VR Giants – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

June 15, 2023

Asymmetric Co-op Game ‘VR Giants’ is Another Great Fit for Steam Remote Play Together

Being able to get your non-VR friends in on the VR fun is often a challenge, especially if you’re trying to play with them remotely. Luckily VR Giants brings another rare opportunity to do so, offering up a fresh dose of asymmetric ‘VR + PC’ co-op gameplay that works just as well online as it does with local play.

We love a good asymmetric VR game that gives a VR player and a non-VR player two totally different roles. Unfortunately these games are a rare breed, surely not helped by the fact that they require both the VR player and the non-VR player to be in the same place to play on the same PC.

Luckily, back in 2019 Steam released a feature called Remote Play Together which allows local multiplayer games to be played with your online friends, no matter where they are.

That’s a perfect fit for VR Giants, an asymmetric co-op game just launched in Early Access. It has one player in a VR headset as a giant stone elemental, while another player on the same PC plays a tiny character that relies on the giant’s help to complete platforming challenges.

Thanks to Remote Play Together, you can have the same fun with any friend from afar. The feature basically tricks the game into thinking your friend is playing locally with you, even though they’re remotely controlling the game from afar. And because it works this way, only one of you needs to own the game!

Developer Risa Interactive tells us they know for sure the game works well with Steam Remote Play Together because all of its development was done remotely and tested with the Steam feature and Parsec (another popular app for remote-play gaming).

We’ve had great experiences with Steam Remote Play Together in Panoptic, another asymmetric VR game that plays like thrilling game of hide-and-seek.

VR Giants is available on Steam in Early Access, currently with a 10% launch discount. The developer says the studio plans to add more levels before the game reaches its full launch, at which point the price will increase.

July 22, 2020

VR Giants Has Great Ideas For Local Co-Op, It Just Needs That Kickstarter Money

I’m not sure why we haven’t seen a more successful take on VR co-op in the vein of VR Giants yet.

Games like Covert and Keep Talking are proof local VR multiplayer works and titles like Astro Bot, Moss and Ghost Giant are essentially solo co-op experiences begging for a second player. Clearly, others are hungry for it too; VR Giants is nearing a modest $11,445 Kickstarter goal despite a somewhat primitive demo that showcases some promising ideas.

In this VR platformer, one player puts on a headset and controls a stone giant, while another grabs a controller to navigate levels as a very, very tiny human. The pair must work together to collect a set amount of coins, opening checkpoints to reach the end of the level. The VR player is chained to a specific location so, no, they can’t just pick up their partner and walk to the end goal.

There’s no two ways about it; the demo and the extended preview we’ve seen are incredibly basic on a presentation front. The non-VR player appears to be some sort of animated strawberry and their user-interface and control scheme seems like it could have been mocked up in no time at all. However, solo developer Wolfgang Tschauko says that an improved art direction is one of the project’s top priorities.

Besides, this is one of those times you might need to look past the surface and dig a little deeper to see VR Giants’ true promise. There are some really fantastic ideas here, like getting the VR player to scoop up their platforming partner and whisk them to safety when danger comes calling. At times, the giant is used essentially like a moving platform, taxing the non-VR player from one area to the next. But it’s the more elaborate ideas that work best, like getting the giant to shield their friend from incoming molten boulders, or holding extended platforms that the other player can run along to reach distant areas of the map.

Right now what’s here is a collection of interesting showcases for the tech, but I’d love to see VR Giants evolve into a full, structured campaign in which its ideas evolve from the novel concepts here into some truly challenging gameplay.

There’s undoubtedly a lot of polish that needs to go into VR Giants before it releases, perhaps even more than its base Kickstarter goal would afford, but even in its demo state it’s an effective teaser sitting atop an undiscovered gold mine of local VR co-op. Plus its developers are planning accordingly; the team doesn’t anticipate launching the game until October 2021. Fingers crossed that, by then, VR Giants is ready to take a promising tech demo to the next step.

The post VR Giants Has Great Ideas For Local Co-Op, It Just Needs That Kickstarter Money appeared first on UploadVR.

July 14, 2020

VR Giants Seeks a Helping Hand as Kickstarter Begins

Crowd-funding can be a vital avenue for indie developers hoping to realize their creative vision, whether they’re aiming for the big bucks or a goal which is a little more modest. When it comes to new Kickstarter campaign VR Giants the latter is in effect.

Solo developer Wolfgang Tschauko is looking to raise €10,000 EUR to help polish the project he’s been working on for the past three years. VR Giants is a local co-op experience where a VR player becomes the giant and a non-VR player controls the pint-sized David via a PC monitor.

Gameplay involves soling puzzles together, the goal being to collect coins scattered around the level to open the next stage. David is able to wander around the environment freely with only a very basic jump mechanic, whilst the giant is tethered to points yet able to easily pick up useful items such as wooden planks to facilitate David’s traversal across more difficult terrain.

The core mechanics of VR Giants are already in place so Tschauko wants to use the funding to help improve the overall experience, enhancing the graphics and sound by creating a team to work on the project. He notes on the campaign page that the low funding target is because the Austrian government will double whatever he manages to raise.

