‘Bounce Arcade’ is Like VR Pinball for Your Fists—And Exactly the Kind of Creativity VR Needs to Thrive

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Bounce Arcade, recently announced and launching this Fall, looks like a unique fusion of pinball and VR, in a way that’s truly native to the medium. It’s an example of the body of VR-native gameplay mechanics that’s still in its infancy.

Update (October 1st, 2024): Developer Velan Studios announced that Bounce Arcade will officially launch on Quest on November 21st, priced at $20. The game will include four boards at launch, and mechanics like every pinball player’s favorite, ‘multi-ball’, are promised to make an appearance.

The original article, which explores the game’s creative mechanical exploration—and how essential this is to the growth of the medium—continues below.

Original Article (July 10, 2024): All video games trace their lineage to arcade games.

I’m not necessarily talking about games in a big cabinet, but any game which has little in the way of narrative, characters, and progression. They’re primarily built around simple gameplay mechanics that are just plain-old fun.

With Pong (1972) we figured out how one axis of input could work. With Pac Man (1980) we added two axes and enemies to chase the player. Super Mario Bros (1985) figured out how we would fit a larger and more complex world onto a small screen. And Star Fox (1993) on SNES laid the groundwork for navigating 3D worlds from a third-person perspective.

It’s the mechanics that drove these games—the ones that are so fun they don’t even need narrative, characters, or progression for them to feel complete.

It took 21 years to get from Pong to Star Fox. And since then, games have only grown in complexity, but only by building on core mechanics that were invented long before.

Platformers that are not conceptually distant from Super Mario Bros are still huge. So are games using third-person views and on-screen reticles for navigation and aiming, like Star Fox.

I could go on-and-on with these examples, but the point is, they take time to figure out. And it’s not until you figure them out that you can create compelling games with all the other stuff on top, like narrative, characters, and progression.

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It took decades of work to find these core mechanics and for them to eventually evolve into the huge games we know and love today. There’s a lot that’s been established at this point.

But, all that work was done specifically for flatscreen games made for controllers or keyboard & mouse.

When a new medium like VR comes along—with a whole new kind of input like 6DOF motion controllers—we can borrow from the flatscreen realm, but ultimately the medium needs to invent the mechanics that feel truly native to it.

Many VR games borrow too much from the world of flatscreen gaming. They don’t sufficiently answer the question ‘why play this in VR instead of on a flat screen?’. And these games unfortunately tend not to find much commercial success.

Then something like Beat Saber (2018) comes along.

Rhythm games have been around for a long time; but Beat Saber took the overall concept of a rhythm game and paired it with a core mechanic that is truly native to VR. The way you use your body to slice cubes in Beat Saber can’t be replicated in any medium other than VR.

Beat Saber found a core mechanic that feels great in VR. And one day that mechanic will be the foundation for a game that’s not just the arcade-y expression of the mechanic, but a large and complex game instead.

There’s been other core VR mechanics discovered thus far. Like Gorilla Tag’s unique movement—which can’t be replicated outside of VR—that turned the simple game of tag into one of Quest’s most successful titles and spawned a whole new genre of games based on this VR-native mechanic.

But there’s still so much to invent and discover when it comes to VR-native mechanics.

All of this is to say, I love seeing new and creative gameplay ideas that feel truly at home in VR. And what I’ve seen of the recently announced Bounce Arcade immediately struck me as one of those ideas.

We’ve already seen plenty of pinball machine simulations in VR: the kind where you’re literally standing in front of a pinball machine and pressing buttons to flip the flippers.

But Bounce Arcade is taking the overarching concept of pinball and truly and creatively reimagining it for VR. Your fists are the paddles and the world around you is the playing field. It’s a fresh look at what pinball even means when you’ve got the power to alter the player’s entire reality and allow them to bring their hands into the game world.

Bounce Arcade is coming to Quest on November 21, priced at $20. So far other platforms have not been confirmed.

But this isn’t to say that all VR games are destined to be arcade games. To the contrary—what I’m saying is the medium still needs to spend time experimenting and innovating on core VR-native mechanics.

Only once a sufficient number of them are discovered and refined will we start to see a real mass of larger and more complex games that feel properly at home in VR. It’s actually pretty easy with a little imagination to see how you could extend Bounce Arcade’s underlying mechanic into a much more complex and less arcade-centric game.

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And honestly, I think there are many more of these VR-native mechanics already out there that simply haven’t gotten enough attention. That’s a huge reason why I’m working on the Inside XR Design video series to highlight these kinds of learnings. If you’ve read this far, I have to imagine you’re interested enough in this topic that you’d probably enjoy checking out the episodes published so far.

