By the end of the week there will be one more place for you to experience Tender Claws’ brilliant Virtual-Virtual Reality.
The surrealist story game will be arriving on Steam with full HTC Vive support (along with pre-existing Oculus Rift support) on Friday, September 7th. A final price hasn’t been revealed but we’d expect it to cost $19.99, seeing as that’s what it costs on Rift over on Oculus Home. If you have a Google Daydream, Gear VR or Oculus Go, though, it’s also available for $9.99 and just as good on those platforms.
Virtual-Virtual Reality teleports players into a future in which AI constructs serve the will of their dream-seeking clients in an online metaverse. It’s often bizarre and hilarious, but it carries a key core message that’s not to be overlooked and is one of the best narrative-lead VR experiences yet.
Earlier this year we wrote about why this is a game you still need to play. “Budget Cuts might have the tone, The Lab might have the authenticity, but for my money Virtual-Virtual Reality is the closest we’ve gotten to VR’s Portal 2 yet,” we said. “I can’t wait to see what Tender Claws does next.”
That still stands.
That only leaves PlayStation VR (PSVR) as the last major platform for the game to come to. Fingers crossed that happens soon.
Das Comedy-Adventure Virtual Virtual Reality von Entwicklerstudio Tender Claws ist ab September 2018 nun auch für die HTC Vive auf Steam erhältlich.
Virtual Virtual Reality – Ab September für HTC Vive auf Steam verfügbar
Das komödiantische Indie-Abenteuer Virtual Virtual Reality begeistert mit seiner humoristischen Metakritik zu den Themen KI und VR Kritiker/innen wie Spieler/innen gleichermaßen.
Der VR-Titel erschien erstmals im letzten Jahr für die Google Daydream. Zu Beginn des Jahres 2018 wurde er zudem für die Oculus Go veröffentlicht. Erst vor Kurzem erschien das immersive Abenteuer ebenso für den PC für Oculus Rift. Nun scheint der Zugang auf die Besitzer/innen einer HTC Vive erweitert zu werden, denn still und heimlich wurde eine Steam-Seite eröffnet, die einen Release im September 2018 ankündigt. Eine Ankündigung vonseiten der Entwickler/innen blieb bisher jedoch aus.
In Virtual Virtual Reality erwartet euch eine futuristische Zukunft, in der das Unternehmen Activitude als Arbeitsvermittler von Menschen fungiert. Die Kundschaft besteht aus KI-Systemen, denn die meisten Jobs wurden durch Maschinen ersetzt. Damit diese sich nicht langweilen, benötigen sie Entertainment. Und hier kommt ihr ins Spiel, denn die authentische Unterhaltung der Menschheit ist einiges der wenigen offenen Arbeitsfelder für euch. Also springt ihr von einer virtuellen Realität zur nächsten, um den maschinellen Systemen die Zeit zu vertreiben – reichlich absurder Humor inbegriffen.
Wir haben Virtual Virtual Reality bereits für euch mit einer Oculus Rift getestet:
Virtual Virtual Reality für HTC Vive soll im September 2018 auf Steam erscheinen.
Virtual Virtual Reality, a VR gem which first launched on Daydream in 2017 and later on Oculus Go and Rift earlier this year, appears to be on its way to the HTC Vive via Steam.
Though there doesn’t appear to have been an official announcement yet from developer Tender Claws, a Virtual Virtual Reality page on Steam has been spotted sporting HTC Vive support and a release date of September 2018.
Virtual Virtual Reality began its life as a Daydream exclusive in 2017 and was launched on Oculus Go earlier this year; it’s a unique narrative adventure and easily one of the most immersive games available on mobile VR headsets. The game eventually found its way to the PC VR space when it launched for the Oculus Rift in June, where it’s enjoyed strong reviews from users.
The trailer page offers a hint of what you can expect from Virtual Virtual Reality, but it’s really something that you’ll need to explore on your own:
It’s a secret shame of mine that we’ve never done a proper review of Tender Claws’ Virtual-Virtual Reality (VVR). In my defense, it’s not exactly a ‘game’ in the conventional sense, and we’ve haven’t really figured out how to handle impressions for these types of apps yet. How do you put a score on something as brilliantly bizarre as this surrealist story of VR gone too far?
But, with the recent release on Oculus Rift, I can at least right that wrong a little and tell you why you need to play VVR.
