-=EDIT - May 27, 2014=-
Finally, a trailer for the current version! My not-so-great laptop runs the game at 60fps normally but is not quite fast enough to capture the game in HD, so the vid is only 480p. =[ Still very excited to show you all how this game looks in action.
-=EDIT - May 22, 2014=-
Here are some new shots that are happy to be viewed through your Rift.
More news soon. Leaning toward early access/alphafunding this game now. I can no longer mentally handle the full-time job thing plus working on this in every spare moment. I'm losing my mind.
-=EDIT - February 14, 2014=-
I swear the demo is almost done... Getting sooooooooo close! It's difficult to stop polishing and adding features. I want thie alpha demo to be a fairly complete picture of the final game. Here are some new shots. Sorry more of them aren't Rifties. Things have been difficult for the past few weeks after a cycling accident and a major surgery. Anyway, there's a new trailer and some VR-mode vidcap coming soon. More screenshots and a detailed dev update here: http://www.indiedb.com/games/b-12
-=EDIT - January 5, 2014=-
Well I missed my personal deadline of Jan 1 for the first pre-alpha demo, but a got a LOT done during the crunch and I'm very close to something releasable and fun. Here's a sneak peak of a new environment for the upcoming demo. Peep the new anti-HUD!;D
-=EDIT - October 7, 2013=-
There's still a lot more to add in terms of content and mechanics, but here's the first alpha footage. I am very interested in any feedback you might be gracious enough to give. =]
PS, no Rift footage in here yet, but the first-person shots give you an accurate idea of what it's like.. That is, if you're motion-sickness-prone, this might not be one you'll enjoy.
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd2VZzwTX5I
-=BEGIN ORIGINAL POST=-
I originally started learning Unity & Blender with the sole intention of developing for the Rift. I started educating myself back in November and odered the Devkit in January. I thought my frist project, 'B-12' would be done before I received it, and I'd just move on to the next game/experience. But around the time of the whole US Customs debacle I started to become very anxious about receiving my Oculus Rift Devkit, to such an extent that I couldn't be productive any more. I had a feeling I'd be reworking a lot of stuff to make this into a VR game, so I decided to put things on hold.
I'm very happy to say that the Oculus Rift, as a devkit, has surpassed my expectations, and developing for it is quite rewarding. Being able to see environments and characters at the proper scale, as if they're right next to you is very surreal, especially when you've created them yourself.
Before I finally got my Rift, I managed to get quite a bit done:
--Relearned basic modelling with Blender (I'd played around with it in years past)
--Supplemented Blender knowledge with level-kit design, UV unwrapping, texture/atlas design, character rigging and animation, etc.
--Learned basic Unity engine stuff and taught myself UnityScript/Javascript
--Developed my own physics-driven character controller script
--Modified the default mouse-orbit script to add collision-avoidance and other small features
--Created a level-load and in-level teleportation system
--Coded some basic enemy AI
--Coded player abilities like dashing, kicking off of walls, weapon-charging with multiple energy levels like Mega Man X, etc
--Implemented the old HeadLookController script and modified it a bit**
**(I didn't have Unity Pro when I started, so no access to Mecanim's inverse kinematics)
--Built menus and HUD using Unity's built-in GUI system and realized it's completely useless if you want to have gamepad support
--Added the ability to swtich between first and third-person views (in preparation for the Rift)
--A ton of other stuff like learning Unity's lighting and particles, playerprefs, input handling, etc etc etc
From the list, it's probably obvious that I am VERY opposed to using pre-made or purchased code/assets. As much as possible, I am creating all scripts, art, sounds & music myself. Anyway, once I got the Rift here are some more things I had to do:
--Implement Oculus Rift support (obviously) and rework controls as appropriate
--Remove all use of Unity's GUI-system and build my own VR-ready GUI-system from the ground up
--Make telportation and level-loading more seamless (fade to white) to avoid motion-sickness when the screen freezes momentarily
--Remove ledge-grab as it just didn't work right from a first-person view
--Rework my wall-jumping as it also didn't work very well for VR
--Other minor changes to make it *feel* right in VR-mode
--Switch back to standard monitor, third-person mode every now and then to make sure it works and is FUN both ways
Here are some things that still need to happen:
--Make projectile/plasma/particle effects look better
--More enemies
--More levels
--Bosses
--More variety in level-building assets; make some of the existing ones more interesting
--A proper level-hub area
--In-game settings menu, more options for VR controls, etc
--Weapon/ability upgrades
--Various other tweaks and small features
That's a pretty thorough summary of everything so far. I have learned a lot, and I don't think I've ever worked so hard on something in all my life. It's been a very rewarding eight months! I'm trying to get a playable demo finished within the next few weeks. Here are some screenshots:
Finally, a trailer for the current version! My not-so-great laptop runs the game at 60fps normally but is not quite fast enough to capture the game in HD, so the vid is only 480p. =[ Still very excited to show you all how this game looks in action.
