From now until the end of 2017, Google is offering a game bundle worth $40 with every Daydream View purchase, which includes some of the platform’s best titles. Google’s updated VR headset was announced this week alongside their Pixel 2 smartphones, and begins to ship on October 17th.
Announced on Tuesday, the new version of Daydream View – a VR headset enclosure for Daydream-ready Android smartphones – has improved upon the original design in subtle but important ways, with new optics, ergonomics, and a passive heat sink – read our hands-on article for some initial impressions.
The new headsets begin shipping October 17th; the game bundle will remain available until December 31st, and must be redeemed by January 15th 2018.
Google Daydream may not be the most talked about – or developer supported for that matter – head-mounted display (HMD) but that doesn’t mean the company has given up. In fact just the opposite as Google has recently launched a free headset promotion alongside purchases of Pixel, and widened support by finally bringing Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8+ out. Now for those customers who do own the HMD there’s a summer sale on a range of videogames.
Don’t expect the sale to be in the same league as Oculus Home or Steam however, with masses of titles all seeing a price chop. Instead Google has selected a choice of nine for those wishing to expand their content libraries.
Google isn’t just focused on Daydream for its virtual reality (VR) aspirations. As you’re probably aware during the Google I/O conference a few months ago the company announced plans for a standalone headset that would use the Daydream platform and be built by HTC and Lenovo. That’s due to launch later this year, at present however, details on its final design and specifications have yet to be announced.
When they are, VRFocus will bring you all the announcements.
Climax Studios’ previous virtual reality (VR) titles like Bandit Six, Gun Sight andHunters Gate , are all gun toting action romps, with the first two for Gear VR and the latter on Google Daydream. The studio is going for a somewhat different tact with its next Daydream project, a quaint little adventure called Lola and the Giant.
Set in a magical land, Lola and the Giant aims to take players on a fairytale journey when Lola meets a lonely stone giant who then helps her look for a way home. At its core Lola and the Giant is a puzzle quest, requiring the two to work together – mainly the giant aiding Lola – as the main gameplay mechanic.
The demo the studio had available featured the two characters inside some caverns, with Lola trying to make her way across several rocky walkways. As it’s mainly a third-person adventure you control Lola through a point and click method. Swiping across the Daydream’s control pad sets Lola off on a run, she can then be directed with a cursor wherever you wish, with the camera following at a gentle pace providing a decent viewpoint.
When running around should Lola come to a gap she can jump she does so automatically, there’s no pinpoint platform jumping in the videogame. If it’s a gap she can’t traverse then its time for the big man. This is where Lola and the Giant switches up the viewpoint for a first-person offering – this was the same all the way though the demo. The giant can then perform a variety of actions depending on what’s needed – for this point in the title it was moving or removing rocks to the correct position.
None of these puzzles provided any sort of challenge, seemingly designed to offer a way of learning the control methods needed later on. But Lola and the Giant feels much more of a lighthearted journey than some hardcore puzzler which will have you wracking your brain for ages, this is definitely a family orientated experience. Which will certainly attract a wider scope of player to the videogame and possibly the headset, although experience VR players may find it somewhat lacking.
This being an early version of the project there were naturally some issues that arrived whilst playing. Firstly Lola and the Giant crashed, which can be a jarring experience for anyone in VR, even for those more experienced with the medium. Then there were some controller problems, menu selection suddenly became temperamental, and trying to guide Lola was a little erratic. If this were the final build then serious questions would have to be asked, but as an early stage demonstration these are technical glitches that will hopefully be overcome, especially since Climax Studios’ past titles have performed well.
While there was some roughness to Lola and the Giant there was no mistaking a certain charm to the experience. It’s good to see Climax Studios branching out, showing that not all VR videogames need guns. If this becomes as polished as the studio’s other titles then Daydream owners should have something to look forward to.
VRFocus previously reported on the announcement of a new virtual reality (VR) videogame from Climax Studios, whose previous VR credits include Bandit Six and Bandit Six Salvoas well as more recent release Balloon Chair Death Match. Climax have now released several more screenshots to show off some more of the new title, Lola and the Giant. One of several announced this week for Google Daydream mobile head mounted display (HMD).
Lola and the Giant is an adventure VR game set in a fantastical world where the player has to try and find their way home. The game can be played solo, or other players can join in using a companion smartphone app.
You can see the released screenshots below.
VRFocus will continue to bring you further information on Climax Studios’ VR output.
Today Climax Studios, the British developer behind virtual reality (VR) titles such as Bandit Six, Hunters Gate and Gun Sight, has announced a new adventure videogame for Google Daydream, Lola and the Giant.
Telling the story of Lola, a little girl who meets a lonely stone giant in a mysterious world, Lola and the Giant, takes players on a fantastical journey as they search for a way home.