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Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • XRC

    One core VR mechanic I thoroughly enjoyed and perhaps best demonstrated "In Death", the bow pull driven with 6DoF motion controllers, it's very physical generating a rich stream of proprioceptive feedback

    feels damn good to shoot (weapon arrows) or move (teleport arrow) almost like a superpower especially for longer distances or vertical fighting and moving.

    Index controllers with haptics on maximum are just sublime "In Death", somehow I lost 100.1 hours to that game, or so steam tells me…

  • Mike

    Does developing for Quest in 2024 **REALLY** require Playstation 2 level graphics? That was 23 years ago…

    • philingreat

      Playstation 2 was console, not a mobile headset. And in VR you need to render 2 screens at all times, which cuts the performance in half.

      • ViRGiN

        Is that why Red Matter on Quest 1 looks so good? And Red Matter on Quest 3 even much better with dynamic shadows?

        • I don't think people understand what's going on with Red Matter. It's a very refined little box, with all pre-baked lighting and very nice shaders. There really isn't a ton going on behind the scenes. You never get to see very far, and they constantly swap out detail in the distance for 2D elements. The environments are never that busy and always well planned out for the slow gameplay.

          It's great…. for that style of game… but it doesn't work with any others. You can't have a shooter look like that. If you had more freedom of movement, non-static environments, more things moving around, it would fall apart pretty fast.

      • Mike

        There are some Quest games with much, much better graphics.

        Generally, mobile graphics are about 1.5 generations behind consoles. So the current standard should be between PS3 and PS4.

        Rendering 2 images at 3x the frame rate is 6x the render power (simplifying). A generation is usually around a 10x jump. At the very least, we should expect solid PS3 graphics.

        • philingreat

          Yes, but on a console, you don't have multiple cameras that do inside-out tracking and motion controllers in 3d space to track

    • psuedonymous

      If you think those are "PS2 graphics" you have extremely rose-tinted spectacles.

      • Mike

        Nope. Go compare. The only in-game thing in this trailer that looks better than PS2 is those shiny-asteroid things near the end – more like PS3 (2006). Obviously not considering render resolution or aliasing.

    • Octogod

      This is a valid question! Let's talk hardware specs.

      PS2 had a in-game max of 6,000,000 polygons per second. The Quest 3, has an in-game limit of maybe 500,000 per second. So, it's not PS2 level – it's significantly lower.

      But that's not all! The PS2 excelled at certain tasks, like transparent overdraw, which is used for fog, lens flares, and more. The Quest finds these tasks very hard due to being a tile based, so they are rarely used.

      I wish more people knew, this isn't the PS2 – it's 10x less powered. It will get better with time, but you shouldn't expect modern graphics on a mobile chipset designed for 90fps gameplay.

      • Mike

        I was referring to the entire generation of PS2 as "PS2". Including GameCube and Xbox 1.

        What's your source on these specs? Doesn't sound right. There are some Quest games with much, much better graphics. Generally, mobile graphics are about 1.5 generations behind consoles. So the current standard should be between PS3 and PS4.

        Rendering 2 images at 3x the frame rate is 6x the render power (simplifying). A generation is usually around a 10x jump. At the very least, we should expect solid PS3 graphics.

        • Octogod

          PS2 was the weakest of the 6th generation of consoles, so it’s the best comparison. GameCube and Xbox original had significantly higher performance.

          You can find these perf limits online with a quick search. The Quest stats are from Meta’s recommended limits. Mobile is not 1.5 generations behind consoles, nor are generations 10x jumps, as these constantly change. A modern example might be Death Stranding on iOS, which performance wise is less than a generation behind.

          Two images are not rendered in mobile VR. Only a single image, as all engines do both eyes in one pass now. This is know as single pass and has been the standard for about eight years.

          We’re about a decade away from PS3 graphics. Usually when you hear “amazing graphics” they’re doing many complicated tricks to give off this appearance. Often, they’re focusing on a very pretty, singular room with limited interactions.

          • Mike

            A lot of what you said doesn't make sense together. You're saying mobile can do "less than a generation behind" and "mobile doesn't have to render twice"… but "we won't get VR mobile PS3 quality for another decade"? We have plenty of games like that NOW. And I distinctly remember having a FIFA mobile game in 2015 that looked like PS3.

            Around 10x is the typical jump between generations, measured in giga-FLOPs. Sometimes more sometimes less, depending on how many years.

      • Arno van Wingerde

        Hm… I do not know the specs that you came up with, but your extrapolation of polygons per second to graphics quality does not seem to stack up against the visual impressions games make.
        Due to hi-res textures "wallpaper" Q2/3 games can look MUCH better than any PS2 title. So, maybe if it needs to redraw lots of polygons, maybe you need to stick to sub-PS2 quality, but games like RM2 and AW2, in Death: unchained show graphics that I suspect leave everything on the PS2/3 in the dust!

