Monad Rock – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

February 28, 2018

Experiencing the Sights and Sounds of Summer Funland

Last week, newly formed indie developer Monad Rock – previously G2A.com’s in-house studio – launched its first virtual reality (VR) title for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, a theme park experience called Summer Funland. Filled with games and attractions, whilst reviewing the title VRFocus captured a gameplay video to showcase a small part of the experience.

Summer Funland

Essentially a selection of mini-games all wrapped up in an amusement park wrapper, Summer Funland has 12 different piece’s of content. These range from rollercoasters where you can just sit back and enjoy the ride, or for something a little more interactive there are shooting galleries or a giant candy world to destroy.

Not wanting to spoil to much of the videogame, VRFocus’ gameplay video takes you through the basics, exploring the rich and vibrant world by teleporting around whilst checking out some of the attractions. First up is the Wild West shooting gallery. Over three rounds you have to shoot whisky bottles, vultures and dangerous outlaws with all pop up in a 2D cardboard fashion.

Then it’s on to one of the main attractions of Summer Funland, and that’s the underwater adventure. Jumping into a submersible, you head down into the watery deep, encountering all sorts of aquatic life, from fish and turtles, to sharks and something a little bigger. This is one of those short experiences that really do showcase the visual quality put into the entire videogame, with great attention to detail both inside the sub as well as the crumbling ruins you’re exploring.

Summer Funland

And that’s your lot in terms of gameplay. Obviously there’s more to explore with Monad Rock hiding a selection of items around the park for you to find. For further details and VRFocus’ opinion, read the review which noted: “Summer Funland may not light the VR world on fire but it provides an enjoyable – if somewhat short – piece of entertainment. If you’ve got kids or want an all-in-one experience to show VR virgins then Summer Funland is an ideal starting point.”

Enjoy the video and for any updates from Monad Rock on Summer Funland or any other VR titles, keep reading VRFocus.

February 23, 2018

Review: Summer Funland

Mini-game compilations can be a great way of combining multiple gameplay genres into one neat little package. Titles like Sports Bar VR and Loco Dojo showcase some of the best ways to bring together common, well known past times or slightly more weird and wonderful ideas respectively. The latest title to enter this arena is Summer Funland by newly formed indie studio Monad Rock, mixing together many elements to create a pleasant – just not outstanding – experience.

Summer Funland

Summer Funland is best described as one of those entry level virtual reality (VR) videogames. There’s something for everyone yet long term VR enthusiasts will likely only get two or three hours use out of it before they yearn for something with more depth. But that’s not to say Summer Funland is a bad VR experience, in fact what it does right is done very well, there’s just this overall feeling that Monad Rock has played things fairly safe for its first title.

Set in a rich and vibrant amusement park, Summer Funland has 12 rides/attractions to keep you entertained and it’s certainly in keeping with the theme. You enter the park and in front is a map showing you all the activities. They can either be selected from the map or using a teleport function you can explore the park, finding the rides as you go. The studio also encourage this with a little treasure hunt, with various cuddly items hidden around.

The mini-games themselves are standard fare, with a Wild West shooting gallery, a whack’a’mole style game involving penguins and mallets, or a wall version where you just use your fists. While enjoyable for a couple of go’s you soon want to move on. While the games – much like a real theme park – are a side distraction, it’s the big rides that impress. There’s a rollercoaster that loops and twists around the entire park, giving some great views of the landscape before plunging down through caverns or under jumping dolphins.

Summer Funland

Then there’s Gotham, plonking you on Batman’s bike as it races through city streets and down train lines, dodging cars and locomotives galore. An exhilarating experience, like any good ride its over before you know it. One of the longest is the Underwater Journey. Placing you in a submersible you head down into the depths, as it gets deeper all sorts of creatures appear as well as an ancient long lost civilisation, with crumbling ruins and giant statues falling around you. It’s these moments that show how well-crafted Summer Funland is, with beautiful attention to detail that enables you to relax and enjoy the ride.

For gamers the issue remains about replay, and how many times you want to sit on the same ride, or whack the same penguins. No matter how good it looks, Summer Funland won’t quite have that same draw as more focused titles. Summer Funland may not light the VR world on fire but it provides an enjoyable – if somewhat short – piece of entertainment. If you’ve got kids or want an all-in-one experience to show VR virgins then Summer Funland is an ideal starting point.