On their travels through the world, players will have to solve puzzles whilst encountering weird and wonderful creatures in this lighthearted escapade. Gamers will be able to switch between third and first-person viewpoints as they control each character to utilise their individual abilities to succeed.
The videogame was inspired by Climax’s lead designer, Matt Duff recently becoming a father: “Lola and the Giant came to me a few months into me becoming a parent for the first time. I began to wonder how differently my daughter Eleanor saw the world compared to me. How we both occupied the same place but because of our vast differences in size, our perspectives of that world were completely different. One of the most immersive aspects of VR is a sense of place and so it became the perfect fit to tell this fairytale story of a little girl and her huge Giant, working together, trying to find a way back home.”
Climax Studios has also worked on a companion smartphone app allowing a second player to help the person in VR. “We wanted to create a VR game that could be experienced by everyone not just the user in the headset. We feel this is an important step to ensure the growth of the market,” added Matt.
As yet no date or price point have been confirmed Lola and the Giant. For further updates on Lola and the Giant, keep reading VRFocus.
Designing adventure-puzzle games must be an adventurous puzzle in its own right. You start with a core hook that you think players will find engaging, but how do you utilize, expand and evolve those mechanics over the course of several hours? How do you find new ways to use abilities that delight your audience? How do you create something that constantly feels fresh and exciting, and doesn’t grow stale?
I’ve played entire VR games that have struggled with those questions, but Lola And The Giant suggested to me that it had the right answers in just a 30 minute preview. This is the latest Daydream game from Climax Studios, the developer of Hunters Gate, which debuted on Google’s mobile VR platform at launch. It’s a third and first-person adventure that casts you as two characters, and you can probably guess who they might be.
You’re first introduced to Lola, a young girl that awakens in a dark cave. To navigate in third-person, you swipe up on the Daydream controller and point her in the direction you want to head. She’ll automatically jump small gaps and head up steps. She also has the power to alter the size of objects, allowing her to narrow jumps by expanding platforms, or clear paths by shrinking rocks among other things.
As I explore the cave, though, I soon meet the game’s second star. Giant is a huge, lovable rock monster that could topple cities but appears to be as gentle as they come. He’s played from a first-person view, and in the first level you use him to smash and move rocks, switching between him and Lola at any point.
The two make for an unlikely pairing, but you can already imagine the tale of friendship that will play out over the next few hours. But it wasn’t companionship that gave Climax the idea for Lola; it was parenthood.
“Lola and the Giant was born out of when I had my daughter, Ella,” Lead Designer Matt Duff tells me. “When she was first born I remember walking around the living room with her in my arms thinking about how I see the world from my vantage point is and how she must see the world much smaller.”
That line of thought led Duff onto VR’s sense of scale, and how it can create memorable experiences. “And then I thought of the name Ella and the Giant,” he said. “But then I thought of Lola and the Giant, which sounds better.” If you’re reading this in the future, Ella, I thought you should know that bit. Duff’s wife was okay with it, too.
Climax’s hook, then, was how moving between different scales would change the gameplay, and the developer soon gets to work exploring that idea. Minutes after meeting Giant, I come across a set of rocks that have to be arranged in a particular order so that Lola can scale them and move on. While the game’s visual-style oozes with beautiful children’s storybook inspiration (just look at the gorgeous art above), its puzzles were far from a pushover; this one in particular had me switching blocks around for a while before I found the correct solution.
The entire game isn’t set in this cave though; there are several levels that differ in both environment and play style. While this introduction had me trot a fairly straightforward path, the second level is set in a much more open environment and gives me plenty of opportunity to explore. I meet strange little creatures that are a mix of rabbit and frog (frabbits, I think they were called), and I’m reminded of the charm of something like Media Molecule’s Tearaway, or Nintendo’s Animal Crossing when Lola giggles and waves as she talks to them.
A lot of VR games and experiences hope to get by on that charm alone, but Lola genuinely has a spark of promise to its gameplay; it’s one of the few times I haven’t found myself frustrated by Daydream’s controls, and switching to Giant’s perspective to explore how he might be able to clear a path for Lola felt intuitive and inventive.
Climax is also keeping that invention alive outside of the game. Mobile VR can sometimes be a little awkward when surrounded by other people, as they can’t see what you’re playing. Lola, meanwhile, has a companion app that allows players to jump into the world on a second smartphone and look around with a 360 degree view. They can also tap to highlight areas that might be of interest to other players, and switch between Lola and Giant’s view at will. It’s not exactly a game changing feature, but it’s an appreciated bonus.
I only saw a slice of the game, but Lola and the Giant is looking like it might be one of Daydream’s most interesting games yet. I’m looking forward to seeing how Climax keeps the adventure fresh throughout, without struggling with the same pitfalls of games like Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin. If it succeeds, then this might be an unmissable VR experience.
