so is Arizona Sunshine by Vertigo Games.

“It is one of our core values to allow players to fully customize their preferred way to play,” said Richard Stitselaar, Managing Director at Vertigo Games. “We have a few people in our office who are sensitive to motion sickness so we take comfort very seriously. Arizona Sunshine already supports a wide range of comfort options and Cybershoes provides an intuitive way to bring the player’s physical motion into the game, allowing our players to experience VR however they like.”

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Cybershoes, reporting back with further Kickstarter updates.

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Ilysia VR MMO Doubles Kickstarter Goal, First Look At Gear And Weapons Here

Ilysia is an upcoming VR MMO currently in the final days of its Kickstarter campaign. After initially launching with a meager $60,000 target, the team has far exceeded that and is already over double the original asking amount.

As of the time of this writing, Team 21 has just over $125,000 in Kickstarter pledges. Admittedly, if you know much of anything about what it takes to make an MMO, that isn’t very much money. However, the team is small, reportedly very efficient and lean according to themselves, and has clear goals. Time will tell if they can deliver.

We first reported on Ilysia last weekend after I spoke with some of the founding members of the project. Needless to say I’m impressed with what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard, so I’m eager to dive in for myself and see how it stacks up.

One of the main things I’ve been most curious about is the gear and equipment system. In games like OrbusVR, which is the first actual MMO in VR, character models are extremely simplistic and all of your gear is managed and seen in a floating flat menu. Same with Skyrim VR without mods and so many other RPGs with VR support.

But in an MMO, especially a VR MMO, I want to be as immersed as possible. Ideally, to really capture that Sword Art Online meets .hack//sign meets Ready Player One vision, we need everything to be interactive and to have gear and equipment visible on a fully-tracked body — not floating hands and torsos.

ilysia gear menu equipment vr mmo gif

In some brand new exclusive Ilysia assets provided to us by Team 21, it looks like they’re doing their best to deliver on that front. In the GIF above you’ll see the equipment menu — this is shown to manage what you’re wearing and see what you look like, but once you equip weapons you’ll grab them physically on your body. There are slots for: head, shoulder, chest, arms, legs, hands, feet, rings, neck, back (that means capes! woo!), belt, house key, and mount. Gear will also be tiered based on color, such as: grey (Poor), white (Common), green (Superior), blue (undisclosed tier name), and orange (undisclosed tier name).

There will be one-handed weapons, two-handed weapons, ranged weapons, offhand items like books, relics, and totems, and consumable items like food and potions. You can also choose your character’s gender, race, facial preset, hairstyle, and skin tone. All standard fare for the most part.

Here is the belt slot weapon being drawn in-game as an example:

drawing weapon ilysia vr mmo

According to the developers you’ll have two hip slots, two back slots, and two belt slots for weapons and items. Additionally, you can see in the featured image at the top of this article every character is wearing full armor with varied styles, donning a multitude of weapon types, and showcasing a diverse set of character styles.

Since it’s a free form class system, it looks like you’ll be able to have a very open-ended progression system, as shown in this menu:

ilysia skill tree vr mmo

Finally, here are some in-game screenshots that show off the world, various characters in-game, and some battles.

As of now, backers have unlocked 11/14 stretch goals after hitting the $125,000 threshold. This includes full-body VR tracking, mount breeding, a battle royale instance, pet breeding, additional starting zones, and more. Plus, this glorious mount named Handsome Joe’s Prized Pony for all backers:

The remaining stretch goals include a PvP Honor Rewards System ($150,000), Guild XP and Leveling ($200,000), and expanded player-owned Inns / Shops with Skills and XP ($250,000).

What I like about this art style (which I’ve been told is not final and will be improved) is that it reminds me a lot of old-school EverQuest. To me, those are still the glory days of MMOs and the developers claim to be intent on rediscovering that sense of wonder for VR.

ilysia vr mmo Spider Fight ilysia vr mmo spider fight magic spell ilysia vr mmo PvP Arena ilysia vr mmo spider fight group

Ilysia is slated to eventually release at some point next year on PC VR, PSVR, and Quest with full crossplay between all platforms. Let us know what you think down in the comments below!