In this vision of a reality gone weird, you take on the role of a new worker at Activitude, an Aperture Science-esque facility that provides services to AI clients. With the limitless possibilities of VR at your finger-tips, these chores are anything but mundane; sentient butter fetishizes about having perfectly-toasted bread lavishly slapped onto its sides, while a Texan tumbleweed longs to roam free in a runner-style minigame. You warp between realities by putting on virtual VR headsets with the aid of Activitude’s head-of-madness, Chaz.
VVR initially revels in the inherent silly side of VR to glorious effect. You bounce between realities with giddy curiosity, always wondering what ridiculous situation you’re going to find yourself in next. It’s Accounting with a little more nuance, replacing Rick and Morty’s volume for the mild-mannered antics of Portal’s Wheatley. As you go, your performance will be rated by sometimes satisfied but mostly unhappy customers. Suffice to say you’ll probably end up making some mistakes that you didn’t see coming.
But all is not what it seems; it’s not long before you peel back the thin layer of Activitude’s surface and begin to uncover a deeper meaning to both the dystopian corporation and the wider game. Are you really serving AI constructs? Or is there a bigger story behind the gravely-voiced pinwheel that takes such pleasure in watching you water his garden? What about the VR we as headset owners experience now? Where does that reality go when we switch it off?
It’s here where VVR starts to touch on something a little more profound. As you dig deeper into Activitude’s past you start to piece together a puzzle that begins in a society not too far off from where we are now. What initially seems like slapstick mockery starts to feel increasingly plausible, especially if you’re the type that likes to follow along with the confident CEO keynote speeches at Silicon Valley developer cons. In fact, it’s so believable done that I’m even a little surprised the Zuckerberg-owned Oculus picked the studio up to work on its next title. VVR ends up feeling as much as a warning as it is a rollercoaster ride through VR’s future.
Admittedly it does take a little too much of your time getting to the conclusion. If VVR has issues, it’s the moments of uncertainty in which you’re left wondering what to do, or the handful of monologues that drift on a little too long. Though Tender Claws has some brilliantly bold takes on the future of VR, it hasn’t quite mastered the art of delivery in the here and now. VVR thrives on discovery, comedy and thought-provoking revelations, but it can’t always disguise its exposition as entertainingly as it thinks it does.
Such issues are fleeting, though, and don’t detract from the memories you’ll be left with, which I guarantee are unlike any other you’ve gathered from VR thus far. Does VVR mean to discourage us from diving into VR head-first? I don’t think so, but it’s a cautionary tale we’d do well to remember as giant corporations zero in on the digital futures they like to tell us so much about.
Budget Cuts might have the tone, The Lab might have the authenticity, but for my money Virtual-Virtual Reality is the closest we’ve gotten to VR’s Portal 2 yet. I can’t wait to see what Tender Claws does next.
Virtual-Virtual Reality is now available on Oculus Rift, Oculus Go, Gear VR and Google Daydream.
Virtual Virtual Reality is a game that looks and sounds great, and manages to give players a strong sense of freedom and interaction while guiding them through an interesting narrative—all the ingredients for an engaging and immersive VR game. Players seem to agree; Virtual Virtual Reality is rated nearly five stars on every platform on which it’s available.
So it’s good news to know that the talented studio behind the game, Tender Claws, is pushing ahead with a new project, this time backed by Oculus, and slated for 2019. The studio has yet to make a major announcement, but revealed as much in a brief mention tucked away in a recent Q&A on the Oculus blog:
We’re hard at work on a new AR game called tendar, where players teach a virtual guppy to live in the real world by “feeding” it through a well-balanced diet of emotions. Your guppy will learn, evolve, and analyze the world around it based on players’ facial expressions and level of cooperation. It explores some of the same overarching technological and societal questions as V-VR but in a new light. E3 attendees can see a demo of tendar in the IndieCade zone in the West Hall. And … we’re collaborating with Oculus on a new experience coming next year! [our emphasis]
Oculus further added, “Look for more news from Tender Claws in the months ahead […].” Perhaps we’ll hear more at the company’s annual developer conference, Oculus Connect, in September.
It isn’t clear if the new project will be a mobile-first VR title (like Virtual Virtual Reality), or built for tethered headsets like the Rift, or perhaps both. There’s also no word at this point to the extent of Oculus’ involvement; the company sometimes acts as the exclusive publisher of games under the Oculus Studios moniker, but could be collaborating in a less significant way.
