Since I was young, I had been dreaming of stepping into another world and experiencing a new reality through virtual reality (VR) gaming. The wait for consumer-grade VR headsets and equipment was long, but it has finally arrived. I purchased an Oculus Rift setup during their summer sale and was amazed by the experience. It was possible to immerse oneself in the world of the games we are playing, and I wanted to explore this idea further.
I started with a wild idea: what if you were inside Donkey Kong? Using Unity, I created a project and used a free library called VRTK to build the VR experience. I also used VR drawing tools like Blocks to draw Donkey Kong and the sprites. For audio, I used the original game sound effects to give off nostalgic vibes.
I experimented with various movement options and finally settled on the push the stick forward to move mechanic. The barrels in the game could be dodged by stepping to the side, and the ladders had to be physically climbed like a real ladder. The hammer had to be swung to destroy a barrel or fire sprite.
Donkey Kong VR was challenging and physically demanding, so I began thinking about other classic games that could be reimagined in VR. This led to the creation of a complete 80s arcade experience in VR, complete with a hub world that acted as an arcade. The arcade had playable games such as pool, darts, and whack-a-mole, and the user could find quarters at the quarter change machine to play the arcade machines.
Games created included Donkey Kong, Pacman, Space Invaders, Duck Hunt, and Centipede. Each game had varying degrees of difficulty and VR intensity, with Pacman being particularly amusing and scary at the same time.
VR has delivered on some of its promises for immersive and interactive game experiences, and there is much more to come. I am excited to work more with Unity and VR and help shape the future of this sector. For more in-depth information on the making of each game and code, look for my other posts.
