'Monument Valley' Game Developer Creates New Game, 'Land's End,' For VR

 

Imagine playing something like Myst, but as a virtual reality game. Now, imagine that this virtual reality game is using the best in modern technology to make everything look realistic, and keep the gamer from getting sick, as is often common with VR games.

According to game developer Ustwo, the creator of the hit mobile game Monument Valley, that game is almost here in the form of their new title Land's End, a virtual reality adventure game made exclusively for the Samsung Gear VR headset.

Land's End is a first-person game, sort of like Myst, but without all the pointing and clicking, basically because you don't need pointing and clicking in a VR game. Instead, players will use the headset to look around the game environment and navigate by fixing their gaze on items with indicators in that setting.

Of course, there's more to gameplay than just looking at things. There are also puzzles that require players to perform actions with their head movements, such as levitating objects and joining dots.

Interestingly enough, Ustwo didn't set out to create Land's End as a VR game, but with VR technology improving, that's the direction the game led them, especially with the introduction of Samsung's Gear headset. However, the company spent months tweaking the game so that it wouldn't induce nausea.

"The fact that [movement] is pretty much in a straight line and at a deliberate speed is good for nausea, but the fact that you focus on a point first, you're paying attention and your mind is focused in that direction really helps as well," said Ustwo's technical director Peter Pashley to Engadget.

Ustwo's previous title, Monument Valley, sold millions of copies, but it's likely they won't see that kind of success with Land's End, as very few consumers have actually invested in VR headsets yet. However, the company hopes that Land's End changes that.

"We hope that it'll be the thing that people use to show off Gear VR," said lead designer Ken Wong, "that if people have tried the Gear VR, they've tried Land's End."

VR gamers interested in trying out Land's End will get their chance on October 30, when the game releases to the public.