It's been a bit over a month since QuiVr's announcement that we were raising a small amount of money and had expanded the team to include former Diablo designers and an incredible art team. After a lot of discussion, planning, and experimenting with VR mechanics, we're ready to talk about the future of QuiVr.
Everything In the Open:
First, here's what we expect to see in the next few months from the world around us. Every game genre demonstrated in The Lab will soon see a large number of experiences that try to expand on their foundations. We think archery is one of those. In order to stay interesting and unique, QuiVr has to evolve into more than just a variation of a basic archery game.
It has to be what we're calling a "First Memory" experience, instead. What I mean by this is that it's one of those experiences that people forever remember as the first time they tried "that thing" in VR - whatever "that thing" might be. We don't want to offer a second memory to people; we're interested in the first.
We also believe that VR is new enough, and that the ocean is blue enough, that there's little reason to be competitive with other developers. Sure, people could steal each others' ideas, but it's far easier to design around each other and work on cool, unique ideas all your own than to try to beat someone else at their own game. And so, along with this post, we're releasing our entire design doc to the public for feedback. We're laying out what we want to try to do in public, because... well, it's a bit more fun than not doing that. :) I already know a number of the developers that are working on archery games, and I hope that it helps us avoid stepping on each others' toes. Because the great thing about VR right now is that we can all build first memory experiences, at this point.
Here it is... this is what we ultimately hope to build in the future.
Shadow of the Colossus meets Longbow:
What are the First memories we want to offer you? What can VR do that people haven't experienced yet? At our core, we are an archery game, and we don't want to change anything that is already working. On the other hand, VR allows you to do incredible things with scale, and presence, and it wouldn't be fun to not explore the possibilities.
The first memory we decided on, after a great deal of thought, is to create a first memory of Longbow meeting Shadow of the Colossus; we want to combine the elements of archery with the experience of battling an enemy so far beyond your scale that it's clearly hopeless. Not just shooting a big monster with endless arrows from the ground, but battling an enemy large enough to climb on, to engage with as a carrier of other enemies.
As part of our design work, our art team has been iterating on design concepts that give you an idea of what want to build. We've worked hard to capture the right feel for the game as it undergoes its visual and gameplay redesign.
For all the gritty details of where we want QuiVr to go in this new direction we are really passionate about, along with more concept art, discussions of gameplay mechanics, and other fun stuff, check out our design doc here:
I really hope you find it interesting enough - all 20 pages of it - to give us some feedback on what you think. We're still evolving what the project might become, and none of this would exist without everyone that has played and commented on the project so far. I don't want to lose the joy of working with the community to build a cool game.
For those that don't have time to read the whole document, here are some highlights:
- We're trying to release the first "formal" update into Early Access in November.
- While we hope to expand an improve the gameplay, we also know that we don't want to mess up the parts of the game that are already working.
- The graphics style is being worked on by the same team that did some artwork for Chronos, and they're amazing. We'll be posting more of the actual design and 3D models as we build them, so we can get your feedback as we go... but we're having a lot of fun with the graphics so far.
- Currently, we're thinking that the Early Access price will be $29.99, but discounted for an extended time to $19.99 - until we feel comfortable bringing it up. We based this on Onward, and then decided it was more important for us to get more people playing than the the extra dollars - $19.99 feels like a good value proposition to us, but open to input.
- We're moving away - to a large degree - from the endless wave mechanic, though hopefully in a way that still lets you enjoy just shooting bad guys for an extended time, if that's your thing.
- The goal of the game will be more focused on not only defending a central point, but actively pushing the enemy back, and re-securing the lands previously lost to the enemy.
- We'll be implementing Diablo-Legendary style items, with effects and randomization. This is partly the influence of Tom and Mike (the former Diablo developers on the team) and partly because I've spent so many hours of my life in Diablo that it seemed fun to build. :)
To be really clear about expectations, the first release in Nov. will NOT have a giant in it. The chance of getting that wrong and making people sick is too great, because it's a new mechanic, so even though the early testing is really cool, we will not try to shove that into a fast release. We'll focus on revamping the style and core gameplay first, and dive into the giant after the new year when it makes sense.
Thank you to everyone who has been continuing to give me feedback and words of encouragement throughout the development process. I read each and every comment and this community is a strong driving force in driving me to pour countless hours into making QuiVr as amazing an experience as I possibly can.