We’ve been tracking Playful since E3 2014, when the developer behind virtual reality platformer Lucky’s Tale blew away the pre-conception that VR was reserved only for first person games. Now, the developer is to receive $25M to accelerate the game’s development.
Lucky’s Tale is unashamedly inspired by 3D platformers made famous by on the first rush of 3D capable consoles in the 90’s. When you play Lucky’s Tale, you can see homages to the likes of Mario 64, Conkers Bad Fur Day and Crash Bandicoot, and that is no bad thing.
Lucky’s Tale’s important differentiator is it’s ingenious implementation of VR, by placing the player in an on-rails camera behind the character, but allowing said player to explore the scene by leaning into the ‘scene’ to hunt out hidden paths and secrets.
Playful has now received $25M of investment to accelerate development of its virtual reality titles. Lucky’s Tale is to launch alongside the consumer Oculus Rift in Q1 2016 and represents one of the highlights of the headset’s lineup. The source of the investment has not been disclosed.
“Thanks to breakthrough technologies, our players will literally inhabit our stories, reach out and embrace our characters,” said Playful founder and CEO Paul Bettner. “That’s why we raised this money. Because the most important growth opportunity our industry has ever experienced is starting now.”