Pixel Reef – Page 2 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

December 10, 2019

New Trailer Details Gameplay for PlayStation VR Exclusive Paper Beast

Pixel Reef’s upcoming PlayStation VR exclusive Paper Beast was the only dedicated virtual reality (VR) title to feature in today’s State of Play broadcast by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE). While the release window has stayed the same at Q1 2020, new information including a gameplay trailer highlights a couple of new features.

Paper Beast is an exploration videogame within the world of big data. Pixel Reef has imagined an everchanging ecosystem born withing the vast memory of data servers, and you’re the first person to enter this realm filled with animals made of paper. “In Paper Beast, I wanted the player to feel like they are the first explorer of a virgin land. This is how we created the game: as a journey through a unique wilderness where no human being has ever set foot,” states creator Eric Chahi on PlayStation Blog.

Previous gameplay showcased being able to interact with these animals as well as solving puzzles. The new trailer now highlights how you have significant influence over the world around you, able to not only manipulate the terrain but also fluids, helping or hindering the local wildlife as you see fit.

There is a narrative to the experience but its completely non-verbal, with the creatures helping players progress via intuitive actions. “The challenge was to create a credible wilderness. Thanks to our physical simulation of locomotion, the animals move as if they had muscles and bones,” notes Chahi. “This technology is the core of the gameplay: the engine calculates the creatures’ movement in real time to allow them to react to all the player’s actions. Creatures will also adapt their movements to the terrain and the obstacles on their path.”

VRFocus previewed Paper Beast during Gamescom 2019, finding the title instantly fascinating: “Paper Beast is a delight of design and imagination, beautiful to look and puzzling to experience. Hopefully, the final version will develop those interactive elements rather than purely being an elaborate art piece.”

Paper Beast has yet to receive a solid launch date in Q1 2020. Check out the new trailer below and when those details do emerge VRFocus will let you know.

December 10, 2019March 24, 2020

Surreal Wildlife Sim ‘Paper Beast’ Launches on PSVR Today

Paper Beast, the surreal wildlife simulation from the creator behind cult classic platformer Another World (1991), was originally slated to arrive on PSVR sometime last year. The wait is however over, as developers Pixel Reef release Paper Beast on PSVR today.

Update (March 24th, 2020): Paper Beast is launching today on PSVR. We haven’t had a chance to review, although in the meantime you should definitely check out our 20-minute demo from Gamescom 2019, which gave us a good look at what this serene, meditative simulation game is all about. Don’t miss out on both the release and gameplay trailers below:

Original Article (December 10th, 2019): Éric Chahi, lead developer and head of his newly formed studio Pixel Reef, is no stranger to the weird and oftentimes unconventional worlds, and makes no exception with Paper Beast. He’s the mind behind cinematic platformer action-adventure games such as Another World, Heart of Darkness (1998), and god-game From Dust (2011).

I got a 20-minute demo at this year’s Gamescom back in August, and while the game may seem like a strange nut to crack, I left at very least with the sense that I had truly explored new territory.

Gamescom 2019 Interview: It’s no Monster Just a Paper Beast

There were several virtual reality (VR) titles at Gamescom 2019 that VRFocus was very interested in seeing, one of which was Paper Beast by Pixel Reef. With some beautiful screenshots and trailers having been released over the past few months as well as details regarding the narrative, it was still unclear what the goal (if any) was. So VRFocus sat down with Pixel Reef CEO and Paper Beast creator Eric Chahi to hopefully understand more.

When looking at screenshots they often only tell half the story, and on some occasions distort the truth as to the quality of the experience. Paper Beast doesn’t suffer from the latter, in fact, the videogame looks even more spectacular in its VR form than as a 2D image. The former issue, on the other hand, is a different conundrum altogether and one that will never truly be understood until the final release in Q1 2020.

Paper Beast is a title about animals but these are no ordinary creatures. Because they and the world around them are born from big data, or more precisely an ecosystem formed out of lost code and forgotten algorithms. Just as data is constantly in flux so is the environment in Paper Beast. Players will be able to form bonds with the creatures around them interacting with these strange abstract creations made of paper – picking them up and throwing them into the distance is one avenue VRFocus tried.

VRFocus’ recent preview of Paper Beast said: “Paper Beast is a delight of design and imagination, beautiful to look and puzzling to experience. Hopefully, the final version will develop those interactive elements rather than purely being an elaborate art piece. Whatever happens Paper Beast is going to be one of the more intriguing VR titles to emerge in 2019.”

