Computex 2016 is under way and HTC are out on the show floor in full force with a collection of titles showing off their Vive VR system. One of the titles developed by the company, playable for the first time, is a new title developed closely with HTC, a WWII gallery shooter called Front Defense. Here it is in action.
One of the biggest dates in the consumer electronics and computing calendar, Computex is under way in Taipei, Taiwan this week and we’re already seeing some interesting news filter from the show. In terms of VR though, we’ve been looking forward to learning more about HTC’s development efforts in the space, specifically for their Vive VR headset.
HTC publicly announced in April a $100 million fund that will be used to make investments in promising VR companies that join the accelerator. This is one of the largest VR-dedicated investment funds to date. It’s 10 times the amount Oculus had set aside to support indie VR developers last year; where that pot was doled out in a way more traditional to the game industry, the Vive X accelerator takes a more startup-focused approach.
On the show floor at Computex was the first title built seemingly under HTC’s publishing and development banner called Front Defense. The game appears to be a WII gallery shooter which pits you, armed with various automatic weapons, against wave after wave of enemies. Your standard munitions are complimented by the odd hand grenade, which looks awfully satisfying to arm and lob at your foes. Seems the enemy ante ups the longer you stay alive, culminating in you fending off a tank with a heavy duty machine gun (see embedded video above).
It’s unclear as yet whether the demo shown at Computex is representative of the entire game or if there is more to it. Given the short gestation time for the title’s development, it seems likely this is probably what you can expect from the release version, although no details on when we can expect it are available just yet.
HTC have a handful of other titles on show at Computex, one of which is a VR fitness title called Holodia. The game seems to offer multiple virtual activities, the activity available to try at the show was a virtual rowing game, with attendees climbing aboard the requisite equipment and sweating it out in the Vive. We can only imagine how many face cushions HTC got through in that first day alone.
Holodia announced an “official partnership” with HTC back in April, although it’s not clear if this means an exclusive for the platform or indeed if the company are benefiting from the Vive X development funding programme.