        • Octogod

          I would recommend to go watch a walkthrough of a PS2 game, like God of War 2 or Metal Gear Solid 2. They're doing many things not possible today on Quest.

          You're right though that there are advantages on mobile VR. Resolution is higher, both in terms of display and texture size. Frame rate is obviously higher. Input types are way more immersive. And modern shader programming and lighting can make lower fidelity meshes look beautiful.

          That said, the Quest at max is still quite far below the PS2 and many headsets away from the PS3. But can it look excellent with nice art direction? Absolutely!

    • NL_VR

      Most important is if it's fun.
      then dont judge to much out of 2d videos

  • ViRGiN

    This is the kind of game if you want more mom and dads getting into VR for 30 minutes a month.

    This is exactly what VR does not need to grow.

    • Ben Lang

      The whole point of this article is that this game specifically is not the future of VR. It's about experiences like this which experiment and establish core VR mechanics which are thus proven enough to become the building blocks for much larger and grander experiences.

      • ViRGiN

        I get “what the bat!” vibes from this.
        You know, GOTY according to UploadVR (and also sponsored).

    • ViRGiN

      What a miserable troll I am, nothing positive to say at all.

      Now be gone, I have a madame palm and her five lovely daughters to entertain. Into a sock.

      • ViRGiN

        i am gayben

    • Dale Kirkley

      Apparently what VR doesn't need is you, you seem to be consistently negative about nearly every aspect of it.

      Seriously though, what do you actually enjoy about VR? What is the game or experience that you rate as your most enjoyable within the VR space?

      • ViRGiN

        You just said “VR doesn’t need me” and then proceeds to ask me about VR stuff? Crazy stuff man.

        • Dale Kirkley

          Right, because your negativity is often so strong I’m not sure you can actually answer the question, plus the first part of the comment does not preclude the question, especially due to the fact that I led with “apparently”, which is not definitive.

  • Patrick Hogenboom

    Oh, seems to be another Meta exclusive :/

  • polysix

    Why does everything have to have such shitty cartoon graphics? If I was making this game (which I could) you can bet it would look as real as possible to make it properly immersive in VR. So many games brought down to mobile quality graphics thanks to the shitty quests making VR seem about as believable and immersive as a children's colouring in book.

    • ViRGiN

      Rec Room came out on PCVR years before Quest was even a thing. Same with superhot.

      pcvr is driving vr down.

      • Holger Fischer

        Who doesn't remember the spiking gaming PC sales, after the release of Rec Room.

    • philingreat

      the quest is the most successful VR headset so that's where the market goes

      • ViRGiN

        That's where the market goes, but these aren't Quest 2 graphics, this is something I'd expect on Oculus GO in 2018.

        • Ben Lang

          Graphics != Art Direction.

          This looks better than the average Quest game IMO

          • ViRGiN

            What is "average Quest game"?
            It surely looks on par like average PCVR game, given their sheer amount.

    • Ben Lang

      TBH it would be cool to see a game like this with the visual fidelity of something like Red Matter 2. I wonder how far it could be pushed.

    • Andrew Jakobs

      I wonder if something like this would be more fun if it had 'real' graphics. I personally don't mind, for these type of games. But then again, I also like low poly escape room type of games.

  • Ben Lang

    That's the point. You can't start with huge VR games if you're just copying and pasting mechanics from flatscreen. These are the kinds of experiences that should have been focused on more, earlier in the medium's lifecycle. That didn't quite happen so now we're making up for lost time.

    • Rosko

      There was plenty of this kind of thing back in 2016 & i always thought they worked well. Sports/arcade type vr games can be great but i rarly play them for long. This looks fun apart from the dire graphics & art style. I share the OPs disappointment though, I had high hopes that by now we would have wonderful worlds to visit & explore & things have pretty much gone backwards in that regard but i guess nothing can be done about it.

    • Like what? You always talk big in these articles, but are so vague on specifics. You act as if you know "Where it should all go". But I've never read anything that really indicated you know anything more then anyone else. You want something MAGICAL. Like WHAT? Name it.

      VR, at this point, is pretty limited to just hands and face. No touch, no feel, no weight. It's a screen and some controllers. And to produce anything takes many times more hardware then any 2D game. It's worlds less then the fictional Sword Art Online. It's a taste of VR, served on a spoon taped to a 10 foot pole.

      You gush over Red Matter, and it does look nice, but it's a glorified shoe box. A series of dioramas floating on very nice shaders. The Unreal engine can do very nice things on the Quest… as long as it doesn't do much of them. I know these tricks, it's really not that impressive at it's core. It's just very refined and polished. When you start moving things around, allowing the levels to adjust in real-time without a ton of Pre-Baked lighting, it falls apart pretty quickly.