[Disclosure]: The author of this story, David Jagneaux, pledged to the Ilysia Kickstarter at the $50 ‘Alpha Squire (Early Access – A1) tier. This has not affected his coverage of the game.

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Ilysia VR MMO Doubles Kickstarter Goal, First Look At Gear And Weapons Here

Ilysia is an upcoming VR MMO currently in the final days of its Kickstarter campaign. After initially launching with a meager $60,000 target, the team has far exceeded that and is already over double the original asking amount.

As of the time of this writing, Team 21 has just over $125,000 in Kickstarter pledges. Admittedly, if you know much of anything about what it takes to make an MMO, that isn’t very much money. However, the team is small, reportedly very efficient and lean according to themselves, and has clear goals. Time will tell if they can deliver.

We first reported on Ilysia last weekend after I spoke with some of the founding members of the project. Needless to say I’m impressed with what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard, so I’m eager to dive in for myself and see how it stacks up.

One of the main things I’ve been most curious about is the gear and equipment system. In games like OrbusVR, which is the first actual MMO in VR, character models are extremely simplistic and all of your gear is managed and seen in a floating flat menu. Same with Skyrim VR without mods and so many other RPGs with VR support.

But in an MMO, especially a VR MMO, I want to be as immersed as possible. Ideally, to really capture that Sword Art Online meets .hack//sign meets Ready Player One vision, we need everything to be interactive and to have gear and equipment visible on a fully-tracked body — not floating hands and torsos.

ilysia gear menu equipment vr mmo gif

In some brand new exclusive Ilysia assets provided to us by Team 21, it looks like they’re doing their best to deliver on that front. In the GIF above you’ll see the equipment menu — this is shown to manage what you’re wearing and see what you look like, but once you equip weapons you’ll grab them physically on your body. There are slots for: head, shoulder, chest, arms, legs, hands, feet, rings, neck, back (that means capes! woo!), belt, house key, and mount. Gear will also be tiered based on color, such as: grey (Poor), white (Common), green (Superior), blue (undisclosed tier name), and orange (undisclosed tier name).

There will be one-handed weapons, two-handed weapons, ranged weapons, offhand items like books, relics, and totems, and consumable items like food and potions. You can also choose your character’s gender, race, facial preset, hairstyle, and skin tone. All standard fare for the most part.

Here is the belt slot weapon being drawn in-game as an example:

drawing weapon ilysia vr mmo

According to the developers you’ll have two hip slots, two back slots, and two belt slots for weapons and items. Additionally, you can see in the featured image at the top of this article every character is wearing full armor with varied styles, donning a multitude of weapon types, and showcasing a diverse set of character styles.

Since it’s a free form class system, it looks like you’ll be able to have a very open-ended progression system, as shown in this menu:

ilysia skill tree vr mmo

Finally, here are some in-game screenshots that show off the world, various characters in-game, and some battles.

As of now, backers have unlocked 11/14 stretch goals after hitting the $125,000 threshold. This includes full-body VR tracking, mount breeding, a battle royale instance, pet breeding, additional starting zones, and more. Plus, this glorious mount named Handsome Joe’s Prized Pony for all backers:

The remaining stretch goals include a PvP Honor Rewards System ($150,000), Guild XP and Leveling ($200,000), and expanded player-owned Inns / Shops with Skills and XP ($250,000).

What I like about this art style (which I’ve been told is not final and will be improved) is that it reminds me a lot of old-school EverQuest. To me, those are still the glory days of MMOs and the developers claim to be intent on rediscovering that sense of wonder for VR.

ilysia vr mmo Spider Fight ilysia vr mmo spider fight magic spell ilysia vr mmo PvP Arena ilysia vr mmo spider fight group

Ilysia is slated to eventually release at some point next year on PC VR, PSVR, and Quest with full crossplay between all platforms. Let us know what you think down in the comments below!