Designing Virtual Virtual Reality was an incredible learning experience for our whole team. We all have backgrounds in gaming but none of us had ever worked on anything quite like this—a dense three-hour narrative adventure in VR. We are currently working on several new projects that leverage our lessons learned from Virtual Virtual Reality and further our integration of systems and narrative. The state of interaction design in VR has come so far in the past few years, and we’re excited to continue exploring and innovating as we create new experiences.
It sounds like we’ll hear more concrete info before the year is up, and while we’ll be anxiously waiting until 2019 before we see more VR content from Tender Claws, it’s encouraging to know that the project has a sizeable development runway, as quality content takes time to gestate, especially in a medium as new as VR.
Launched initially on Daydream in early 2017, and now available on Gear VR, Oculus Go, and Oculus Rift, Virtual Virtual Reality’s smart interaction design gives players freedom and control which—combined with a narrative tying it all together—makes Virtual Virtual Reality one of the most immersive mobile VR games to date. This guest article by Mitch Mastroni, Interaction Designer at Tender Claws, the studio behind the game, explores how the game achieved significant immersion even on more restrictive mobile VR headsets.
Guest Article by Mitch Mastroni
Mitch Mastroni is an Interaction Designer at Tender Claws, where he handles all aspects of systems design and programming across both VR and AR experiences. He pulls from his background in performance art—ranging from improv comedy to jazz percussion—to create compelling interactive experiences. He holds a B.S. in Computer Science: Game Design from UC Santa Cruz, where he developed the 2016 IndieCade finalist Séance. You can find him in the corner of a networking event, waxing poetic about theme park design.
Our game Virtual Virtual Reality is a comedic adventure that is both love letter to VR and playful commentary on the tech industry. Players are welcomed by their manager Chaz to Activitude, a virtual service where humans are tasked with assisting AI clients. These AI, which appear in various forms ranging from a tempermental artichoke to a demanding stick of butter, have increasingly bizarre requests for the player to perform. The story unfolds as the player travels between virtual realities, diving deeper and deeper into the machinations of Activitude.
If you haven’t had a chance to play Virtual Virtual Reality, check out the trailer below to get a taste of the game, which also recently launched on the Oculus Rift:
Object Interaction: The Leash
When players pick up objects in Virtual Virtual Reality, they see a curved line connecting their VR controller to the object in question. This ‘leash’ is the only tool that players have at their disposal for the full duration of the game. All other object interactions in the game (plugging a plug into a socket, watering flowers with a watering can, etc.) are performed with the leash. Even simple interactions—like tossing a ball in the air or dragging your manager by his robotic legs—are very satisfying to perform with the leash.
The leash helps the player understand the relationship between the controller’s movement and the object’s movement. It also enhances game feel by giving virtual objects weight. Instead of instantly moving the object to the position where the player’s controller is pointing, the leash applies a constant force to the object in the direction of that position. Heavier objects will take longer to arrive at their destination and will sag the leash downwards. By swiping the trackpad forward and backward, players can also push and pull objects towards and away from themselves, enabling 6DOF object control from a 3DOF controller.
Virtual Virtual Reality was originally developed for Daydream VR and its 3DOF controller, leading us to consider control schemes found on other devices with 3DOF controllers (see this article for an introduction to 3 DOF vs 6 DOF ). We were inspired by the ‘Capture Gun’ in Elebits, Konami’s 2006 Wii-exclusive title. Elebits achieved a surprisingly intuitive use of the 3DOF Wiimote that we had yet to see implemented in any game: VR or otherwise. We were pleasantly surprised to find that the leash is also comfortable while using multiple controllers and 6DOF controllers. We designed unique visual and haptic feedback for the leash to fit each of Virtual Virtual Reality’s platforms and to leverage their respective control schemes.
The choice of the leash was also informed by the distance between players and the objects that they interact with. Early VR experiments at Tender Claws resulted in us constraining object interactions to the “mid-range.” Most objects that the player grabs are at least one meter in front of the them and and no further than six meters away. This tends to be the most comfortable range for modern VR headsets. Some players have trouble focusing on objects closer than one meter. Further than six meters away, there is no clear sense of depth and small objects are clearly pixelated. The leash closes the mental gap between the player and their object of focus, allowing that object to become an extension of the player.
World Interaction: Headsets
The most recognizable gameplay mechanic of Virtual Virtual Reality is the ability to put on and take off any VR headsets in the game at any time. Virtual reality inside of virtual reality. Yes, in fact, it is kind of like Inception.