The campaign is already off to a good start having raised a quarter of its goal on the first day. A limited super early bird tier has already sold out so the cheapest way to get a copy is via the €19 (£18 GBP) tier. As is the Kickstarter way, send more money and you’ll get more goodies.

Supporting PC VR headsets like Oculus Rift, Valve Index, HTC Vive and Windows Mixed Reality, there’s a free demo so you can try VR Giants before dropping any cash. Or take a look at VRFocus’ preview for more info.

As the campaign continues, VRFocus will update you on its progress.

July 13, 2020

Preview: VR Giants – Challenges Both Big and Small

This week will see solo developer Wolfgang Tschauko take the next step required to see the project he has been working on for the last three years, co-op adventure VR Giants, come to life; a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign. The title has appeared at events in various forms over the years and now Tschauko wants to expand the team, make VR Giants prettier for an official launch on Steam. The Kickstarter will feature a single level to demo, giving backers a better idea of the gameplay but VRFocus has been given access to a few more to sample the co-op mechanics further.

Co-op titles have always been great ways for friends to team up and that essence has been used to unique effect across a range of VR experiences, not just headset to headset but also between VR and non-VR players. Early examples of this were seen in PlayStation VR’s The Playroom VR while a recent one would be Carly and the Reaperman. Unlike the latter, VR Giants is purely co-op, directly playing upon the need for both players to work together or else progression is impossible.

VR Giants plays upon the classic David and Goliath dynamic where the giant seems to be the most powerful yet in actuality isn’t. The non-VR players controls the tiny David, running around collecting coins to unlock a castle which blocks the next area. Naturally, these coins are located in areas either too high or barred by some immovable object which is where the big guy comes in. The VR giant doesn’t have free run of the level however, tethered to certain points in the area. Movement between these can only be activated by David using a nearby switch.

But the VR player does have full roomscale movement to wander around their limited area, grab useful items or pick David up when required. Which makes for plenty of effort on the VR players part. From that lofty height you get a great view of the overall scene, helping convey where your buddy should go next and what they need to look out for. Because the giant is impervious, able to grab volcanic balls of rock to smash items apart whilst spikes, lava and other dangers can kill David instantly.

So the giant can use wooden planks, boxes and its hands to transport David wherever needed. It’s a mechanic which truly unites both players in the adventure, David’s life is literally in the giant’s hands. With VR Giants still needing development it does look graphically very basic – hence the Kickstarter to employ an artist – yet the puzzles offered a nice variety of both mental a physical challenges. As the giant, you’re having to constantly bend down to help the smaller player or throwing/moving objects. As David, it’s all about precision jumping and correctly placing yourself to aid the giant’s efforts.

The only thing that makes some of the gameplay awkward at this stage is the low gravity feeling all the objects have. Moving or placing a wooden plank has a soft, floaty sensation, so everything has a slight bounce to it; not always good if David is on said plank! So a simple puzzle can become slightly more long-winded if the process is rushed.

From what VRFocus has seen so far VR Giants is shaping up very well from both perspectives. Playing as the giant is the most rewarding as there’s generally more to do. Plus, with no locomotion to worry about means that it should be a comfortable experience for any player. VR Giants presents a passion project that neatly blurs the lines between VR and non-VR gaming, and while there’s still a way to go it’ll be interesting to see how Tschauko further explores his idea.

July 7, 2020

Co-op Puzzle-Platformer VR Giants to Launch Kickstarter Next Week

Everyone loves a co-op videogame, especially when it’s local with a mate or two. Titles like The Angry Birds Movie 2: VR Under Pressure and Carly and the Reaperman – Escape from the Underworld are great examples of this. Soon this genre will see another enter the fold, VR Giants, as the indie developer behind the project will be launching a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign to help finish the videogame.

VR Giants is the work of solo developer Wolfgang Tschauko who has been working on the title for three years. Having already taken it to several festivals over the years and winning awards (won “Best Concept” ReVersed Festival, Vienna, 2017 & “Innovation in Games” LUDICIOUS Zurich Game Festival, Zurich 2019) Tschauko now wants to complete VR Giants by building a team.

Played locally on one PC, in VR Giants the VR player controls the Goliath who can build bridges with its hands or grab environmental objects to help David (the PC player) navigate the levels, protecting him where necessary.

As a dwarf, David is highly vulnerable to dangers like fire and spikes but only he can collect the coins and keys required to complete each level. Goliath, on the other hand, has no such worries. However, the giant can only be summoned by David to a new area with movement limited to that specific location.

Currently, in an Alpha state, the Kickstarter is: “mostly to fund an artist to help with the current work-in-progress visuals of the title,” said Tschauko in an email to VRFocus. As three years of work have already gone into VR Giants the gameplay already looks well developed but don’t take VRFocus’ word for it. When the campaign launches you’ll be able to play a free demo featuring a single level.

The VR Giants Kickstarter will officially launch on 14th July 2020 with the current plan to release the videogame via Steam in 2021. As further details regarding the Kickstarter campaign are made available, VRFocus will let you know.