We’re again! My title is Blake Stone, lead designer at VitruviusVR, the event group behind Mervils & Shadow Legend VR on the unique PS VR. We’re very excited to launch our latest title, Arken Age, a single-player digital actuality journey set in a terraformed sci-fi fantasy world.
Within the sport you interact in physics-based fight utilizing Arkenite-infused swords and weapons; and might freely discover Hyperion’s densely populated environments besieged by neural corruption. Arken Age has a full 15-hour story-driven marketing campaign, was constructed from the bottom up for PlayStation VR2, and can launch tomorrow, January 16.
10 years creating for PlayStation VR
In 2015, we have been demoing an early model of Mervils: A VR Journey, our third-person digital actuality platformer on the Immersed Convention in Toronto, Canada, when Richard Marks, director of Sony’s Magic Lab on the time , approached us. He could not inform us a lot, however mentioned that his group “had one thing actually attention-grabbing within the works for digital actuality” and that Mervils could possibly be a terrific match for it. He later despatched us a prototype of the Undertaking Morpheus headset that will later be known as PlayStation VR, and we have by no means seemed again since.
We launched Mervils in 2017 after which launched Shadow Legend VR in 2020, a first-person medieval sword preventing sport, and we realized a ton from the PlayStation VR group’s suggestions on these video games that we have utilized on to Arken Age.
From Shadow Legend we realized that gamers beloved the Climbing Picks for each their fluidity of motion in VR and their really feel on influence. For Arken Age we took the climbing spikes a step additional and bodily built-in them into gamers’ forearms and added the flexibility to maneuver their wrists as much as deploy them at any time in the course of the sport.
Climbing Picks are only one instance, however there’s rather more included within the sport. We additional refined our customized VR stock system, weapon crafting, character interactions, distinctive fight options, exploration components, and our design philosophy behind constructing high-fidelity VR worlds. .
Dynamic Foveated Rendering and Gorgeous HDR Graphics
To get probably the most out of PlayStation VR2, we labored arduous to make sure that Arken Age’s rendering, shaders, particle results, and post-effects supported dynamic foveated rendering (DFR) for the very best picture decision. Though picture high quality is not the one good thing about PS VR2, with the colourful world of Bio-Chasm in Arken Age, it actually exhibits the significance of HDR graphics in digital actuality with vibrant blue waters, lush foliage, and blooming emissive vitality. of Hyperion weapons, buildings and robotic troopers on this planet.
Digital actuality weaponry and customized adaptive triggers
When creating Arken Age, we primarily targeted on lifelike physics-based fight and one-of-a-kind digital actuality weaponry; every with its personal distinctive adaptive haptics. Within the sport, you begin with 3 absolutely customizable and paintable weapons and might acquire over 30 distinctive weapon mods in complete. Every accent is customized for VR gaming, from the Hyperion God Ax; a throwing ax that makes use of PS VR2’s eye monitoring and which you can retrieve at will, the tempered cutter; a deployable noticed blade that dismembers enemy limbs and the Astral Ballista; a high-powered rechargeable bow, to call a couple of. Moreover, eye monitoring is used to allow sniper scopes within the sport. Simply shut one eye when your head is near the scope and watch the magic occur!
Uncover the story of Bio-Chasm and your total alien physique in digital actuality
In Arken Age you’re an alien organic creation, constructed with full locomotion and the flexibility to leap, crouch, climb and swim freely. You possibly can view your total physique in first individual and bodily holster all weapons in your character.
Your journey begins on the Tower of the Heavenly Keeper on the shores of the Bio-Chasm, a terraformed realm created to reap Arkenite vitality. Its divine founder, the Nice Arborist, has ceased cultivation of your planet and each transmission despatched to it has been met with abject silence. In Arken Age you uncover the reality behind the disappearance of the Grand Arborist, forge an alliance with the alien Nara race, take up arms in opposition to Hyperion’s legion of corrupt troopers, and be taught what your character is like; which is an element Nara and half Hyperion expertise, matches into this world.
Arken Age takes the participant by means of a full 15-hour journey, combines physics-based sword fight with long-range weapon fight, has a variety of customized VR interactions, epic VR boss fights, and offers the participant full freedom to discover. the dense environments of the Bio-Abyss.
We wish to thank everybody within the PlayStation VR group for his or her assist over time and hope that Arken Age is one thing PS VR2 followers can take pleasure in this January 16 and for years to return.
