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Fantastic Contraption
One of the biggest hurdles for virtual reality developers is showing what an experience is like without actually strapping on a head-mounted display. Northway Games and Radial Games, the developers behind Fantastic Contraption, have finally made strides toward effectively communicating what it’s like to play in a virtual space.
The trailer above shows off Fantastic Contraptions premise through what Northway Games calls "mixed reality." The room-scale VR game tasks players with achieving one simple goal: get the pink ball to the pink end-zone. The way that you get there depends on your wits and the contraption you manage to create. Imagine a hands-on approach to Banjo Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts' vehicle crafting.
Northway Games visually blends the game with reality using some relatively simply tools: green screens, studio lighting, a camera, and broadcasting software. This way of recording VR creates a new avenue for streamers to put themselves in the game. Northway Games streams Fantastic Contraption every Thursday afternoon using this setup, and it'll be intriguing to see other developers try to solve the problem of showcasing VR without a headset.
Fantastic Contraption will launch alongside the HTC Vive tomorrow for PC. The game will be playable with the Vive on April 5, and receive Oculus Touch support in late 2016. To see more reasons why 2016 is the year of VR, click the banner below.
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