Head Mounted Destinations

Blaston’s new update brings multiplayer lounge spaces and a single player campaign. Massively expanding a game isn’t easy. We walk through the new content, then talk through the new opportunities and issues for Blaston’s future.

Legendary developer John Carmack is back to publishing VR app reviews, this time for the Oculus Quest platform. His nuanced approach abandons stars and numbers for more insightful commentary and suggestions for improvement. We also compare his stringent quality bar with the quality bar of the Oculus store.

We unleash our inner karate kids this week with Path of the Warrior; a VR love letter to old-school Beat-Em-Up arcade games. Goons get punched, food gets munched, and ultimately things get underwhelming as we discuss the highs and lows of these rage filled streets.

Red Matter is a great example of where VR can take players when you rely on grounded principles and wide usage of solid interactions...then why have we barely heard about it!? Today we’re exploring that question and more! Join us for insightful discussion on the mechanics, storytelling, and performance of this eerie adventure title.

The Climb 2 got new levels! In them, Carlos found an experience closer to Tomb Raider than The Climb. This week we discuss: How does the DLC improve on the base game? What future do we see for The Climb after playing the DLC? And could The Climb deliver on a Tomb Raider experience for VR?

The Climb 2

Timestamps:

1:30 - The Climb 2 vs Tomb Raider

7:29 - The Climb 2 DLC

20:35 - Where could The Climb go next? (Mechanics)

28:15 - Opportunities for Next-gen Tech

30:28 - Opportunities for better feedback to player

35:42 - Where could The Climb go next? (Game Modes)

Other Things We Mention:

Rise of the Tomb Raider

Man falls down playing The Climb

The Climb 1

CryEngine

Adaptive Triggers

Beat Saber

We chat about how to design mech-piloting and spaceship-piloting experiences for VR.

The VR games market is evolving. Pistol Whip - and its latest “2089” update - is the perfect lens for examining the changing expectations for VR games. Will all VR games be expected to provide free updates? What impact does this have on game design? Listen in for these answers and more!

Timestamps:

0:50 - Pistol Whip

3:41 - Gameplay Modifiers and Haptics

9:21 - Content Updates and 2089

23:21 - Cloudhead Games and the VR market

27:07 - Games as a Service

31:05 - Modularity

35:20 - Final Thoughts

Games We Mention:

Pistol Whip

Beat Saber

Titanfall 2

Half-Life 2

Fortnite

Apex Legends

Population: One

Walkabout Mini Golf

Asgard's Wrath

We look at the new PSVR 2 controllers, compare the pros and cons of different VR hardware platforms, and peek into the future of VR hardware.

Timestamps:

1:45 - Introduction

2:50 - VR Controller Standard

6:20 - Vive Wands and PS Move

10:28 - Dualshock and PSVR

15:15 - Inside-out Tracking

17:37 - Wired vs Wireless

21:15 - What does the next 5 years look like?

27:54 - PSVR2 Tracking Ring

30:44 - The "Face Factor"

33:30 - Outro

Games We Mention:

SUPERHOT

Blood & Truth

Gun Club VR

Battlewake

Half-Life: Alyx

Big STRIDEs being made today. Just kidding! We chat for a few minutes about a parkour game.

Swarm is a new fast-paced, arcade-style grapple shooter, and we think it’s going to perform pretty well. But why do we think that, and what do the developers need to do to ensure it? This week, listen to us inspect (and recommend) the game from a developer’s perspective.

Timestamps:

1:23 - Swarm

7:40 - Grappling Hook Mechanic

13:26 - Motion Sickness

15:27 - Combat Loop Rhythm

22:21 - Juice

25:45 - Post-Launch Expansion

28:40 - FTUE

30:58 - Marketing

34:30 - Final Thoughts

Other Games We Mention:

SairentoVR

Robo Recall

Windlands

Jet Island

Amazing Spiderman 2