Waltz of the Wizard (2016) is a exceptionally well-built VR experience from Iceland-based studio Aldin Dynamics. As one of the pioneering demos to heavily feature object interaction back at the birth of consumer VR, it always felt like the curiously magical prologue to something much larger. And although Aldin hasn’t promised as much today, the studio is continuing on with development of Waltz of the Wizard in a new ‘Extended Edition’, heading to PC VR headsets next week.
Set to launch on July 10th, Waltz of the Wizard: Extended Edition will be a paid experience that Aldin says will help them continue to maintain Waltz of the Wizard as a “fun showcase of the potential of virtual reality.”
Essentially, the Extended Edition is a remaster of the original which adds new spells, interactions and secrets. Performance optimizations and new options are also in tow to “help keep the experience an excellent showcase introduction to VR,” the studio says.
Aldin says on the experience’s Steam page (linked above) that they’ve included things like a roomscale-only locomotion option and also ‘reach-assist’ to make the experience more accessible for showcasing VR. The new experience also features Valve Index controller support too.
The studio says they can’t commit more resources to the free version while in the midst of their next (still unrevealed) project, however they’re using the Extended Edition as a way for them to continue providing support and updates to Waltz of the Wizard, while helping fuel development of new products.
The free 2016-era version will remain free for the foreseeable future, the studio says, although content updates will focus on the Extended Edition moving forward.
Aldin has set the Extended Edition’s price at $10 (with a 40% launch discount). Although a bulk of the experience can invariably still be experienced for free, this is actually the first way VR users will be able to support the studio and their future projects; you might well look it as a way to help fund one of the smaller studios that has not only gathered the hard-won knowledge on how to make magical and immersive VR experiences, but a studio that helped pioneer VR as we know it today.
Update (9:00 AM ET): Aldin reached out to us to clarify that Waltz of the Wizard: Extended Edition is actually set be priced at $9.99, with an added 40% launch discount. We’ve corrected this in the body of the article.
