Having revealed Doctor Who: The Edge of Time back in the Spring, British developer Maze Theory originally planned on releasing the title in September. No details were given as to the delay but today Doctor Who fans will be happy to know a launch date is now confirmed, and it’s taking place next month.
The feature-length virtual reality (VR) title published by PlayStack is designed for players who are either hardcore fans or completely new to the iconic sci-fi franchise. Containing multiple references to the series and its 55-year history, Doctor Who: The Edge of Time puts players in the role of the Doctor’s assistant, helping her save the universe in this single-player adventure.
Sonic Screwdriver in hand, players will travel across space and time to save reality, facing off against classic enemies like the Weeping Angels, brand new ones for this videogame, and even putting them inside a Dalek shell to pilot and utilise its fearsome weaponry.
Players will be able to take control of the brand new TARDIS as seen in the last series, solve mind-bending puzzles and try to escape treacherous environments. As an officially licensed BBC Studios product the videogame will feature authentic music, props, sets, title sequence and Doctor Who easter eggs for fans to enjoy.
Maze Theory enlisted the help of Doctor Who veterans for the videogame with Jodie Whittaker continuing as the voice of the Doctor and Nicholas Briggs as the voice of the Daleks, in a story written by Gavin Collinson, Digital Producer for Doctor Who and author.
Supporting PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive and HTC Vive Cosmos, Doctor Who: The Edge of Time will launch on 12th November 2019 via stores such as Steam.
This will be the second Doctor Who VR experience to arrive this year with the first being a more bite-sized interactive animation called Doctor Who: The Runaway by Passion Animation Studios. Debuting at the Tribeca Film Festival back in May, it’s available for free via Oculus Store for Oculus Rift/Rift S. VRFocus will continue its coverage of Maze Theory, reporting back with further VR updates and announcements.
Virtual reality (VR) fans have already had one Doctor Who experience this year but that was a short interactive animation. The one sci-fi fans of the series are looking forward to is Doctor Who: Edge of Time coming from Maze Theory. Today, the studio has released a brand new trailer detailing new locations and gameplay.
Playing the assistant of the famous Time Lord, you’ll naturally be visiting various periods in history and the new trailer shows that players will visit Victorian London, escape from a space-stranded cruiser and explore an Egyptian temple in the TARDIS, under guidance from the Doctor herself, voiced by Jodie Whittaker.
A single-player experience, Doctor Who: The Edge of Time will feature series favourites like the Daleks and the Weeping Angels whilst providing multiple references to the series and its 55-year history. From solving puzzles to taking on brand-new creatures, you’ll even pilot a Dalek shell to harness its fearsome weaponry.
Alongside the gameplay trailer, Maze Theory has also released its next Developer Diary, detailing the work that’s gone into Doctor Who: The Edge of Time whilst sharing their favourite moments from the videogame.
Doctor Who: The Edge of Timehas been slated for a September launch for a while but no longer seems to be the case. Currently, the title is now listed as launching later in 2019 for PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive and HTC Vive Cosmos.
For those in the UK who secured tickets, don’t forget about the Vive Cosmos event in London with Doctor Who: The Edge of Time being demoed. The event will take place at Hackney’s Protein Studios on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th September with all public slots now gone.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Doctor Who: The Edge of Time, reporting back with a new launch window when that’s announced.
Yesterday HTC Vive announced that its next headset, the Vive Cosmos is now available to pre-order ahead of its official launch in October. The help promote the device in the UK, HTC has teamed up with BBC Studios for an event where the public can get their hands-on Vive Cosmos and play Doctor Who: The Edge of Time.
The event will take place at Hackney’s Protein Studios on Friday 27th and Saturday 28th September, giving fans of the series a chance to step into the famous Tardis. Produced by Maze Theory for BBC Studios, Doctor Who: The Edge of Time puts you in the role of the Doctor’s assistant, helping to pilot the temperamental spacecraft on an adventure to solve the mystery behind the ‘Reality Virus’.
Featuring iconic monsters from the TV programme including the Daleks and the Weeping Angels, players will also encounter new monsters as they battle to solve puzzles armed with the Sonic Screwdriver, all in a bid to save the universe. Doctor Who: The Edge of Timeis slated for a September launch for PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive and of course Vive Cosmos when it arrives.
Vive Cosmos will be the premium product offering from HTC Vive, retailing for £699 GBP/$699 USD. Scheduled to arrive on 3rd October, the headset boasts inside-out tracking thanks to six cameras, a combined resolution of 2880×1770 (1440×1700 per-eye), hinged front to easily drop in and out of VR and a removable front faceplate. When in place the vented front allows for air circulation plus it can also be changed for other mods, such as the External Tracking Mod to make it SteamVR tracking compatible.
Full details for the event are as follows:
Dates: Friday 27th September between 10.30am – 7pm and Saturday 28th September 2019 10am – 4pm
London, UK-based Maze Theory is currently working on two big virtual reality (VR) IP’s, Doctor Who: The Edge of Time which is due for release next month, and Peaky Blinders: The Kings Ransom which is coming out in 2020. To help with development, the studio has announced several new hires to massively expand its current team.
From left Russell Watson, Ciaran Devine, Victoria Goldsmith
Maze Theory has added six new staff to its employee roster, each with a strong videogame pedigree, some even in VR. Joining the team from Sony London Studio are Ciaran Devine and Victoria Goldsmith both of whom worked on PlayStation VR’s Blood & Truth. Devine joins as Lead Technical Artist, helping build and deliver major technologies, project infrastructure and production workflow. While Goldsmith joins Maze Theory as an Environment Artist, working on Doctor Who then leading the development of environments for Peaky Blinders.
Russell Watson joins from Splash Damage as a Technical Designer to work on the systems, tools and AI for Peaky Blinders. He has previously worked on Gears: Tactics, Touch Surgery, Strike Suit Zero, Fable 3 and The Lord of the Rings: Aragorn’s Quest. Coming on as Lead Character Artist is Leroy Simpson, who has worked on AAA projects at Rockstar, Square Unix, Ubisoft and Lionhead, with Red Dead Redemption 2 is the most recent. Simpson will be leading character development on Peaky Blinders.
Claire Boissiere will serve as consultant Project Director for Maze Theory’s recent innovation grant, helping develop AI technology that will respond to the players’ gestures, sound and body language, which will form the core of the Peaky Blinders: The King’s Ransomexperience. Also working on Peaky Blinders is Dave Fiala as Technical Animator, heading up the animation pipeline for the videogame. Fiala’s previous work includes Batman: Arkham, SpecOps: The Line and Dirty Bomb.
“The quality – and quantity – of new hires is testament to the amazing amount of buzz and activity around the studio. Maze Theory is working with huge franchises such as Doctor Who and Peaky Blinders and we have a lot to deliver for fans and VR gaming enthusiasts,” says Maze Theory Executive Producer, Russell Harding in a statement. “To keep our promise to create game-changing VR experiences, we need to have best people out there. We are very excited to be pushing the boundaries of VR and taking it to the next level.”
Doctor Who: The Edge of Timeis expected to be the biggest VR experience based on the franchise to date, so anticipation is high. When Maze Theory confirms a launch date for September, VRFocus will let you know.
In May, British developer Maze Theory revealed work on a virtual reality (VR) project for one of the BBC’s biggest IP’s Doctor Who. Called Doctor Who: The Edge of Time, Oculus and BBC Studios have announced today that fans of the TV series in the US will be able to demo the videogame during the San Diego Comic-Con 2019 this week.
To mark the announcement Maze Theory and publisher PlayStack have released several screenshots showcasing the inside of the iconic TARDIS, as well as a brand-new title sequence created just for Doctor Who: The Edge of Time.
Working in close collaboration with BBC Studios, Maze Theory is looking to create the most authentic and lifelike version of the TARDIS in a videogame to date, taking painstaking attention to every detail. Not only will fans be able to step into this accurate portrayal of the TARDIS, exploring every nook and cranny, but they’ll also have the chance to co-pilot the Doctor’s time-travelling craft.
The team brought the TARDIS to life in a process using photogrammetry taking over 1200 hours, travelling to the Doctor Who set in Cardiff taking hundreds of photographs to create an accurate digital reference. Thanks to this process all of the controls are true to the show, with the infamous custard cream biscuit dispenser also making an appearance.
“The TARDIS is a very important and hugely iconic element of the show and Doctor Who: The Edge of Time offers the chance to experience it like never before,” said Maze Theory’s Creative Director Marcus Moresby in a statement. “It’s been a huge undertaking to deliver the very best TARDIS experience and is much anticipated by fans of the show. We know they’re going to love it.”
Starting this Thursday, 18th July and running through to Sunday, 21st July, the San Diego Comic-Con is the largest event of its kind in the US. Doctor Who: Edge of Time is scheduled to arrive in September 2019, supporting PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive and Vive Cosmos headsets. VRFocus will continue its coverage of Maze Theory, reporting back with further updates on the videogame.
Hopefully you enjoyed the first look at Doctor Who: The Edge of Time at our E3 VR Showcase this month. Today, though, developer Maze Theory is taking you a little deeper behind the scenes of the VR game.
