There are many words I can use to describe my experience with
modern virtual reality. From trying Team Fortress Two on Oculus DK2, to
using the theater experience on the Samsung Gear VR headset, my experiences
have varied from vomit inducing motion sickness to mind blowing impressive.
This is a new format that no one can deny, will someday be how future
entertainment will be experienced. There is no doubt that this format of
technology can expand one form of entertainment that has had a hard time
evolving, video gaming.
Oculus VR headsets have been one of the most popular devices over
the past couple of years that have had many developers create demos that can
potentially be in mass production very soon. We can all see these demos
being played by famous YouTubers such as Markiplier and Pewdiepie with all
claiming that their experiences are deep, almost real immersion. On
screen, most of these games seem lack luster and graphically could use some
work, but it isn’t until a person who actually experiences the new developed
kit Oculus, it is realized the virtual reality potential this motion sensing
technology, offered by Sixense, has.
So we have the tech, all that is left is the game, correct?
Out of the many demos out there, I have had the privilege of testing out
a newly in production game created by a group of highly talented students,
talented volunteers and USC alums at USC’s Advanced Gaming Program called
ElemenTerra. Led by a Max Pittsley (Project Lead, Co-Producer and System
Architect), Camille Kanengiser (Co-Producer, Art Director), Luke Patterson
(Engineering Lead) and Xander Morgan (Usability Lead), ElemenTerra is a sandbox
game playable on Oculus that allows players to create a world as you see fit,
using natural resources and anything the world has to offer as tools to create
what your limitless imagination can produce at that moment. Using in game
mechanics, that can only be described for now as completely innovating for a
sandbox game, and in game movements that don’t trigger the brain’s vomit
inducing senses, the vertical slice that both Max and Camille led their team
into creating was intended to be a 5 minute demo. In reality, this demo
had me occupied for 14 recorded minutes with no end in sight.
What makes ElemenTerra a much more immersive and entertaining game
than dare I say, Minecraft, is its beautifully animated art design and in game
mechanics. Beginning with the art design, ElemenTerra is nothing less
than brightly and beautifully pleasing. Smooth textures and natural color
schemes on the surfaces of land and plant life give this game an almost
comforting animation not seen in many other games. Personally, I see it
not being comparable to many other games and when experienced, the surface of
this world plays around like clay and is pleasant to look at with many
different smooth colors that match the tone of what is not only around on the
surface, but also atmosphere of the sky. Players will occasionally look
up to see a magnificently colored bird flying over or shooting stars soaring
above like fireworks. As explained by Max, what is seen in the animation
and art style now in this short section is what they hope to polish up when the
finish product is on its way. Ignoring small visual effects like
unpolished water animations and depth means play testers will see an art style
for a VR game that can immerse players into a virtual 3D coloring book that is
pleasing to the eyes and a nice change in animation within a sandbox game that
is not “blocky” or stale in color.
Mechanically, this demo offered me something many other demos
failed to offer. In game mechanics, it included new ways of altering the
world around you that has not yet been seen other sandbox games (unless you
have demoed the game you will know, so for those that haven’t yet, trust when I
say this new game mechanic is pretty fascinating). You are allowed to
roam as you please and alter the world around you by creating tunnels and
landscapes with luscious vegetation and fly over your creations to examine the
top down perspective of your planet. Easy to understand mechanics make
ElemenTerra a very natural game play but what makes this game unique from most
other demos and ports for the Oculus is the way players are allowed to move in
world. For those that have not yet experience VR headsets, it is
important to note that a player’s mind may sometimes fail to interpret in game
movement as movement that their body is not doing which can lead to very
nauseating feelings afterwards. Ports like Half Life 2 are known to have this
effect because of the rapid movements done through joysticks. What
Elementerra does to negate motion sickness is create natural movement scheme
that the motion sensing technology can pick up. All in game mechanics
come naturally, nothing feels out of place when moving around Elementerra and
this is all thanks to the Sixense motion tech the developers are working
around, making this one of the most naturally moving and immersive VR demos I
have had the pleasure of play testing.
When putting all this into consideration, ElemenTerra can be seen
as a VR game with much potential. It immersed me completely and made me
forget about the real world around me and instead focus on what more I can add
to my planet I was allowed to create. Anyone can easily spend a lot of
time in this game to create whatever they can imagine and as a sandbox game it
is on a different level of gameplay. From the play test, there was very
little similarities to other sandbox games, for example Minecraft. Both
games allow you to explore a vast unknown world and alter it as you see fit,
and after spending many countless hours on Minecraft, it can easily be said
that ElemenTerra will not be a direct competition to Minecraft. This is
because of what each game tries to sell to its players. Minecraft sells
adventure and exploration as key features to its players with creation as a
side option for those that want to create scale replicas or dream homes.
From the very beginning, if you are playing on “survival mode”, players must
quickly explore and gather supplies in a completely destructive universe.
What ElemenTerra sells to its players from the very beginning is
creation. From the in game tools, to what you see within your world you
are given full freedom to alter as you please and experiment with nature
itself. It is a natural, free and potentially feels like a true sandbox. This
is the cup of tea anyone would enjoy after a long day of harsh labor with no
urgency, no worries and because of this, both of these sandbox games are on
completely different levels. Similar to what we see between Star Wars and
Star Trek, both the same genre but selling audiences different taste of the
genre.
This is saying a lot about a game in early development, but the
team of USC students who have added 8,000 plus hours to develop this game, in a
span of around 15 months, have breathed new life into the sandbox genre within
virtual reality. For these developers there is still much work to be
done, but the potential of this game shines brightly in this demo. For
those interested in experiencing this demo, you can catch them at VRLA Expo on
August 29th.
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