Early into our development of the headset transition mechanic at a 2015 hackathon, we realized that the experience of taking off and putting on headsets had potential beyond a narrative framing device. We wanted players to interact with headsets as often as possible.
One key characteristic of headset transitions is that they are completely seamless without any perceivable loading time. To achieve this, every accessible virtual reality, or level, is loaded into memory before its associated headset appears. Although this required significant performance optimizations to reduce the memory footprint of each level, it also lead us to an artistic direction that reduced the workload of our artists.
We experimented with various visual transitions to reduce the jarring effect of leaving one level and entering another. Ultimately we chose a fisheye lens effect that warps the edges of the screen, paired with a single frame cut between the two levels at the peak of the warping. The fisheye effect is accomplished through the use of a vertex shader: the geometry of the world is actually stretched away from the player to emulate the familiar look.
The interaction language and logic is consistent for the VR headsets in the game. They can be picked up like any other object in Virtual Virtual Reality. To take off their current headset, the player points their controller at their head and grabs that headset. Drawing attention to the presence of the player’s real headset does not compromise immersion, in fact it reinforces their connection to the experience.
We decided that the action of moving between virtual realities should be a valid choice at any point. Any headset in the game can be picked up and put on, and at any point you can take off your current headset to ‘go up a level’. These choices are also recognized and validated by other systems in the game. For example, characters will comment on you leaving and returning to their virtual realities, which helps reinforce the relationship between the headset system and the narrative.
Localization and Subtitles
We began the process of localizing Virtual Virtual Reality into eight languages after the game launched on Daydream. The spoken and written words of Virtual Virtual Reality are central to the experience and we wanted to give more players an opportunity to comfortably enjoy the game.
The decision to use subtitles instead of recording dialogue in new languages was a matter of resources and quality control. We worked with an extremely talented cast of voice actors who recorded over 3,000 lines of dialogue to bring the characters of Virtual Virtual Reality to life. The task of re-recording and implementing that dialogue in eight additional languages was simply beyond the scope of our team. Instead, we focused our efforts on creating the best subtitle system ever conceived by god or man. Or at least by a mobile VR game in 2017.
The Virtual Virtual Reality subtitle system was designed with two guiding principles. First, subtitles should be comfortably visible at all times. Second, it should always be clear who is speaking. Neither of these are novel concepts (see the game accessibility guidelines and this excellent article by Ian Hamilton), but at the time of development there were virtually no examples of these principles being applied in VR.
The key to our approach is dynamic positioning. The subtitles are repositioned to best fit the direction that the player is looking. When the player is looking at a speaking character, the subtitles appear directly below that character. When the player is looking elsewhere, the subtitles appear at the bottom of the player’s view with an arrow pointing in the direction of the character. The arrow is particularly helpful for players who are hard of hearing. Subtitles smoothly transition between the two states so that reading is never interrupted. Scenes with multiple speaking characters utilize different colored text for additional clarity.
Next Steps
Designing Virtual Virtual Reality was an incredible learning experience for our whole team. We all have backgrounds in gaming but none of us had ever worked on anything quite like this—a dense three-hour narrative adventure in VR. We are currently working on several new projects that leverage our lessons learned from Virtual Virtual Reality and further our integration of systems and narrative. The state of interaction design ih VR has come so far in the past few years, and we’re excited to continue exploring and innovating as we create new experiences.
One of the most essential mobile VR experiences has finally made its way over to a PC-based headset.
Tender Claws’ surreal VR adventure, Virtual Virtual Reality, got a surprise launch on the Oculus Rift this week for $19.99.
In the game you travel through various virtual worlds in the service of an AI overlord named Activitude. It’s an often hilarious and hugely captivating adventure that keeps you guessing with its many twists and turns. The Rift version also adds support for the Oculus Touch controllers.
Virtual Virtual Reality started life as an exclusive for Google’s Daydream platform a while back, but made the jump over to Gear VR and the Oculus Go in time for the latter’s launch last month.
Sadly it doesn’t look like the game has launched on SteamVR yet, and there’s no word if it will at all. The same goes for PSVR, though fingers crossed these ports are in the works.
Virtual Virtual Reality is one of mobile VR’s best games to date, and you can now play an enhanced version on the Oculus Rift.
Created by studio Tender Claws and initially launched back in 2017, Virtual Virtual Reality goes far beyond the expectations set by most mobile VR titles by delivering strong visuals, great sound, intuitive interaction, locomotion and a proper narrative, culminating in a strong feeling of immersion.