-=EDIT - May 22, 2014=-
Here are some new shots that are happy to be viewed through your Rift.
More news soon. Leaning toward early access/alphafunding this game now. I can no longer mentally handle the full-time job thing plus working on this in every spare moment. I'm losing my mind.
-=EDIT - February 14, 2014=-
I swear the demo is almost done... Getting sooooooooo close! It's difficult to stop polishing and adding features. I want thie alpha demo to be a fairly complete picture of the final game. Here are some new shots. Sorry more of them aren't Rifties. Things have been difficult for the past few weeks after a cycling accident and a major surgery. Anyway, there's a new trailer and some VR-mode vidcap coming soon. More screenshots and a detailed dev update here: http://www.indiedb.com/games/b-12
-=EDIT - January 5, 2014=-
Well I missed my personal deadline of Jan 1 for the first pre-alpha demo, but a got a LOT done during the crunch and I'm very close to something releasable and fun. Here's a sneak peak of a new environment for the upcoming demo. Peep the new anti-HUD!;D
-=EDIT - October 7, 2013=-
There's still a lot more to add in terms of content and mechanics, but here's the first alpha footage. I am very interested in any feedback you might be gracious enough to give. =]
PS, no Rift footage in here yet, but the first-person shots give you an accurate idea of what it's like.. That is, if you're motion-sickness-prone, this might not be one you'll enjoy.
VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd2VZzwTX5I
-=BEGIN ORIGINAL POST=-
I originally started learning Unity & Blender with the sole intention of developing for the Rift. I started educating myself back in November and odered the Devkit in January. I thought my frist project, 'B-12' would be done before I received it, and I'd just move on to the next game/experience. But around the time of the whole US Customs debacle I started to become very anxious about receiving my Oculus Rift Devkit, to such an extent that I couldn't be productive any more. I had a feeling I'd be reworking a lot of stuff to make this into a VR game, so I decided to put things on hold.
I'm very happy to say that the Oculus Rift, as a devkit, has surpassed my expectations, and developing for it is quite rewarding. Being able to see environments and characters at the proper scale, as if they're right next to you is very surreal, especially when you've created them yourself.
Before I finally got my Rift, I managed to get quite a bit done:
--Relearned basic modelling with Blender (I'd played around with it in years past)
--Supplemented Blender knowledge with level-kit design, UV unwrapping, texture/atlas design, character rigging and animation, etc.
--Learned basic Unity engine stuff and taught myself UnityScript/Javascript
--Developed my own physics-driven character controller script
--Modified the default mouse-orbit script to add collision-avoidance and other small features
--Created a level-load and in-level teleportation system
--Coded some basic enemy AI
--Coded player abilities like dashing, kicking off of walls, weapon-charging with multiple energy levels like Mega Man X, etc
--Implemented the old HeadLookController script and modified it a bit**
**(I didn't have Unity Pro when I started, so no access to Mecanim's inverse kinematics)
--Built menus and HUD using Unity's built-in GUI system and realized it's completely useless if you want to have gamepad support
--Added the ability to swtich between first and third-person views (in preparation for the Rift)
--A ton of other stuff like learning Unity's lighting and particles, playerprefs, input handling, etc etc etc
From the list, it's probably obvious that I am VERY opposed to using pre-made or purchased code/assets. As much as possible, I am creating all scripts, art, sounds & music myself. Anyway, once I got the Rift here are some more things I had to do:
--Implement Oculus Rift support (obviously) and rework controls as appropriate
--Remove all use of Unity's GUI-system and build my own VR-ready GUI-system from the ground up
--Make telportation and level-loading more seamless (fade to white) to avoid motion-sickness when the screen freezes momentarily
--Remove ledge-grab as it just didn't work right from a first-person view
--Rework my wall-jumping as it also didn't work very well for VR
--Other minor changes to make it *feel* right in VR-mode
--Switch back to standard monitor, third-person mode every now and then to make sure it works and is FUN both ways
Here are some things that still need to happen:
--Make projectile/plasma/particle effects look better
--More enemies
--More levels
--Bosses
--More variety in level-building assets; make some of the existing ones more interesting
--A proper level-hub area
--In-game settings menu, more options for VR controls, etc
--Weapon/ability upgrades
--Various other tweaks and small features
That's a pretty thorough summary of everything so far. I have learned a lot, and I don't think I've ever worked so hard on something in all my life. It's been a very rewarding eight months! I'm trying to get a playable demo finished within the next few weeks. Here are some screenshots:
