We’re just a few days away from the launch of the all-new VR edition of Human Fall Flat, giving us our first opportunity to experience the game on VR hardware - or at least, the first official opportunity.
This new edition of HFF began life as an experiment by well-known VR modder Raicuparta, before becoming a fully fledged launch from No Brakes Games and Curve Games.
Ahead of HFF VR’s 31st October launch, we had the opportunity to sit down with Rai to talk about his inspiration for the original mod, the challenges of bringing Human’s wobbly world to life in VR, and what his perfect HFF level might look like!
Hello Rai! First up, can you tell us a little about who you are, and what you do?
I’m known online as Raicuparta - or Rai, for short! I’m a developer, originally from Portugal, and I became known for my mods that turned flat games into VR experiences - games like Outer Wilds, Firewatch and Neon White.
What was it about Human Fall Flat that made you think it needed a VR version?
Having worked on VR mods so much, it’s hard for me to play any game without considering how it would work in VR!
I was playing HFF with friends and we jokingly said it would be a horrible VR experience, because of the nausea the wobbly physics would cause.
That got me thinking about ways around the issue, and so it seemed like a fun challenge!
Why do you think HFF plays so well in VR?
Too many games try to fight that disconnect between real-life movements / button presses and in-game movements. They work hard to make sure it’s all one-to-one.
HFF is one of those games that embraces that disconnect - kind of like QWOP - where the goal is to fight the controls and the imprecise physics. I feel like we don’t have enough of those kinds of VR games!
Why do you think HFF VR is better suited to a third person perspective?
The core concepts of HFF rely on that disconnect between real-life movements and in-game character movements. Playing in first-person would mean having to get rid of a lot of that wobbliness and imprecise control, so it’s kind of against the whole point of the game.
The third-person puppet controls are the perfect solution to this. They perfectly match the player’s expectations of how the character should control, without affecting the core gameplay mechanics. Plus, it looks hilarious!
Were you surprised when No Brakes got in contact with you about your mod?
I actually can’t remember who contacted who, but I was definitely surprised at how excited everyone was about the mod.
I was particularly impressed with how Tomas had finished the entire game with the mod, while I had only played maybe two levels in VR. I had barely even tested the mod, so it was super-janky at that point!
What are your favourite HFF levels?
I really enjoyed the Miniature level, mostly because it’s such a fun one to see in VR - it really makes you feel tiny!
Thanks for taking the time to talk to us Rai!
Human Fall Flat VR launches on the Steam and Meta Store platforms on 31st October! Pre-order or wishlist the game now to be ready to step into a whole new wobbly world the moment the new edition goes live.