Ezone.com's "Moon Jump" DK2

[ezone]

I just loaded up some footage of our new prototype:




The position tracking data from DK2 is used to control character movement. The game is best played standing up where you bend your knees and jump to control the jump of the in-game character (you can also use the spacebar if you are on a DK1). IK is used to map your real-life leg movements to the character.

As you turn your head from side-to-side the character will slowly pivot to that direction, meaning you can control the movement and jump without using any external input device.

Let us know what you think and what else you'd like to see and do in the game! We hope to have a playable version ready for you to try out shortly.

* EDIT: Here are the links to the Alpha 1 build:

MAC (24 MB) http://moonjump.ezone.com/alpha1/Moonjump_MAC.zip
PC (22 MB) http://moonjump.ezone.com/alpha1/Moonjump_PC.zip

[DillonRobinson]

That actually looks like a very novel idea for slow movement and low-g jumping. I'd like to try it ASAP!

And IK is always wonderful for immersion. Look very cool!

[ezone]

Moon Jump alpha 1 is ready for download and testing:

http://moonjump.ezone.com

Please let us know what you think and what you'd like to see added.

[Domitjen]

It's cool, wished I could go on the big mountains though, keep falling off:p

It's buttersmooth in extended, but not that buttersmooth in Direct:p

[ezone]

Thanks for trying it out! We are planning to build it out with more content and stuff to do in the next build. Just let us know what you'd like to see!

[Futuristichub]

Thanks for this! Im going to try it out now. I have a question if you don't mind... Can you add me maybe and message me how you can get the camera in the helmet to behave the way you did? I can't seem to get that to work. I'm making a demo for space as well 🙂

[DillonRobinson]

Really neat!

-A reset button for gamepads (very helpful for standing-games) would be great

-I seemed to only be able to turn when my head was stretched out and close to the glass of the helmet? Or maybe this was an orientation issue since I couldn't reset it.

-Add a lot of neat little details inside of the helmet. I know this was a first test, but as you polish, the more the better. Little dials and lights and readouts - that sort of thing.

Can I ask what the main game is going to be? I think this would be a really cool way to explore alien environments and structures in multiplayer! I know -- easier said than done -- networking code isn't easy and I've got zero grasp of it. But that would be REALLY fun to be able to join a game with 1-3 other people and pick a level and just explore.

I see a ton of potential in this to be a great mechanic for moving about in a deep space exploration game. Deck the suits out with detail and create maps with varying skyboxes, atmospheric effects, and terrain types, then scatter them with easter eggs and platformer-type difficult structures to scale, scan, photograph, etc, and that would be the perfect VR game 😄

[ezone]

Hey Dillon,

Thanks for trying it out and the great feedback! I'll add in an orientation reset button for gamepads on the next build (I'll also be adding an option for gamepad controls for turning). That should help with the turning issue you were having.

For gameplay we are thinking of adding several independent missions/tasks (each about 2-5 minutes long), making it easy for players to have either a quick session, or a longer one with breaks in-between. How about a 'procedurally generated exploration game' where every planet has a random sky/terrain and you explore it to find artefacts,minerals, etc

Multiplayer would be VERY cool (definitely a stretch goal at this stage).

Thanks again for giving it a play.