The developer’s just unleashed a range of new making of videos. There’s a main one in which members of the studio are on-hand to talk about working on the game and then some brief looks at bringing some of the series’ iconic villains to virtual life.
In The Edge of Time, you play as a new companion to the Doctor that must track down the Tardis and set off to rescue her. A new villain has trapped the Doctor at the (you guessed it) edge of time. To save her, you’ll travel across different times and come into contact with some of the best-known baddies from the TV series.
That includes the Weeping Angels, a terrifying brand of beast made famous in a more recent series. They’re stone statues that only move when you can’t see them. That creates a frightful mechanic where you’ll want to be looking at them at all times. And yes, you’ll meet a Dalek or two too. Current Jodie Whittaker also lends her voice talents to the game throughout.
Maze Theory also got to design a new villain named the Hydrorks for the game. They’re sludgy-looking monsters that you can see in the first video below.
Doctor Who: The Edge Of Time is due for launch in September on PSVR, Rift, Vive and Quest. We’ll have more on the game when it hits.
London, UK-based virtual reality (VR) studio Maze Theory has a couple of big-name projects in the works including Doctor Who: Edge of Timeand Peaky Blinders VR. The latter is still in its early stages and so the team has announced a partnership with StoryFutures Academy, the National Centre for Immersive Storytelling jointly run by the National Film and Television School (NFTS) and Royal Holloway, University of London, to train writers in the art of writing for VR, with one being selected to help pen the upcoming Peaky Blinders VR experience.
Image Credit: Peaky Blinders – Photographer: Robert Viglasky
Five participants have been chosen to take part in a two-day writers’ room this past week: Jenna Jovi; Melissa Iqbal; Berri George; Robin Taylor and Catherine Skinner; who all have at least two screen credits or a commissioned script to their name.
Adam Ganz, StoryFutures Academy’s Head of Writers Room led the endeavour, supported by Maze Theory and immersive theatre company, Punchdrunk. Participants learnt the principles of writing for VR as well as seeing Maze Theory’s proprietary AI technology that will make Peaky Blinders VR a unique experience, allowing the characters to respond to player gestures, movement, voice, sound and body language.
“We are delighted to be working with Maze Theory to help established writers discover the art of writing for VR,” said Ganz in a statement. “Maze Theory are an incredibly innovative company who are really pushing the boundaries of what is possible in immersive and it’s fantastic that they are offering one of our writers’ room participants the opportunity to work on their new Peaky Blinders VR experience. These kinds of collaborations that bring together established film and television industry professionals with VR specialists are vital for the growth of the immersive sector. We need to tell stories together.”
One of the participants will then be able to take the writers room a stage further and given the opportunity to work on the Peaky Blinders VR experience for up to 10 weeks over the coming months.
Peaky Blinders VR is scheduled for release in 2020. When further details are released VRFocus will let you know.
It looks like there’s going to be a Doctor Who extravaganza in 2019 for fans of the sci-fi show. Last week saw virtual reality (VR) animation Doctor Who: The Runawayarrive across multiple headsets and now UK studio Maze Theory has announced work on a proper videogame called Doctor Who: Edge of Time.
Just like Doctor Who: The Runaway, in Doctor Who: Edge of Time you don’t play as the 13th Doctor (played by Jodie Whittaker), instead you’re her assistant and you need to find her. Set to feature mind-bending puzzles, as well as having to grapple with some of the series’ classic monsters like the Daleks and The Weeping Angels – to add some proper scare factor – alongside brand new never-before-seen monsters, you’ll need to defeat a powerful force that threatens to destroy the fabric of reality.
“The Doctor has been hurled through time to the end of the universe. A virus that threatens to rip apart reality itself has been unleashed. Players can pilot the TARDIS on a journey across worlds both familiar and strange to recover a series of powerful time crystals that can repair spacetime and ultimately save the universe itself,” explains the synopsis.
While previous VR content based on Doctor Who has been relatively short, bite-sized experiences, Doctor Who: Edge of Time will be the biggest to date, with several hours worth of gameplay for players to enjoy, Sonic Screwdriver in hand.
Developed by Maze Theory, and published by PlayStack, Doctor Who: Edge of Time is scheduled to arrive in September 2019, supporting PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive and Vive Cosmos headsets.
This isn’t the only VR experience London-based Maze Theory is working on. Only founded last year, the first title the studio announced was The Vanishing Act – which seems to have been put on hiatus – and most recently in April work was revealed on a Peaky Blinders VR experience, which is scheduled for release in 2020.
That’s two high profile IP’s the team now has under its belt. As further details are released regarding Doctor Who: Edge of Time or Peaky Blinders VRFocus will let you know.
