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Virtual reality studio HelloVR has teamed up with London tech start-up Improbable to create a new, more immersive type of online multiplayer game.
The developer is using Improbable’s SpatialOS technology to power MetaWorld, a virtual reality title that puts large numbers of players within the same digital social space.
SpatialOS uses some processing power from any computer connected to a title in order to help generate larger worlds that continue to evolve even when players are offline. For example, the wildlife in MetaWorld continues to explore and go about its business, even when there are no players in the area.
MetaWorld’s social space is said to be 10,000 square miles and feature realistic physics, powered by SpatialOS. The physics enables HelloVR to add physical activities and games to be played, and users will be able to create and customise their own areas in the social space.
“HelloVR has designed MetaWorld from the ground up to take full advantage of room-scale VR and 360 degree freedom of movement,” said Improbable founder and CEO Herman Narula. “That means that, standing inside this massive VR world and looking out at the horizon, there’s something distinctly otherworldly
about knowing that ‘out there’ really does exist.
“Building on SpatialOS means that there are no loading tricks or fake backdrops: if you can see it, you can travel to it – step-by-step if you want to. And if you make a change to any part of the world, that change persists and can be experienced by everyone else who visits. Your actions have lasting consequences; they matter. That’s a key part of making a virtual world feel real.”
An early version, MetaWorld Pioneer Edition, is due by the end of the year. The game is currently in development for Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR.
