Gary the Gull
More actions
| Gary the Gull | |
|---|---|
| |
| Information | |
| VR/AR | VR |
| Developer | Motional Entertainment, Limitless Ltd |
| Publisher | Limitless Ltd |
| Director | Mark Walsh |
| Platform | SteamVR, Oculus Rift (Platform), PlayStation VR |
| Device | HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR |
| Operating System | Windows |
| Type | Experience |
| Genre | Adventure |
| Input Device | Voice, head gestures, Tracked Motion Controllers |
| Game Mode | Single Player |
| Language | English |
| Rating | Everyone (ESRB, US Steam, 2026-10-13)[1] |
| Review | Mixed (US Steam, 2026-10-13)[1] |
| Release Date | November 22, 2016 (Steam) |
| Price | Free (US Steam, 2026-10-13)[1] |
| App Store | Steam |
| Website | https://store.steampowered.com/app/456920/ |
| Infobox Updated | 2026-10-13 |
Gary the Gull is an interactive animated virtual reality short film developed by Motional Entertainment and Limitless Ltd and directed by Mark Walsh.[1] It places the viewer on a beach with a talking gull, whose attempts to distract the viewer from a picnic provide the setting for voice and gesture interaction.[2]
Features
The interaction centers on responding to Gary rather than watching a fixed sequence. In the creator's March 2016 description, the viewer could speak, nod, shake their head or ignore the bird. Moving close caused Gary to back away, and he tried to distract the viewer by directing their attention elsewhere.[2] The SIGGRAPH advance program likewise identified voice, gestures and the viewer's distance from the character as inputs.[3] Sony described voice recognition and head gestures as ways to answer Gary's questions and influence the story's path.[4]
The Steam PC listing describes single-player use and tracked-controller interactions: drawing in sand, lifting a drink and throwing flip-flops.[1]
Scott Hayden's March 2016 hands-on account described an approximately five-minute GDC demonstration with six points at which actions or speech could change Gary's dialogue or behavior. Those figures describe the demonstration he tried, rather than a fixed duration or complete interaction count for every released version.[5]
Development and interaction design
The production divided creative and technical work between the two studios. In an interview with Limitless founder Tom Sanocki, GeekWire reported that Motional supplied the script, acting and animation, while Limitless supplied the character technology. Gary's responses followed a prepared script selected according to the viewer's actions or speech.[6] The creators called their authoring technology the Limitless VR Creative Environment.[2]
Mark Wilson's production interview described Limitless as a layer above a game engine that used headset movement and sound as inputs. Walsh described designing Gary's dialogue around distraction and the viewer's attention: when a viewer declined to look where Gary indicated, the character could continue speaking instead of requiring that action before the story proceeded. This was a design account from the creators, not a measured evaluation of recognition accuracy or audience response.[7]
SIGGRAPH's advance program listed Gary the Gull for the July 26, 2016 Real-Time Live! session, crediting Sanocki at Limitless and Walsh at Motional.[3] GDC Vault lists Sanocki's VRDC Fall 2016 session, Building Interactive VR Characters in 'Gary the Gull'. Its published overview describes character communication and the creative process, including interactive scripts, storyboards and previsualization.[8]
Release history
The March 15, 2016 PlayStation announcement described a GDC showcase on PlayStation VR and a planned later home release.[2] Epic Games' subsequent GDC recap listed Gary the Gull among the Unreal teams in the event's VR Lounge.[9] The announcement and demonstration preceded the consumer releases.
| Date | Documented release record |
|---|---|
| November 18, 2016 | Sony's weekly release announcement included a digital PlayStation VR version for the week of November 22.[4] |
| November 22, 2016 | The Steam listing gives this release date.[1] Sony's PlayStation Store update on the same day included Gary the Gull in its PS4 games list, priced at $0.01.[10] |
| November 27, 2016 | UploadVR reported that the short was available for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR and described the releases as free. This establishes reported availability by that date, rather than a separate exact Oculus release date.[11] |
The one-cent Sony entry and UploadVR's free-release description are separate contemporary records; they do not establish a uniform price across storefronts or territories. On October 13, 2026, the US Steam listing displayed Free and a Mixed user-review label.[1] The historical console and Oculus records do not establish present-day storefront availability.
System Requirements
Windows
Steam's listed legacy PC requirements:[1]
| Component | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| OS | 7 | 10 |
| Processor | Intel i5-4590 | Intel i7-4790k |
| Memory | 8 GB RAM | 8 GB RAM |
| Graphics | GTX 970 or AMD 290 | GTX 980 or AMD 390 |
| Storage | 2 GB available space | 2 GB available space |
| Network | Connection required | Broadband; wired connection recommended |
| VR runtime | SteamVR or Oculus PC | Not separately specified |
Setup Instructions
These are legacy application requirements, rather than a test of a current headset and runtime combination. Valve ended Steam client support for Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 on January 1, 2024. Its support notice states that existing clients on those operating systems no longer receive updates and that continued operation is not guaranteed.[12] A remaining Windows 7 specification on the application's store page therefore does not establish current Steam client support for that system.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 "Gary the Gull". Steam. https://store.steampowered.com/app/456920/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Tom Sanocki (2016-03-15). "Introducing Gary the Gull on PlayStation VR". PlayStation.Blog. https://blog.playstation.com/2016/03/15/introducing-gary-the-gull-on-playstation-vr/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "SIGGRAPH 2016 Advance Program". ACM SIGGRAPH. 2016. p. 30. https://history.siggraph.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2016-Advance-Program.pdf. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Ryan Clements (2016-11-18). "The Drop: New PlayStation Games for 11/22/2016". PlayStation.Blog. https://blog.playstation.com/2016/11/18/the-drop-new-playstation-games-for-11222016/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Scott Hayden (2016-03-17). "'Gary the Gull' Takes First Steps into Character-driven Interactivity in VR". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/gary-gull-takes-first-steps-character-driven-interactivity-vr/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Madeline Vuong (2016-03-10). "Pixar and Bungie alum unveils Limitless, a virtual reality character creation platform". GeekWire. https://www.geekwire.com/2016/limitless-a-platform-to-create-interactive-characters-to-debut-at-gdc/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Mark Wilson (2016-03-08). "How Two Pixar Alumns Are Making VR Characters That Feel Realer Than Real". Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/3057563/how-two-pixar-alums-are-making-vr-characters-that-feel-realer-than-real. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Tom Sanocki (2016). "Building Interactive VR Characters in 'Gary the Gull'". GDC Vault. https://gdcvault.com/play/1023925/Building-Interactive-VR-Characters-in. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Dana Cowley (2016-03-21). "GDC 2016: A Glimpse at the Real-Time Future". Unreal Engine. https://www.unrealengine.com/events/gdc-2016-a-glimpse-at-the-real-time-future. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Grace Chen (2016-11-22). "PlayStation Store Update". PlayStation.Blog. https://blog.playstation.com/2016/11/22/playstation-store-update-469/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ Joe Durbin (2016-11-27). "VR Animated Film 'Gary The Gull' Available For Free On Rift, Vive And PS VR". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/vr-animated-film-gary-gull-now-available-free-rift-vive-ps-vr/. Retrieved 2026-10-13.
- ↑ "Windows 7 and Windows 8 Support". Steam Support. https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/4784-4F2B-1321-800A. Retrieved 2026-10-13.