Virtual reality is one of the most exciting and rapidly growing technology industries in the world. While many companies have been developing VR headsets, apps, and games for a number of years, VR has not yet broken into the mainstream. However, with the release of the PSVR in 2016 and the Oculus Quest in 2019, VR is growing rapidly in the gaming sector.
This gives rise to many talented independent game development companies. On the Hacker Noon Podcast, we talk to Dave Levy and Assaf Ronen from One Hamsa, a VR game development studio based out of Tel Aviv, Israel. They are the developer of the popular Racket NX game on the Oculus Quest.
In our podcast, we talk about the state of the VR industry in 2020 and telling narratives in virtual reality. Dave and Assaf share their own personal development stories, along with advice for VR game devs.
Please watch the podcast below and scroll down for timestamps, if you want to skip ahead.
Timestamps:
- Is developing games in VR a handicap for developers? at 0:04:00
- About One Hamsa's sci-fi racquetball game, Racket NX and porting it to Oculus Quest
at 0:08:15 - One Hamsa reads and responds to game reviews live at 00:16:15
- Why you should be careful about trying to innovate new gameplay mechanics in VR
at 00:18:50 - Ghosts in the Machine and graphic novels in VR at 00:28:00
- Dave and Assaf talk about Half-Life: Alyx at 00:42:00
- What is missing in VR? at 00:44:25
- What gameplay mechanics set VR apart? at 00:45:50
- The importance of building intuitive gameplay mechanics at 00:47:00
- How close are we to full-dive virtual reality? at 00:48:00
- The usage of Haptic accessories at 00:50:25
- What needs to happen in the VR industry in the next 5 years at 00:57:05
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/storytelling-in-virtual-reality-the-state-of-vr-w-one-hamsa/id1436233955
Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3AETgyWt5hBGvTONe8Yt6i
Also be sure to check out One Hamsa's website and subscribe to their newsletter for future updates on their games.