[Disclosure]: The author of this story, David Jagneaux, pledged to the Ilysia Kickstarter at the $50 ‘Alpha Squire (Early Access – A1) tier. This has not affected his coverage of the game.

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Ilysia Is A New Sword Art Online-Style VR MMO With A Massive Open World

Ilysia is an extremely ambitious upcoming new VR MMO from indie studio Team 21 that’s currently live with an already-funded Kickstarter campaign. The game aims to rekindle the old-school charm MMORPGs of yesteryear possessed with its massive, fully explorable open world and emphasis on deep, meaningful interactions.

If you’re reading this right now then there’s a good chance you’re familiar with Sword Art Online or .hack//sign — or at the very least Ready Player One — and have some concept of what people mean when they dream about the idyllic future of a world with well-made VR MMO games. The idea of being able to login as your character, embody that character, and exist in a digital world with full presence while going on adventures with others in a persistent, online world feels like what the founders of modern VR must have been daydreaming about while hacking away at headset prototypes in garages.

We’re already pretty close, admittedly. Orbus VR: Reborn technically is already a VR MMO. On paper it’s got a lot of the features people are waiting for with its class-based progression, motion controller combat, and moderately interactive world. But you’d be forgiven for not really getting hooked due to the rather unimpressive visual style and overall lack of deep, engaging content.

That’s where Ilysia wants to come in. On the Kickstarter page it’s described as having a “massive world inspired by the some of the best MMORPGs ever made” with the intent of bringing back “the glory days of MMORPGs again in VR.” That’s about as ambitious as it gets. After talking to the development team on a Discord call last week, I’m pretty confident they’ve got a real chance at making this a reality.

For starters, the Kickstarter page is very detailed and the stretch goals aren’t overly ambitious. Most of them are for expansions on existing features or things that were likely planned already to begin with. You can see the full list of the ones they’ve achieved already down below.

Ilysia is currently sitting at just about $100,000 at the time of this writing with about 6 days left to go on its Kickstarter. The original goal was only $60,000 so they’ve nearly doubled it. Stretch goals that have already been met include:

  • More starting character races
  • Mounts for multiple players
  • More starting zones
  • Pet breeding
  • Pet leveling and skills
  • Battle royale instance
  • Mount inventory with bags

 

What stands out to me about Ilysia is that the developers are very explicit about the type of content that will be included and it’s clear that they have grasp on what MMO players actually like to do. Making something that’s fun for the first 25 minutes isn’t that difficult, but making a game that thousands of players want to revisit and continue playing for 25, 50, and even 100s of hours is the tough part. EverQuest, World of Warcraft, Guild Wars, Final Fantasy XIV, The Elder Scrolls Online — these are all games that have reached that sort of status. The long list of MMOs that are forgotten, abandoned, failed, or dead is much, much longer.

On the page they list things like fighting monsters, completing quests, exploring dungeons, beating world bosses, and so on which sounds great. Apparently the world itself is enormous — roughly 16km x 18km which adds up to about 288 square km, or nearly eight times the size of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’s map. Wow. Hopefully they can fill it with actually interesting things to do.

One of the big tenants for Ilysia that the developers emphasized to me on our Discord call is a focus on exploration. And not just in the sense that you can go wherever, whenever (which you totally can by the way, basically everything can be climbed or manipulated like in Breath of the Wild) but also in the sense that you’ll want to go off the beaten path and explore. It’s a game about curiosities and discoveries.

Ilysia: The Future Of VR MMOs?

There are other VR MMO on the horizon too, of course, so Ilysia isn’t alone in the slightest. Zenith is a notable example, which raised over $280,000, but it’s being designed for both VR and non-VR players which inherently limits how ambitious its VR designs can be. Archgate has promise, but it’s a top-down perspective game from the third person which will immediately be off-putting to anyone yearning for a Sword Art Online-style experience.

Nostos was in the same boat and that one was never actually a real MMO — more of an online survival game with co-op features. Sword Reverie looks like it shares more in common with Nostos than an actual MMO.