      When i saw this article and the video, I was rather impressed by this game. It's a new idea that really takes pinball into VR. But these comments dumping on it are insane. This IS the innovation people are looking for. This is open minded thinkers coming up with new and novel ideas. And it looks like they've dealt quite well with the limitations of mobile VR gaming.

      As somebody who's done mobile VR developing, I'm impressed. If you want something that looks better in this genre, you really need to playing on PCVR, where limitations in machine power are much fewer.

      When it comes to impressive VR, nobody ever mentions Stormlands. THAT is a peek, pinnacle, AAA game developer making the best VR shooter you could ever ask for. It was brilliant in every way. You can't get better then that in VR. It was both a high water mark for quality, as well as glass ceiling for what VR can do, at this time.

  • NL_VR

    K, thanks bye

  • Andrew Jakobs

    Looks like a lot of fun, looking forward to playing this on PCVR.

  • Eddy

    Good concept, hope the landing sticks

  • Mike

    Look at the 2023 CNET article “Best Meta Quest 3, Quest 2 Games, Apps and Experiences”

    Most of the things listed look solidly PS3, and some could pass for PS4. Last year.

    • Octogod

      None within that article look like they’re PS3 titles, let alone PS4. They are stylized to hide the technical restrictions.

      Additionally, many of those are Quest 1 launch games which had 100k triangle count cap. On PS4, a single character model would be 100k. The cars in Gran Turismo 7 are 500k.

      It’s okay if you’re not aware of how games work technically. But again, because something looks like it is as powerful as a PS4, doesn’t mean it is as powerful as a PS4.

      • Mike

        I know how games work. I do Unity VR development at NASA.

        You can't say none of them look like PS3. That's absurd – just look at the screenshots directly on the article. The Climb 2 looks even better than PS(4) on there – but is showing it running on PC. But many of them are Quest-only.

        Quest 2 has a 500k triangle cap. Commenters say Quest 3 should be around 2x that. So 1,000,000.

        • Octogod

          Your original statement:
          Does developing for Quest in 2024 **REALLY** require Playstation 2 level graphics?

          Your new statement:
          I know how games work. I do Unity VR development at NASA.

          Congrats on getting the job at NASA the past week!

          To help clarify what is visually unique about the sixth generation: PS3 games are defined by image effects (tonemapping, bloom, damage, etc), they have high mesh density, they have high mesh poly count, they have transparency (overdraw is death on mobile), they utilize real-time lighting, they utilize complex physics, and they use lit shaders. None of these are very viable on Quest, so games don’t have the look. Without these, you get a flat, baked, simplistic look that defines the PS2 and Quest, as seen in the article referenced.

          On tri-count, you’re forgetting that store games have to ship on Quest 2 and above. We will have Quest 3 exclusives soon, but that means all titles are shipping with a 500k triangle target. They then use the extra performance to implement minor enhancements, like bumped super sampled resolution or increased FPS.

          The whole point here is that even if all Quests had a 1,000,000 tris target, these are well below PS2 (6x) and PS3 (30x – 100x).

          So, do they require PS2 level graphics? No, they require significantly below that: 1/6th on the best hardware and 1/12th on the Quest 2.

        • No, you don't know how games work. Or at least the hardware.

          If you can't understand the difference between tiny mobile chipsets running off batteries and massive boxes with huge boards and unlimited power behind them… with the mobile forced to render twice as many pixels as 1080p AND at 90fps…. eh… I think NASA needs to hire better people.

          (although this would explain why Elon Musk is running circles around NASA)

          • Mike

            I understand the difference. Both are constantly improving. There is always a large offset between what the two categories are capable of. But what desktop is capable of eventually becomes what mobile is capable of, many years later.

  • Justin Davis

    Looks more like Arkanoid than pinball to me.

  • It looks like they took the idea in the right direction and really fleshed it out. I might download it to try it out.

    But for my use of VR, it's one of those games that looks tiring. I'm not a fan of sword swinging, flaying around, motion fests. The controllers don't always track fast motions accurately, it's easy to pull a muscle, and it doesn't engage my mind much.

    Also there's no fan inside the Quest. Even if I have a fan outside, blasting me in the face, I still pool up sweat inside of it. It's not waterproof or anything.

    The Quest 1, 2, and 3 have been pretty resistant to the downpour of sweat, but the Quest Pro, with it's light ring for eye tracking, actually has had some units short out just because of sweat.

  • I thought they did a great job fleshing out a pinball in VR. Gimmicky? Really? They actually rethought out the game, instead of just making real-world pinball tables. This is rather innovative.