Today Zero Transform, Justin Moravetz’s new VR-dedicated indie studio, have launched a Kickstarter for one of the coolest games I’ve yet seen in VR, Vanguard Valkyrie. A demo for the Oculus Rift DK1 and DK2 is available today for all backer levels, including the $1 tier!
Justin Moravetz is the mind behind the highly acclaimed Proton Pulse demo for the Oculus Rift. After leading Proton Pulse through a successful Kickstarter in 2013, the project was mysteriously (and unfortunately) cancelled, with Moravetz providing a full refund to his supporters (including paying the Kickstarter fees out-of-pocket).
Now, Moravetz is back with an even more ambitious project. He’s gone all-in on virtual reality; after quitting his day job, Moravetz formed a VR-dedicated studio called Zero Transform. The studio’s first game is Vanguard Valkyrie, an action-packed arcade experience for the Oculus Rift VR headset.
We revealed Vanguard Valkyrie to the world earlier this week. After having spend time with the game and watching its development progress, I can tell you that this is one of the most promising titles I’ve seen for the Oculus Rift yet. Moravetz demonstrates impressive skill in crafting gorgeous action-arcade experiences for virtual reality.
Today the Vanguard Valkyrie Kickstarter launches and all backer levels (even the $1 tier) get access to a demo of the game which supports the Oculus Rift DK1 and DK2 VR headsets. Zero Transform is seeking $198,000 to fund creation of the game for the Oculus Rift. Zero Transform says that the demo will optionally submit your score to an online leaderboard, and you’ll unlock special rewards based on your score.
The full game starts at $16 for early-bird backers and jumps to $20 after 1000 early-bird slots have been taken. Higher reward tiers include various metallic Vanguard Valkyrie collectors cards signed by the Zero Transform team. On the high-end is a $1024 tier which includes a VR headset stand modeled after the main character’s head (among other rewards). Zero Transform aims to have the game complete by the time the Oculus Rift CV1 launches.
Vanguard Valkyrie is an action-arcade title which promises to bring you from Earth orbit all the way down to the planets core.
“Fly in low orbit while re-entering the atmosphere, skim the waters of the ocean, dive into the tunnel from the initial impact and make your way to the center of the planet to exterminate the source of the parasite infestation. Lock on with your VR targeting system and blast through the alien threat!” reads the Kickstarter page.
The level of detail and polish already present in the demo—full voice acting, an audacious original score, and beautiful effects—speaks volumes about the ability of Zero Transform to deliver a worthy game to its backers. After trying the Vanguard Valkyrie demo earlier this week, my mind was quickly made up that this was ‘instant-back’ material:
As I’m ducking and dodging, firing, and getting fired at—all accompanied by head bobbing beats—I’m quite taken aback at the hectic and exciting stage in front of me. Moravetz has lavished Vanguard Valkyrie with an impressive number of effects, from eye-popping particle explosions to crashing debris fields. It speaks heavily to the bar that Zero Transform has set for itself when its willing to put this much elbow grease into a pre-release version of the game. I’m tremendously excited to see what other environments the game will throw at players, and especially to experience it all on the Oculus Rift DK2.
The main character, Qu (voiced by Callyn Dorva), ascends from space chasing an alien parasite. She is joined by her AI companion, BiT (voiced by Joey Groeneweg), who flys behind her to provide a camera for her third-person maneuvering, along with the occasional piece of advice (or quip). The entire game is controlled with head tracking, which makes it incredibly accessible for experienced and new VR users alike. Moravetz has put some serious thought into making an intuitive VR user interface and the results are impressive. Like Proton Pulse, the game seems to lack any sort of sim sickness.
Along with visual design, Zero Transform is putting music front and center in Vanguard Valkyrie:
We are so into the soundtrack that while the music is inspired and directed by the high level design of the game, the design of the levels themselves is inspired and directed by the music! Every level in Vanguard Valkyrie is a set duration and every action moves to the music.
Musicians working on the soundtrack include Jake “Virt” Kaufman, Dan “Danimal Cannon” Behrens, and Meganeko. The title’s main theme is an impressive original orchestral and vocal arrangement:
We definitely recommend you check out the Vanguard Valkyrie Kickstarter and give the demo a try!