At the end of the day consumer-grade VR headsets like the Rift, Vive, and PSVR are 4+ years old and we’re nearing the dawn of the Quest 2, Reverb G2, and more — all without a de factor VR MMO to sink our teeth into. If you’re after the social angle specifically, then VR Chat has you covered. But if you dream of an immersive VR MMO the likes of which anime creators have been fantasizing about for decades, you’ll just have to keep waiting.

If Team 21 can pull this off and actually make a VR MMO worth playing for months and years on end, then Ilysia will go down as my new personal addiction and as a landmark VR game we’ll be referencing for decades to come. That’s a big “if” though.

Ilysia is targeting what looks like a late 2021 full release timeframe for PC VR and Oculus Quest — cross-play between PC and Quest is already functional. They’re planning to release on PSVR as well. No exact timing is available yet, but it looks like Alpha and Beta testing is scheduled for throughout 2021 and early supporters on the game’s Discord server (invite link here) are already able to get in on a Pre-Alpha version of the game.

Check out the Kickstarter page right here or the game’s official website right here.

Let us know what you think of Ilysia down in the comments below!

[Disclosure]: After conducting this interview and writing this article, the author of this story, David Jagneaux, pledged to the Ilysia Kickstarter at the $50 ‘Alpha Squire (Early Access – A1) tier. This has not affected his coverage of the game.

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Kat Walk C VR Treadmill Kickstarter Ends At $1.6 Mill, Haptic Module Added

Back in June, we reported that the Kat Walk C VR treadmill had reached its funding goal shortly after the Kickstart launch, and was already at $1.2 million in funding in just a few days’ time. Well, now the campaign is over and the final funding numbers fall at $1.6 million — well above the original goal of $100,000.

To those out of the loop, the Kat Walk C treadmill is a VR peripheral that allows users to walk on the spot and have their movement reflected in VR. It works by getting users to stand on a large dish, wear special shoes and strap into a harness, which then allows them to walk on the spot to provide a new locomotion option for VR players. It supports PC VR and PSVR headsets and, according to Kat VR, will work with games that have a free locomotion setting.

By reaching $1.6 million in funding, the campaign also smashed all five of its stretch goals, which add more hardware and software features to the device. You can read details of all the stretch goals over on the Kickstarter page, but the biggest is the $1.5 million goal, which will see a ‘Haptic Feedback Module’ added into the base of the platform. There’s not too many details on how the module might work in practice, but no doubt it will add some kind of vibration or feedback to the experience while players walk around in VR using the treadmill.

Production of the Kat Walk C is to start in September and the first batch of devices anticipates shipping in October of this year. You can read more here or over on the Kickstarter campaign page.

The post Kat Walk C VR Treadmill Kickstarter Ends At $1.6 Mill, Haptic Module Added appeared first on UploadVR.

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Kat Walk C Completes Kickstarter With $1.6m From Backers

KAT Walk C

KatVR’s latest Kickstarter for its consumer-focused treadmill for virtual reality (VR) gaming proved to be an instant success. The campaign began in June looking to achieve $100,000 USD – it did that within three minutes! – hitting $1 million within the first day. The Kickstarter has now ended, becoming one of the most successful of any VR peripheral.

KAT Walk C

Kat Walk C managed to raise a total of $1,667,295 from 1397 backers over the course of a month, as well as managing to hit every stretch goal. The last one was at $1.5m which will add a haptic feedback module into the platform base.

With the campaign complete it’s now time to look towards the end of the year when deliveries are slated to start for backers. Production is expected to start in September with the first batch of Kat Walk C treadmills going out in October. That is of course barring any issues because of the pandemic and its knock-on effect to manufacturing and distribution.

This will be the company’s first consumer-focused treadmill, as its previous models were a lot larger intended for VR arcades and other location-based entertainment (LBE) venues. Hence why the Kat Walk C has a footprint of 0.69m2 and comes in two models (standard/large) to accommodate most players from 5.4ft up to 6.5ft, maxing out at 130kg.

