Damaged Core
This page is a stub, please expand it if you have more information.| Damaged Core | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Information | |
| VR/AR | Virtual Reality |
| Developer | High Voltage |
| Producer | Oculus Studios |
| Platform | Oculus Rift (Platform) |
| Device | Oculus Rift CV1 |
| Type | Full Game |
| Genre | First-person Shooter |
| Release Date | Spring of 2016 |
| Price | $39.99 |
| Website | Damaged Core at VRscout |
| Infobox Updated | 8/13/2016 |
Preview
First Person Shooters seem like an ideal fit for Virtual Reality, but when one really thinks about some of the challenges involved, especially with Sitting VR, things become a lot more complicated. Does Damaged Core manage to overcome the inherent issues of FPS in VR?
Damaged Core is one of the newest titles in High Voltage’s[1] Conduit series. The series originally found its home on the Wii and mobile devices, so High Voltage certainly has experience with building First Person Shooters with unusual control methods. With Damaged Core, they are trying their hand at a VR FPS.
Damaged Core is an Oculus Rift exclusive and is presented with several design challenges. How do you make a fast paced shooter in VR without causing nausea and disorientation? Could you imagine playing the new Doom (or even the old one!) in VR? It wouldn’t work – the amount of movement and on the dime turns you make would be very uncomfortable for a first person view.
Therefore, in Damaged Core, you do not walk or run, rather, you teleport between a variety of stationary enemies, each with their own unique sets of abilities. While this might sound static and simplistic, the movement turns out to work quite well. Instead of fumbling with aiming, the enemies are stationary – but the decision making shifts to when you abandon bodies. Some of the more exciting moments come from fleeing to a new body moments before the destruction of your previous one. Therefore, you juggle between bodies as enemies spawn all around you, having to keep in mind what abilities each enemy has, who the most effective next target is, and how much damage you can do before having to eject. You might not be rocket jumping building up speed ala Quake Live, but there is still a lot to keep in mind here. However, Damaged Core is not finished yet. High Voltage has stated that a number of other mechanics will be introduced, such as a missile lobbing enemy that you can hijack and aim its ordnance by tilting your head, whether such additions are merely gimmicks or turn out to be interesting core gameplay features remains to be seen.
All that said, what is truly exciting is that there is no ‘blueprint’ for High Voltage to follow. They are not revisiting old, tired formulas that are “safe” and “guaranteed” to succeed. This is uncharted territory, and while there are plenty of good arguments to be made for iteration, we should always encourage innovation as well.
Could these innovations fall flat on their face? They could, but the old rules of FPS simply do not apply and if we want the genre to properly transition into the VR medium, risks will have to be taken and experiments will have to be made. As it stands, Damaged Core is an intriguing experiment, and may very well be one of the paths the FPS genre takes in VR.
High Voltage has slated Damaged Core for a Spring 2016 release as an Oculus Shop exclusive, it will set you back $39.99.