In the interview below, Chahi goes into more detail about the creation of this surreal world and what players can expect from this PlayStation VR exclusive.

From this initial first look, Paper Beast is going to be one of the more unusual VR titles to arrive early next year. As further details are released including a confirmed release date, VRFocus will let you know.

August 27, 2019

Preview: Paper Beast – As Bizarre as it is Beautiful

Most videogames are generally easy to categorise, falling into genres like first-person shooters (FPS), puzzles or role-playing games (RPG) for example. Occasionally however there are those titles which are really difficult to pin down, with no amount of screenshots and trailers helping to define the gameplay, only playing the damn thing unlocks its secrets. This certainly seemed to be the case when Pixel Reef announced its first virtual reality (VR) Paper Beast. After playing the experience at Gamescom 2019, far more questions have arisen than been answered.

Created by Eric Chahi (Another World, Heart of Darkness, From Dust), Paper Beast explores a topic very much at the heart of everyday society, even if most never see it, and that’s Big Data. Companies and governments around the world create, access, move, and distribute ridiculous amounts of data daily, and it’s this which Pixel Reef has reimagined into a living breathing digital ecosystem born out of lost code and forgotten algorithms.

Paper Beast is a quiet adventure, there’s no distinguishable narrative to speak of and the environment continues to evolve as you explore and meet the inhabitants. The demo started off by choosing one of three data points, transporting you to a desert realm with sweeping sand dunes and mountainous rock formations. As shown in the screenshots Paper Beast plays with an extensive colour palette, richly bringing the world to life with a gorgeous array of oranges, blues, pinks and reds.

The design is both striking, equally calming and bizarre, a careful look at the clouds reveals the puffy formations that are in fact numbers and letters, remanence of that lost code floating around. Gameplay was very simple with the only interaction at this point being able to pick stuff up and move it around. If you’re in a toy store then great but in Paper Beast you’re in a vast open wilderness, the only objects to interact with are the titular paper creatures born out of all this data.

Each one is seemingly unique and does its own thing. The first which stomps up is a towering beast resembling a cross between a spider with its many legs and a giraffe with a long slender neck. Way too big to pick up smaller creatures begins to appear, scuttling across the sand or walking majestically like a horse. These can be interacted with, grabbed by several points including head, shoulders and legs. Throwing one of the smaller ones of into the distance didn’t seem to annoy it, happily wandering back to say hello.

This then opened a quandary, what was there to do. Pixel Reef certainly wasn’t interested in using tried and tested mechanics when it came to challenges or quests. Having said there was no distinguishable narrative that doesn’t mean to say there wasn’t one. The lead was the giant beast, following it into a rocky area with plants sprouting from the sand and a few creatures which it began to fight. That happened next was simply awesome, for all intents and purposes a black hole began forming in the ground. As it grew larger, swallowing the smaller animals, it began to spew thousands of pieces of paper into the air creating a sand storm of what could have been deadly paper cuts. It was an assault of sound and visuals on the senses which became enthralling.

By the end though, that first question ‘what is Paper Beast?’ still remained largely unanswered. Paper Beast is a delight of design and imagination, beautiful to look and puzzling to experience. Hopefully, the final version will develop those interactive elements rather than purely being an elaborate art piece. Whatever happens Paper Beast is going to be one of the more intriguing VR titles to emerge in 2019.

July 16, 2019

New Teaser Trailer Drops for Playful Exploration Experience Paper Beast

French indie developer Pixel Reef announced virtual reality (VR) videogame Paper Beast for PlayStation VR back in April and has now released further info about the project. Alongside a new trailer and screenshots, the studio has confirmed it’ll be attending Gamescom 2019 for media to demo the beautifully surreal experience.

The new trailer and images showcase a dynamic environment filled with strange yet familiar creatures. Set on a desert world with vivid colour changes between bright reds and warm oranges to cold blues and grey’s, it’s an ecosystem born out of lost code and forgotten algorithms.

As players explore these ever-evolving environments they’ll have the chance to form delicate bonds with the vibrant wildlife that lives in this mysterious world, all of which adapts its behaviour to the player’s actions. Paper Beast features an unspoken narrative, so players have to choose their own journey through this wilderness.

“Imagine you are dropped in a virgin land, you walk, and you don’t know where to go. Interactions lead you forward, and in the end, you have a natural view of everything,” said Eric Chahi, Founder at PixelReef in a statement.

In a press release, the studio notes: “A deep simulation system has been developed to bring the game universe to life.

