Phew, that took a while.
Nature Treks: Together is finally ready for launch. I feel the foundation is pretty solid so have decided to launch into Early Access and allow plenty of time for us to evolve the experience in tandem with the community.
Nature Treks: Together is the result of about 3 years of prototyping and evolving the Nature Treks concept. I hope we can evolve it into a truly unique and compelling experience for all to enjoy over the coming months.
Nature Treks: Together is not just a multiplayer experience. It has been designed as a single-player experience as well so anyone that enjoyed Nature Treks should hopefully enjoy this one also.
Nature Treks VR was originally solely developed by myself. However, in order to evolve Nature Treks to the next level I have acknowledged my shortcoming and acquired the help of a fantastic programmer, Sergiu. My wife Ria is from the care industry and was an inspiration developing Nature Treks, Ria is now on board full time helping me evolve the design with a focus on clinical benefits. My games industry background is art and design so it allows me to focus more on those aspects. I am hoping to also get some technical art help soon.
What is similar and what has changed from the original Nature Treks VR?
The duel movement system remains but the free movement now uses a thumbstick for player direction. In replace of hand motion. Personally, I like hand motion but thumbstick movement has become standard in VR now so most users will find it familiar. Teleport remains an alternative. Each system is mapped to a unique controller so they work together intuitively.
Several climate times are combined together so you can hop between them. Hopefully, this allows for some interesting and unique locations. The detail of the environments is high.
Ocean exploration is also combined so you are free to go in and out of the ocean and 'swim' from island to island.
There is a voice chat feature but this has been intentionally restricted around campfires. And only at night.
You can paint images and instruments using your index finger. This is a really exciting addition I feel and allows for some powerful sensory moments. This is one we plan to keep evolving.
The creator orb feature has been carried over but has been enhanced. If you hold the orb for longer you can power it up to grow more vegetation.
An emotion halo has been introduced. Much of this I want to leave up to the user's imagination. They are a means to communicate in a fundamental way many of us have perhaps forgotten.
The core theme of the experience is expression. The same layered approach has been applied to this design. I hope people will be able to relax into the pace and have a truly unique, sensory experience.
Best
John