In all the talk over presence and immersion associated with virtual reality games, we mustn’t lose sight of why we play games in the first place, for fun! When games come along that manage to fuse both, we get quite excited. This new virtual reality city destruction prototype has you as a sort of VR Godzilla, albeit with a handy physics-friendly wrecking ball and sets you loose as you wreak satisfying havoc upon your domain. It looks supremely satisfying and fun, even if it’s not quite at the point where you could call it a fully fledged game, frankly we could probably lose a few hours on it in its present state.
The title is a prototype produced by developers Alientrap, Canadian developers previously focused on indie platformers. Clearly the developers now have access to the numerous HTC Vive developer kits now in the wild. The work is apparently part of an as yet unannounced project from the company and is described simply as “Attempting a VR godzilla city destruction prototype”.
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The mechanics are basic but seemingly intuitive, with your SteamVR controller attached wrecking ball free to swing and launch into objects and building, not to mention the ability to pick up cars and pummel structures too. Even at this early stage, the physics governing the way structures receive impact and collapse is pleasingly realistic, albeit with a cartoony art style to take the edge off the wanton chaos you’re wreaking.
