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As Oculus VR announced recently, they continue to push their drive for virtual reality specific content by co-publishing their 2nd title (the first being EVE Valkyrie) and it’s a 3D platformer called Lucky’s Tale. Tonight on Gametrailers’ ‘All Access at E3’ show, Paul introduced the game which looks like a polished mash up of Mario 64, Conker and a dash of Yoshi’s Islans – and was demonstrated using an Oculus Rift DK2 – by a gentleman looking very much like Oculus VR’s Aaron Davies, Director of Developer Relations.

Whilst 3rd person games of any type are relatively thin on the ground right now, there have been some enormously successful examples of platform games utilising the immersive qualities of the Oculus Rift to great effect. And when you place the DK2’s positional tracking into the mix of qualities VR can bring to a game, it makes even more sense. Now, instead of merley rotating the camera to hunt for secret passages or objects you can lean in and peer round entirely naturally. Also, perfect stereocopy probably makes judging depth in the 3D world much easier, making the platforming itself more natural. Bettner claims that his company Playful have been working with Oculus for over a year to refine what eventually became Lucky’s Tale.

I have to say that the title looks like a breath of fresh air to the Oculus Rift catalogue, and I’m fairly sure that’s one of the many reasons Oculus VR decided to back the game and take it to market.

We hope you get our hands on Lucky’s Tale this week as the Road to VR team roam the E3 show floor looking for the latest E3 VR news.

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Based in the UK, Paul has been immersed in interactive entertainment for the best part of 27 years and has followed advances in gaming with a passionate fervour. His obsession with graphical fidelity over the years has had him branded a ‘graphics whore’ (which he views as the highest compliment) more than once and he holds a particular candle for the dream of the ultimate immersive gaming experience. Having followed and been disappointed by the original VR explosion of the 90s, he then founded RiftVR.com to follow the new and exciting prospect of the rebirth of VR in products like the Oculus Rift. Paul joined forces with Ben to help build the new Road to VR in preparation for what he sees as VR’s coming of age over the next few years.
  • mkeblx

    Looking forward to hearing the hands-on reaction from the Road To VR team. Does it have the feeling of being one of those initial high quality launch titles like Wii Sports that sells units and has a very high attach rate? Does it provide a good proof that, no, VR is not straight jacketed as only first person? How much does the positional tracking add to the game?

  • Curtrock

    I remember being utterly mesmerized by Jak 3 (Jak & Daxter) on the PS2. I got sucked right into the worlds created by Naughty Dog, even though the graphics were nothing compared to the Uncharted series. If you want to see proof of how well 3rd person POV works with the Rift, check out CRASHED LANDER. I love the idea of platforming in the Rift, and if Lucky’s Tale comes even close to a “Jak 3” type of experience, it could be a great and addicting Rift experience.