Virtual Reality experiments: first steps into a Brave New World.

Llamasoft has for some time been working on Virtual Reality as a side project in the spirit of learning, experimentation and discovery, researching how best to create exciting and safe virtual reality experiences.

Our mission objectives are:

• Create fun, immersive experiences that do not cause user discomfort.
• Explore how Llamasoft's gaming style might fit into the virtual world.
• Experiment to find practical and effective VR game control methods.
• Gain practical experience now so as to be ready when consumer VR becomes available.
• Learn and be inspired by all that this new technology affords us.

We remember fooling around with VR systems in the early 90s, when the concept got a lot of hype but eventually was largely forgotten due to its being both expensive and a bit rubbish. Now, technology has advanced to the point where VR has become both practical and cheap, and we're excited to be taking our first steps into this new medium.

To start it off we'd like to offer up our first Virtual Reality Demo , a reimagination of our popular game Minotaur Rescue . This DEMO (actually a full game, but not a hugely complex one) been made using a small in-house developed mini engine still based on DX9, it's been tested on Win7/Win8 machines to a certain extent on a number of graphics cards. This demo is designed to work with Oculus Rift SDK 1. Just download the .zip file and run the installer to put the game on your PC. Please read the README file after setup for more details about the program.

You can even try the game out if you don't have the Oculus Rift! Download and install the game and run it - if no Rift is detected the game will display on your monitor, and you can simulate the motion of your head by using the mouse. Pressing P will toggle between stereoscopic and mono view modes. The game is quite playable without a Rift, but of course you're missing that feeling of immersion.

This is a project done on zero budget, purely as a research effort. There will be more VR output as time will pass by so feel free to browse and come back around this page and if you like what we've made, give us a donation. How much is up to you - buy us a Lion bar, buy us a pint, buy us a curry, or biscuits for the flock, it's all good.

Minotaur Rescue VR 1.01

Download the simple installer file and run it on your PC ( Win7 or Win8 ) , please check the README file for instructions.

The yellow cursor is where you look at .. anywhere you move your head the cursor will follow .. now imagine the spaceship and the cursor are like connected with a rubber band, where you move the cursor there the ship goes. Rescue the minotaurs and destroy all the rest ...

Continue to check this page for more VR projects to come out :)