Having played through the entirety of the game on a mobile VR headset, it’s no wonder to me why the time and effort has been put in to bring it to the Oculus Rift. As of today, Virtual Virtual Reality is available on the Rift priced at $20 (also available on Oculus Go, Gear VR, and Daydream for $10). The game is rated nearly five stars on each of its available platforms.
Image courtesy Tender Claws
Virtual Virtual Reality tells the story of a far future where a company called Activitude offers up human labor to artificial intelligence personalities for the novelty of human imperfection. Sort of like an ‘Uber for human labor’. Virtual reality headsets, which act as the access points for performing your human service tasks, are littered throughout the game’s world, and players can put them on and take them off at will, going deeper and deeper into virtual reality as they explore the depths of Activitude. It’s an exploratory adventure—with a dash of puzzle solving and meta-humor—and one that’s worth taking without having too much spoiled for you.
Creative studio Tender Claws has announced that their virtual reality (VR) videogame Virtual Virtual Reality is reaching out to new platforms in the form of releasing to new headsets. The title was initially launched last year as an exclusive for Google Daydream and has since become an award-winning, narrative driven VR experience.
In Virtual Virtual Reality, players find themselves in a near future where artificial intelligence (AI) has transformed society and now humans are searching for a purpose. Players are welcomed by an AI overlord, Chaz, to Activitude, a virtual service where humans must assist AI clients in a number of tasks that increase in curious natural. Players will have to wear dozens of virtual VR headsets within the title to be transported between the different virtual realities, and complete the tasks that are put before them. As players progress deeper into the experience the story starts to unfold and players will ultimately need to break free and reclaim their humanity before it is all to late.
The release of Virtual Virtual Reality was meant with praise the the title went on to be a success. Now Tender Claws are bring it to a number of new platforms including the Oculus Go, Lenovo Mirage Solo and the Samsung Gear VR.
“Since we first launched V-VR last year, we’ve been humbled by the enthusiastic response and working hard to bring the game to new platforms so that players can access V-VR regardless of their setup,” said Samantha Gorman, Tender Claws Co-Founder and V-VR Game Lead. “We’re thrilled to be launching the game on the new Oculus Go and Lenovo Mirage Solo headsets, plus on the Gear VR platform, which will introduce the crazy world of V-VR to many new communities.”
Back in July 2017, VRFocus’ Nina Salomons got the chance to talk to Samantha Gorman about Virtual Virtual Reality and learn more about the future of VR and the studio Tender Claws. During this internet Samantha gave advise for artists and writers saying: “One of the things I see is the danger of thinking that you can make something in 2D or think of a game or even a screenplay and import into VR I think you really need to think about what the medium can do, and design for the space and think about the user experience in VR and what it does best accordingly.”
Virtual Virtual Reality is available now for Google Daydream, Oculus Go, Lenovo Mirage Solo and Samsung Gear VR. For more on the title and Tender Claws in the future, keep reading VRFocus.
This year’s Raindance Film Festival embraced virtual reality (VR) like never before by introducing the first ‘Raindance VRX Awards’ with 10 categories. The festival ended at the start of October announcing all the award winners, with The Chainsmokers’ Paris.VR among the winners.
Created by specialist VR developer Kuju, along with brand experience agency Ralph Creative, as part of Sony’s ‘Lost In Music’ campaign, Paris.VR let viewers experience a live-remixed version of Paris, entering the mind of Drew Taggart. They fly through an ethereal landscape, being able to make decisions along the route applying major changes to the mix, whilst looking at various objects make more subtle changes to what is being heard.
“Working with Ralph Creative on this project, we knew that we had something special with Paris.VR,” said Kuju’s Head of Studios Brynley Gibson in a statement. “We’re delighted that our work with The Chainsmokers has been recognised with this prestigious Raindance award.”
Originally unveiled earlier this year at SXSW in Austin, Paris.VR is available exclusively for PlayStation VR in the PlayStation Store.
As for all the other Raindance VRX Award winners, they are:
Best Cinematic Narrative VR Experience – Alteration (by Jérôme Blanquet and OKIO-Studio)
Best Documentary VR Experience – First Impressions (by Francesca Panetta, Nicole Jackson and the Guardian VR)
Best Interactive Narrative VR Experience – Manifest 99 (by Flight School Studio)