“To emphasize the experience, three talents are working full time on the spatial audio. The original soundtrack from British music artist Roly Porter highlights the immersion as you find your way in this colourful and poetic universe. And like the icing on the cake The Japanese All Girl Art Punk Rock Band TsuShiMaMire also took part in the adventure!”

While the visual style is certainly eye-catching, the trailer does hint at the gameplay. You seem to be able to control various objects to play with these bizarre creatures, even picking them up if you so choose. How this all correlates together has yet to be seen. Thankfully, Paper Beast will be playable during Gamescom 2019 so VRFocus will bring you a hands-on impression next month.

Take a look at the trailer below, and as further details are released including the 2019 launch date, VRFocus will let you know.

April 10, 2019

Another World and From Dust Creator Reveals PlayStation VR Title Paper Beast

PlayStation VR owners have already got lots to look forward to this year, with plenty of titles revealed during Sony Interactive Entertainment’s (SIE) State of Play broadcast last month. Today, legendary designer behind Another World and From Dust, Eric Chahi, has revealed an interesting looking virtual reality (VR) project called Paper Beast.

Described by Pixel Reef as a ‘playful exploration game’, Paper Beast’s plot involves the vast memory of a data server, where deep within its core an ecosystem has emerged. “Decades of lost code and algorithms have accumulated in the eddies and flows of the Internet. A small bubble of life has blossomed. Paper Beast is born,” explains Chahi.

With what looks like vast open worlds to explore with rolling sand dunes, sheer cliffs and strange creatures inhabiting these plans, Paper Beast creates a virtual world for players to explore filled with unusual remnants of forgotten data. There’s no core narrative as such, instead, players interact with fascinating wildlife that adapts its behaviour to their actions.

“We are thrilled to reveal Paper Beast to you,” Chahi says in a statement. “With this new game, we wanted to create a complete ecosystem, born from the hidden confines of big data. The players will be our explorers, setting out on a creative journey through the spectacles of a virgin world. With the fantastic team at my new studio Pixel Reef, we have found the creative freedom to really delve deep and use the latest technology to tell Paper Beast’s story. We can’t wait to share our game.”

“We will tell you a story, but the narration is unspoken,” Chahi notes on PlayStation Blog. “Through the events of the world, their pacing, the story unfolds. Much like Another World, there is no text or dialogue. There is only the environment, and you will feel immediately connected to it. Our physics system enriches the experience through simple interaction and manipulation of the environment.”

The team at Pixel Reef has been working on Paper Be ast for three years, and a re now close to the end with the title set for a release later in 2019 for PlayStation VR. As further details emerge, VRFocus will let you know.

April 10, 2019

Creator Behind ’90s Cult Classic ‘Another World’ Announces PSVR Game ‘Paper Beast’

Éric Chahi, the creator behind cult classic platformer Another World (1991), is working on a new VR game called Paper Beast. In a rare occurrence, the title set to release on PSVR first later this year, and then on PS4 sometime in 2020, coming from Chahi’s newly formed studio Pixel Reef.

The result of three years of development, Paper Beast is set to be an atmospheric adventure inspired by Big Data, throwing you into a living world that has emerged from “the vast memory of a data server,” Chahi writes in a PS blog post.

For now, Paper Beast is a bit of a mystery; we’re not certain exactly what sort of game it’s supposed to be outside of the game’s ability to let users explore their surroundings, although it’s promising to be a wide-scale simulation filled with strange paper creatures and a rich, visually intense environment. Chahi says it’s “not a god game, but we did put some key ingredients in it.”

While Chahi is staying tight-lipped, he does say there will be a story, albeit an unspoken one told through the events of the world and their pacing. Like the genre-defining classic Another World (also known as Out of This World in North America), there’s no text or dialogue, only a physics-based environment to guide the player.

“With Paper Beast, we wanted to create a complete ecosystem with unique wildlife. We wanted to reproduce the excitement you might feel as an explorer discovering a virgin land, a place where no human has been before,” Chahi says. “When you watch animals in nature, you feel something special about how they move and react. They exhibit an intense sense of vitality that makes exploring all the more enriching. You will interact with the creatures and will start to form delicate bonds with them.”

Chahi says gestures are spatialized in VR, “so you can fall into a fully interactive, simulated living world.” This, we assume, means the game will make full use of PS Move, although that’s just healthy conjecture at this time.

Audio is also a big linchpin to the game, Chahi says. Pixel Reef has employed a three-person team working full-time on the game’s binaural experience.

In case you’re wondering, the game’s recently released trailer uses only real-time footage from the Paper Beast game engine. The unique papier-mâché art style is certainly something to behold.

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