Fantastic Contraption

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Fantastic Contraption
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Information
VR/AR	VR
Developer	Northway Games, Radial Games
Publisher	Northway Games
Platform	SteamVR
Device	HTC Vive
Operating System	Windows
Type	Full Game
Genre	Indie, Simulation, VR
Input Device	Tracked motion controllers
Play Area	Room-Scale
Game Mode	Single Player
Language	English
Review	Mixed
Release Date	Apr 5, 2016
Price	$29.99
App Store	Steam
Website	http://fantasticcontraption.com
Infobox Updated	09/15/2016

Fantastic Contraption is a VR App.

Introduction

The new Fantastic Contraption is a remake of an old browser game in which you must transport a ball towards a goal by building a vehicle to carry or push it there, and it has been designed from the ground up to be a room-scale VR game. The game makes players feel like they are walking around a grassy island floating in the sky making a contraption the size of a horse with their hands then watching it roll out into the world. It's a one of the first virtual reality social experiences and it shows the direction this medium can take in the future.

History

The original version of Fantastic Contraption was a Flash physics game created by Colin Northway in 2008. In 2009, Northway sold his game to inXile Entertainment, an American video game developer formed in late 2002 by Brian Fargo, who later release it for iOS and, in 2010, made a sequel called Fantastic Contraption 2.

inXile entertainment stopped making web-games in 2015 and shortly after shutdown servers for Fantastic Contraption. The original game has been enjoyed by millions of players from all around the world and is currently available on the official website of the new, VR version.

Features

According to Andy Moore, a developer working on the game, the experience when playing Fantastic Contraption is like building a model ship in a real space. Players grab, resize, and position various types of rods and wheels in order to assemble contraptions with the goal of moving them past obstacles into the goal area. The assembly process can happen only in a designated workshop, thus giving importance to careful planning and preparation.

The game uses the two controllers that ship HTC Vive to let players manipulate objects around them and interact with the virtual toolkit. The gameplay takes place inside an area of at least 2m x 1.5m.

Description

Fantastic Contraption is surreal building game for Vive VR. Create life-sized machines as tall as you can reach, then send them whirling, flinging, and trundling off to solve puzzles on the other side of a floating island. Your task is simple: get the squishy purple ball to that goal off in the distance, or above you, or on the other side of that gap. And your tools are elegantly minimalist: spinning wheels and stretchable rods. But the solutions are endless, and there are no right or wrong ones.

We've designed this game from the ground up for room-scale VR. Come immerse yourself in a strange skybound archipelago and befriend Neko the photosynthesizing cat. Build contraptions with your own two hands, life sized and as big as horses, right there in front of you. Play with the physics, juggle pieces, throw darts, and feel another world all around you.

Features

Challenging puzzles. 50 official levels that range from cakewalk to what-the-hell-this-is-impossible-right-tell-me-this-is-impossible. But guess what, it IS possible. I think.

Infinite solutions. Working cars, tanks, catapults, conveyor belts, walking creatures or minimalist structures that use only gravity. Design for elegant simplicity, or build a rattling pile of junk that just barely makes it to the goal. Whatever.

Building with your own hands. Movement so simple and natural you'll forget you're holding controllers. Need a wheel? Just pick it up. Want a longer rod? Just grab an end and stretch. It's like playing with children's blocks, except they're bigger than you are.

Noble ancestry. Fantastic Contraption is the VR evolution of Colin Northway's 2008 2d browser game, played by millions and still playable . But don't be fooled, this new game is WAY different.

Full 3d audio and music. Actually, this game has no music. What it does have is musical instruments. Except you have to build them. Well... you'll figure it out.

Surreal and beautiful landscape. Hey guy, chill here awhile, why don't you just lie down in the grass and just listen to the sky whales singing? You'll totally forget the dystopian present and the 300 sqft windowless cube you now live in. Who needs sunlight? VR.

Neko the toolbox. Yes, your toolbox is alive, and he's kind of a green cat blimp thing powered by pink farts. He doesn't seem to mind when you pull off one of his tails or yank a pin out of his head. They grow back pretty fast, so I guess it's okay...

Online sharing. Venture bravely into the dark world-within-a-world to load contraptions made by your friends and also some random people. Marvel at the crazy crap they came up with. Then narrow your eyes and say: I can beat this. I can do better.

System Requirements

Windows

Minimum

• OS: Windows 7+
• Processor: Intel Core i5 4590 equivalent or greater
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970/AMD Radeon R9 290 equivalent or greater
• Storage: 500 MB available space

Recommended

• OS:
• Processor:
• Memory:
• Graphics:
• Storage:

Setup Instructions

Fantastic Contraption requires a play area of at least 2m x 1.5m.

Images and Videos

• Northernlion Plays - FANTASTIC CONTRAPTION on the HTC Vive! - extended gameplay footage featuring a popular Youtuber, who was invited to check out the game in person.
• Fantastic Contraption Teaser - short teaser video demonstrating the game using the prototype version of HTC Vive.
• Fantastic Contraption mixed-reality stream sample - a mixed reality stream showing the game from the view of the player and observers around him.