KAT Walk C

Kat Walk C has been designed to allow for a full range of motion so that players can be fully immersed inside an experience. Dedicated footwear help to provide natural walking and running locomotion whilst the harness provides support to keep users in place. The system also enables other actions such as crouching. The device has a multitude of other features including adjustable settings depending on the VR title as well as support for most VR headsets, from Valve Index to PlayStation VR and Oculus Quest.

The Kickstarter may have ended but KatVR does plan on selling the omni-directional treadmill commercially. It plans on gaining feedback from early adopters before releasing a retail version which will be more expensive than the Kickstarter model.

As production gets underway and more details are released, VRFocus will keep you updated.

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VR Giants Seeks a Helping Hand as Kickstarter Begins

VR Giants

Crowd-funding can be a vital avenue for indie developers hoping to realize their creative vision, whether they’re aiming for the big bucks or a goal which is a little more modest. When it comes to new Kickstarter campaign VR Giants the latter is in effect.

VR Giants

Solo developer Wolfgang Tschauko is looking to raise €10,000 EUR to help polish the project he’s been working on for the past three years. VR Giants is a local co-op experience where a VR player becomes the giant and a non-VR player controls the pint-sized David via a PC monitor.

Gameplay involves soling puzzles together, the goal being to collect coins scattered around the level to open the next stage. David is able to wander around the environment freely with only a very basic jump mechanic, whilst the giant is tethered to points yet able to easily pick up useful items such as wooden planks to facilitate David’s traversal across more difficult terrain.

The core mechanics of VR Giants are already in place so Tschauko wants to use the funding to help improve the overall experience, enhancing the graphics and sound by creating a team to work on the project. He notes on the campaign page that the low funding target is because the Austrian government will double whatever he manages to raise.

VR Giants

The campaign is already off to a good start having raised a quarter of its goal on the first day. A limited super early bird tier has already sold out so the cheapest way to get a copy is via the €19 (£18 GBP) tier. As is the Kickstarter way, send more money and you’ll get more goodies.

Supporting PC VR headsets like Oculus Rift, Valve Index, HTC Vive and Windows Mixed Reality, there’s a free demo so you can try VR Giants before dropping any cash. Or take a look at VRFocus’ preview for more info.

As the campaign continues, VRFocus will update you on its progress.

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Co-op Puzzle-Platformer VR Giants to Launch Kickstarter Next Week

VR Giants

Everyone loves a co-op videogame, especially when it’s local with a mate or two. Titles like The Angry Birds Movie 2: VR Under Pressure and Carly and the Reaperman – Escape from the Underworld are great examples of this. Soon this genre will see another enter the fold, VR Giants, as the indie developer behind the project will be launching a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign to help finish the videogame.

VR Giants

VR Giants is the work of solo developer Wolfgang Tschauko who has been working on the title for three years. Having already taken it to several festivals over the years and winning awards (won “Best Concept” ReVersed Festival, Vienna, 2017 & “Innovation in Games” LUDICIOUS Zurich Game Festival, Zurich 2019) Tschauko now wants to complete VR Giants by building a team.

Played locally on one PC, in VR Giants the VR player controls the Goliath who can build bridges with its hands or grab environmental objects to help David (the PC player) navigate the levels, protecting him where necessary.

As a dwarf, David is highly vulnerable to dangers like fire and spikes but only he can collect the coins and keys required to complete each level. Goliath, on the other hand, has no such worries. However, the giant can only be summoned by David to a new area with movement limited to that specific location.

VR Giants

Currently, in an Alpha state, the Kickstarter is: “mostly to fund an artist to help with the current work-in-progress visuals of the title,” said Tschauko in an email to VRFocus. As three years of work have already gone into VR Giants the gameplay already looks well developed but don’t take VRFocus’ word for it. When the campaign launches you’ll be able to play a free demo featuring a single level.

The VR Giants Kickstarter will officially launch on 14th July 2020 with the current plan to release the videogame via Steam in 2021. As further details regarding the Kickstarter campaign are made available, VRFocus will let you know.