What problem are you looking to solve?Temple Gates Games wants to create compelling, delightful games that will attract new folks to VR platforms. We want to deliver the best game content in the VR space. Many of the games we’ve seen lean more toward a gritty, realistic and hardcore aesthetic, both visually and mechanically. We want to bring a punch of joy with our quirky, upbeat games. Our team members have created games like Plants. Vs. Zombies, Cannon Brawl, and a few of us met working together on Spore. Our games stand out as colorful, approachable gems that follow through with engaging strategic play.
Why is this an important problem?
The tidal wave of VR consumption is just around the corner, but many larger AAA game publishers are taking a conservative stance. While some are dabbling in small scale R&D, the risk of headset manufacturers slipping distribution dates, or just being dependent on something so new, is too much of a deterrent. Many of them are waiting for the VR market to prove itself before dedicating significant budget shares toward VR development. This lack of market in general makes it difficult for anyone to be creating content right now, creating a deficit that needs to be addressed in order to deliver magical first experiences to new consumers.
When will people be able to experience what you are working on?
After winning Silver in the oculus VR jam, a free demo version of our game has been published on the Oculus Challenge Post site. This version works for Samsung GearVR with Note 4 on the KitKat OS. We hope to be a launch title on on major HMDs, so hopefully people will be playing the full version very soon!
What are the major benefits that your platform/project brings to VR/AR?
We’re building our game to show off what VR can do. Performance, player comfort, and the joy of discovery are paramount to us, as we take the responsibility of being many people’s first VR experience seriously. It’s also fun to push the boundaries, since we’re at the bleeding edge of this new technology. Designing new player interactions with the headset, such as a nodding/shaking head mechanic to accept or reject quests, is an exciting way to coax immersive behavior that pushes the player deeper into their experience.
How do you differentiate yourself from other companies operating in a similar space?
We are a team of industry vets, including Tod Semple, creator of Plants Vs. Zombies, Theresa Duringer, creator of Cannon Brawl, Jeff Gates of Spore, Patrick Benjamin of SimCity, and Ben Rosaschi, polish master from Zynga. On top of that, we break out of the mold with our development practices, such as creating our own custom engine which gives our game a unique flavor, gives us tight control, and allows us to concurrently develop for multiple platforms. We also bring our experimental tac toward solving tough problems, such as by creating our ‘Hybridscopic’ vision solution to draw stereo in the foreground and monoscopic in the background to save on polycount since distant verts are virtually colocated.
What about VR and Future technology inspires you most?
When people put on a headset for the first time, their jaws drop. Their expectations are consistently blown out of the water. After demoing at Maker Faire, Levi’s Stadium, as well as lots of industry events, I’ve been lucky enough to witness first hand the sheer magic of someone experiencing this new frontier for the first time. This visceral reaction drives us to create content that will live up to the potential of VR.