As the virtual reality market continues tostruggle against economic headwinds, pioneering VR studio Owlchemy Labs has announced it’s jumping into the world of extended reality (XR) games with its new titleHyper Visor. The game, which Owlchemy describes as “an original XR arcade blaster” will debut on the Google Play Store at a $1.99 pricepoint, timed as a launch title for HTC’sXREAL Auraheadset.
InHyper Visor, players use their hands and a “mysterious pair of living shades” (a commonnicknamefor sunglasses) to clear eight levels that evoke different traditional gameplay genres such as rhythm games and side-scrolling shooters.
Of course, “headset” isn’t quite the right word to describe the XREAL Aura—the device is really a pair of high-tech sunglasses that HTC calls “spatial computing eyeware.” It operates via a wired connection to the user’s Android phone. And “XR” isn’t necessarily the phrase developers would use to describe this type of game. Games played through camera lenses to interact with objects that appear to exist in the real world have traditionally been described as augmented reality (AR) games. XR, referring to “extended reality,” has been used as an umbrella term for VR and AR software, as well as experiences that bridge the two mediums.
Verbiage aside, theGoogle-ownedgame studio (which already self-identified as an “XR game studio”) appears to be leaning into both the “shades” and “XR” phrasing to describe its new endeavor. “Our core philosophy is XR for everyone, and for a lot of people the biggest barrier has been the headset itself,” CEOwl Andrew Eiche said in a statement accompanying the game’s launch. “XREAL Aura is essentially a pair of shades, which makes XR far more approachable for anyone who may have been hesitant to put a headset on before.”
Are XR “shades” a
Ecihe’s comments are in line with comments he recently made to GameDeveloper.com about thethat VR is still an emerging market because it hasn’t passed “the cafe test,” because users wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing the device in a public locale like a cafe or coffee shop
“The [XREAL Aura] is finally starting to pass the cafe test,” he elaborated at the time, saying its users feel comfortable in public because they “don’t look like a bug” while using it.
Eiche’s observation, and Owlchemy’s decision to target the new platform, may be useful for virtual reality developers assessing how to remain commercially relevant in tougher economic conditions. Theaward-winningcompany has proven its resilience with regular ports of its flagship Simulator series while making new games likeCosmonious HighandDimensional Double Shift.
Being owned by Google—and shipping launch titles for Google-affiliated platforms like the XREAL Aura—has certainly helped its fortunes, but the studio has had a knack for taking full advantage of different platforms’ technical capabilities, shining a light on opportunities for other developers and sharing best practices when able.
Even with this jump to a new medium, the studio’s love for VR games appears unabated. A screenshot forHyper Visor, display a sign hanging in Owlchemy Labs’ office that says “Caution, VR users have the right of way.”
Update 10/22:This story previously described an image from the trailer forHyper Visorthat has not yet been released to the public. It has been updated to allude to a screenshot that also displays a sign hanging in Owlchemy Labs HQ.
