VR Mechanics and Storytelling - Dev Update 2/3/20

Wow, it's been a while since I posted...
I've been extremely busy, both on this game specifically, and game design as a whole--I teach programming and video game design to grades 3-12 every day, and then get to work on my game when I get home in the evening, so needless to say, progress has been a bit slower than I would like.

At the moment, I have most of the mechanics in place (Listed below with explanations, just for the fun of it!), so most of my time now has been working on putting the narrative together.  So far so good, but I need voice actors for some key parts, which isn't too easy to secure.

As I've mentioned in previous posts, while I'm not trying to recreate Blade and Sorcery or Boneworks' gameplay, I do want my combat to have satisfying physics elements.  So, my player character is not physics based but can interact with other physics objects such as doors, pushing heavy objects, pushing enemies around, etc.

The main mechanics I've been working on perfecting are:

• Force grabbing objects from afar
  • This uses VRTK's pointer renderers to select objects, then Lerps the position to the player's hand if it's a valid "force grab" object.
• Semi-realistic gun interactions
  • I say semi-realistic because every time I put a VR "layman" into something like Boneworks, I see them getting super confused and even frustrated, finding the guns to be too realistic, making them less fun.  To combat this (No pun intended!), the player has a revolver and can put little ammo cartridges into where the bullets would normally go in a real revolver. (This uses VRTK's "Snap Drop Zones" parented to the gun mesh.) The only reloading you have to do when you run out is just pop in another ammo cartridge and shoot.  This provides a sense of tension during combat, without getting too annoying
• Physics melee and enemy combat
  • This is where the physics really shine. Because held objects still collide with the world (rather than passing through other objects while being grabbed), holding melee weapons feels super cool.  For longer objects like swords, I use a configurable joint that allows them to bend around your hand the way a real sword would.  It's hard to explain without seeing it on video  (...something I will be working on soon!)
  • The enemies themselves are all active ragdolls.  This means that while they are fully animated, they still react to physics, trying to match the animation as best as they can--this allows the player to push, punch, stab, and attack them while they go about their business.  Due to certain story elements, the enemies are extremely zombie like (but are NOT Zombies!!) and therefore...are quite stupid.  This makes for super fun combat where you use the world around you to your advantage.

So yeah, that's what I've been working on lately.  I hope to have some sort of video coming soon showcasing everything that will be coming with the new game, as well as an official announcement.

Thanks for reading!
​- Judah