60%

Awesome

Verdict

February 22, 2018

Summer Funland Opens Its Doors To PC VR Users Tomorrow

It’s not the most ideal weather, at least in the Northern hemisphere, to go out at present. In fact, in the UK it’s what we like to call “bloody freezing out there”. It’s also a windy, rainy (among a number of other types of precipitation) and generally not the sort of thing you set out into to have fun. Unless you’re someone who likes hiking or camping. So, if you suggested to me “let’s go to a theme park” I’d say “certainly” followed by “what time in May should we step outside the front door again?”

Summer Funland Thankfully not all theme parks are outside, some are inside. Inside virtual reality (VR) that is.

Summer Funland is one of the titles announced by Monad Rock, G2A.com’s new videogame studio that was revealed earlier this week. The other being first person shooter Blunt Force. Summer Funland is due to launch tomorrow on PC with support for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive whilst a version for the PlayStation VR is also set to release at a later date, and is set to bring you all the fun of a major attraction without having to even leave your home.

Features that you can experience in the videogame, according to Monad Rock, include:

Get ready for a crazy rollercoaster ride, both at day and night – see the park from a wholly different perspective!
Hop on a futuristic bike and roam the dark streets of Gotham
Delve into the depths of the ocean, explore coral reefs and ancient ruins where a mythical beast dwells
Blast off into space and see its wonders up close and personal
Prove you are Wild West’s best gunslinger in a Western-themed shooting range
Explore a world made of candy, play a sugary version of tennis and tear down marshmallow barricades
Mount a unicorn and prepare for jousting in a funky tunnel
Climb a tower for amazing scenic views
Catch squirrels and whack penguins in crazy minigames testing your reflexes
Show off your fireball throwing skills

A trailer and screenshots for Summer Funland have also been released by the developer and you can see those below. VRFocus wll bring you more news about the title very soon.

February 19, 2018

G2A.com Forms Monad Rock Videogame Studio

Online videogame marketplace G2A.com first showcased its interest in building virtual reality (VR) titles back in 2015 announcing G2A Land for Oculus Rift, which then launched in 2017. Over the past couple of years the G2A dev studio’s plans have expanded, revealing new experiences like Blunt Force and today going independent from G2A by forming onad Rock.

Just as it has done, Monad Rock will specialise in creating videogames and app for VR headsets. Additionally, subsequent products will be developed in various other technologies for both PCs and consoles.

“We are confident that Monad Rock will achieve great success,” said Maciej Kuc, Head of PR at G2A.com in a statement. “The studio has become independent, giving it full freedom to develop projects and talk with investors,”

“Working for G2A.com has been a great experience for the entire team. It was an intense time for us. We worked hard, accomplished many things, and learned a lot,” explained Marcin Kryszpin, CEO of Monad Rock. “The next step in our development is establishing a free-standing studio. The projects and brands that we created together with G2A.com will now be continued and developed by Monad Rock. From now on, we work independently.”

Monad Rock header

The studio is currently working on two VR titles. The previously announced Blunt Force, a first-person shooter (FPS) set during World War 2. The screenplay for Blunt Force is being crafted together with Hollywood screenwriter Mark Bristol. “It is a very ambitious project, which we will give greater details on soon,” added Kryszpin. However, we are currently focused on preparing Summer Funland for its upcoming premiere.”

Second title Summer Funland is the newest of the two, a theme park simulator that offers a myriad of attractions, including all the experiences available in G2A Land. “It is worth noting that all players who currently own G2A Land will receive Summer Funland for free,” said Kryszpin.

As for G2A.com, the online retailer will be focusing on two of its biggest products: G2A Marketplace and G2A PAY. “We are investing primarily in the development of our transaction system, machine learning, and blockchain technology,” adds Kuc. “At present, this is where we will direct our maximum attention. In the future, however, we plan to work together with Monad Rock on various projects. In fact, we are still working with the studio on one joint venture – the life-saving VR application that helps teach doctors how to detect heart defects in unborn children.”

Summer Funland is scheduled to be released during February 2018 on both Steam and the Oculus Store, with a PlayStation VR version following shortly after. For any further updates from Monad Rock, keep reading VRFocus.