Blogs - tiredandwired

Thank you everyone for following and reading all the information we've been putting out for our game Inimical. With multiple trailers and our game ready for download we would love for you to check it out

Verse your friends, as one of you tries to escape an abandoned scifi hospital and the other hunts and kills you.

Main Features:

• VR vs VR multiplayer
• Stalking AI systems
• Single Player mode
• Hunting mechanics for the monster player

Hope you enjoy it and please leave us a comment and a review on the game page!!

Indiedb.com

As we get towards the final product of our game, we feel the need to reflect on the process and how we have developed our game throughout the entire year.

Our concept started out very different from our final concept. The original idea was going to be a 2D or a 2.5D isometric multiplayer horror game, where one character chased the other. Think Don’t Starve meets The Clocktower series meets Dead by Daylight. This is how we started out, while the base of being a horror game and multiplayer, the entire game play beyond that changed week to week as we headed into development.

As we began to recruit more and more people, the story and narrative became more defined, sparking our earlier concept art. We defined an 80s hospital theme for the level we created, to do an homage towards old body horror classics like The Fly and The Thing. Going light being a part of the game play, our concept artist went with a Moth based monster, so all designs went from there and expanded outwards.

The idea for the game play was a risk and reward system for the protagonist ,non-mutant character, where they could risk learning more at the expense of a non ai monster that could taunt and attack them at any moment. While the antagonist had larvae which could track the player when entering into the vicinity, giving them an advantage to catching the player.

Our first in game screenshots, it was not as in depth and the level for the prototype was half the size of the plan we had. As part of the level design one of the features we wanted to focus on was a sense of confusion and feeling lost and afraid. Through multiple rooms and winding corridors, any new players would find the level confusing and intimidating, giving a sense of fear and confusion, not know what was around any corner. As we have expanded the level, this has been achieved.

The more prominent feature of our game was and still is the VR vs VR. One of the main parts of ensuring this was completely VR game, was to make all interaction with objects only possible with actually looking at the object. Due to using controllers instead of handsets, we looked into how to ensure the player really tried to interact and view the world around them.

From the prototype, we began to work towards the final version of our game. Due to time restraints, a lot of content was cut down but hopefully people will enjoy our game and appreciate what we tried to achieve.

With many of the upcoming VR headsets now being available to the public, you have to question which one is right for you? Not only from a price range perspective but features and content available to explore. In this article I hope to help with understanding the differences between the two leading PC VR technologies: HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.

Preliminary things to consider

Before even beginning thinking about buying a form of VR headset, you have to ask yourself, is it worth the hype? This isn't an easy question to answer but you have to look at yourself, the consumer, and consider what in everyday life one of these headsets can do for you. As VR is very new, there aren't a lot of games out there and the games available are more technology demos than anything. If you're looking for a 12-30+ hour gameplay with the headsets in one game, you aren't going to find it yet. Consider instead a VR headset as an investment into the future of gaming. We are at the forefront of a new technology which will allow us to experience games in a new light, new gameplay, new mechanics and new features. At the moment both these headsets are less an investment into a really fantastic game but into the game industry and it's continued development towards better games in the future.

Price Tag

So the main issue with VR headsets, especially for PC is the pricetag. $600 +$200(for the new handsets) for the Oculus Rift and $800 for the HTC Vive. These are not for the average working-class person. Not only that but Oculus release handsets by itself for a $200 markup is like buying a DLC at the same price of the original game. It's a little ridiculous. If the price tag doesn't scare you away then you are investing in something that might become outdated very quickly, considering the output of newer consoles, video cards and other such hardware. Not only do you have to concern yourself with the pricetag but the pricetag on newer release games. Some of them are up to $60 and don't last as long as a normal AAA game. If you're interested in VR for PC gaming it might be good to wait a few years to see how the technology progresses.

Specifications

Both the Oculus and Vive have similar specifications. Same display, resolution and refresh rate. The major differences are requirements and tracking areas. This is important because it determines what kind of game you wish to play on your headset. In the Oculus it has a smaller tracking range, making phyiscally interacting with the world alot more difficult compared to the Vive. Oculus has been more of a sit down experience, not to says that's a bad thing but just something to consider. While the Vive you need a larger, clear space to play in, which some people may not have. The requirements are also something to keep a look out for and more information into the specifics can be found here: Digitaltrends.com. This article goes into the hardware and software with a in depth table of different features.

Games Available and Play time

The Oculus runs exclusively out of the Oculus rift store, while the Vive is connect to SteamVR and their own private Viveport. The Oculus store appears to be releasing games at a rapid pace but the connect to SteamVR allows users to keep their Steam accounts and experience smaller, indie VR games. The inclusion of Indie games can be a curse with more games being pushed without lots of motion sickness testing. On the plus side if you are a fan of Valve games, they have a demo showcase in the Vive which is probably one of the better VR experiences available. As far as play time, there isn't alot of content but with releases on both headsets nearly daily it's good idea to keep your eyes peeled. These releases, as stated before are more tech demos but it's very interesting to see the development companies go through to help improve your own future development in creating indies games.

It's important to understand that different users require different hardware or software, so it depends on what you're looking to get out of a VR headset. In all honestly we prefer the Vive. It's not only fun to play on, but some of the content is very interesting, it's opened the doors up for more indie VR games and it's very funny to watch your friends lean down to try and pick something up and then fall over.

Thank you for reading!

VR gaming appears to be the next step and evolution in the gaming industry. With the release of the HTC vive and PS4 VR headset, this is proving to be a lucrative market with some great potential. From this, we as a team believed it would be a lot of fun to create a VR game and it is. The VR element unlocks a lot of potential within gaming but there are multiple things to consider when creating a VR game. So consider this post as a guide from some people who have gone through and played around with creating VR games.

Before you even begin

Play VR games, get your hands on every VR game you can. Connect to Steam and the Oculus store. Play with different VR headsets(HTC vive, Oculus, PS4 and Google Cardboard). This may seem like basic advice for creating a VR game but so many people just go into development without seeing what has already been done. This allows you to understand the capabilities of a VR game, so that you may go away and know what is possible and what could be possible.

Movement or No Movement

Movement in most games is an integral part of game play but with motion sickness being an issue, you have to decide what kind of movement if there is any at all. Are the players sitting or standing? Does the character move or does the player themselves move around the room move? Is it teleportation? With different hardware comes some more movement capabilities to aware of. Also another item to consider is if your movement is necessary.

Story and Visuals

One of the most important features of VR is most certainly visuals and stories. Player exploration is one of the fun gameplay experiences you can create in VR. Keep in mind that visuals, don't necessarily mean high poly. You can create stunning visuals with low poly models and even 2D sprites in VR, just make sure it's consistent and makes sense. Also story can be less of a direct narrative flow but more of the embedded narrative. Looking at more of the mise en scene than the overall game. Another important part of visuals is particle effects. Simple dust particles in a closed off environment can make a world of difference in a VR game.

Experimentation

In a final note, experimentation is key with VR games. As it is so new, there are still areas to explore within the hardware. Not everything has been made in VR so make mistakes and move forward

I hope this advice helps anyone else seeking to get into developing VR games for the future. Feel free to contact us and let us know what you think.

Hi there everyone. I thought we would take a moment to introduce ourselves today. We are Tired and Wired Productions. We are an indie company who are currently working on our VR horror game Inimical. We will be posting on here regularly for the next while as we promote our game.

Stay tuned for more information, promo pics, trailers and much more !!!