Doctor Who fans already got their first taste of the BBC’s beloved sci-fi series in VR this year. But, in just a few months’ time, a full VR game will let fans fly across the universe and through time.
Doctor Who: The Edge Of Time is coming to PSVR, Oculus Quest, Rift and HTC Vive in September. It’s under development at Maze Theory, a London-based studio also working on next year’s Peaky Blinders VR game. As with Doctor Who: The Runaway, the VR movie that premiered at Tribeca earlier this year, it stars current Doctor Jodie Whittaker in an all-new adventure. Unlike that piece, though, this is a fully interactive game, and one that sounds like a fan’s dream come true.
“You play as the Doctor’s friend,” Maze Theory CEO Ian Hambleton tells me. “She’s being held at the edge of time by this mysterious force. That baddie has woken up to reality and decided they don’t like the way that the universe has turned out, and they’ve released a reality virus.”
Pretty standard fare for Doctor’s usual madcap antics, then. The difference, Maze Theory hopes, is that you’ll find the shows key elements even more compelling in VR.
“Our north star for the project is for fans and gamers to feel like they’re inside the episode,” Hambleton says, “and to experience it to such a true level that they’d never be able to do with screen-based media.”
But, while the story may be all-new, large parts of The Edge Of Time will play like a greatest hits for series veterans. The game will feature classic villains, including the haunting weeping angels and, yes, a certain breed of aliens hellbent on extermination. I’ve played a few small sections of the game, including (somewhat reluctantly) an angels section. It’s every bit as terrifying as you might imagine it to be.
“Actually meeting a Dalek and standing in front of a Dalek is pretty awesome,” adds Russ Harding, Creative Director on the game. “We’ve had people that have come in that are fans. Just to see a Dalek at scale or even to hide from one is awesome.”
Moreover, Maze Theory also worked with the BBC production team to create its own characters for the game. “Anything from the enemies or the foes that we’ve worked with the writers on are based on driving the narrative and taking players through the whole experience,” Harding notes. “It is about weaving all those elements together; story, interaction, gameplay to enhance certain interactions, using the right kind of enemies at the right time.”
Part of those interactions will involve wielding the Sonic Screwdriver, a do-all device that’s long seemed like a perfect VR companion tool. As you might imagine, there’s countless things you could do with a franchise such as this in VR, but Maze Theory wants to visit some unexpected locations too.
“What I’m particularly proud of is that we don’t go to the obvious things,” Hambleton adds. “A lot of the stuff you currently get [in VR] is dinosaurs or full-on [sci-fi]. But we’re going to Victorian London, which is going to be amazing in VR.”
Expect the game to last around two or three hours when it launches, then. It sounds like this might be part of a growing category of VR titles such as Vader Immortal that’s more focused on experience and emotion. But there will be more traditional game elements, too.
“As a game, it’s packed with lots of mechanics,” Harding says. “Everything from choosing the environment to give you lots of spectacles or the detail with lots of things to interact with, we’ve got some very big room-scale physical puzzles to unlock chambers and new parts of worlds.”
Personally, though, I’m most excited about meeting some weird and wonderful characters in VR. Meeting the angels, which only move when you’re not looking at them, freezes me on the spot with fear. In the opening scene a London laundrette is flooded with a gooey alien specimen; I lean into a washing machine where the monster sleeps and his eye suddenly opens, startling me and sending me tumbling backward. This is an important area for Maze Theory, especially with next year’s Peaky Blinders game, but it’ll play a part in The Edge of Time too. I’m not much of a Whovian myself, but the chance to immerse myself in a world this weird is tempting.
“I think so much narrative is driven by characters that it’s hard to keep avoiding it in VR,” Harding (who previously worked on The London Heist at Sony London) explains. “I think we’ve been really lucky because [Doctor Who] is a really rich world where we do get to introduce foes and enemies.”
“We do also believe it will bleed over into sci-fi lovers,” Hambleton adds. “VR enthusiasts will also love it, because VR is just the most amazing medium for transporting you to different worlds and places. And in this you get to do that.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself. Maze Theory says to look for The Edge Of Time in early September. The company is also looking into possible VR arcade rollouts for those that want to jump into the world of Doctor Who but don’t own a headset.
Have you been keeping up with all the exciting virtual reality (VR) news this week regarding the latest hardware? Has that got you pumped about the industry as a whole? Well if it has, you may want to be a part of it and looking for jobs in the field couldn’t be easier thanks to VR Job Hub. The applications themselves, well that’s down to you, VRFocus can only point you in the right direction.
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 Hubto 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.
