Behind the techniques the Hubris devs are using to make VR more immersive
Hubris developer Cyborn has plenty of pedigree when it comes to creating virtual worlds. The Antwerp-based studio has cut its teeth on a number of work-for-hire projects spanning movies, mobile apps, and video games, and has recently started building out its own VR franchise, Hubris.
The project is being pitched as a sci-fi action-adventure game with triple-A graphics that uses tools like realtime 3D to deliver a "future-proof" product. According to the studio, Hubris is being created to push the boundaries of the nascent medium, and if all goes to plan will spawn an entire franchise.
After going hands-on with Hubris at Gamescom 2022 -- for those wondering, the 30 minute demo build left this writer impressed -- we had the chance to sit down with Cyborn CEO and producer Ives Agemans to dig into the studio's approach to creating a VR game that can stand the test of time.
Hubiris ditches the teleportation-based locomotion of some VR titles in favor of letting players jump and climb over objects, but fine-tuning and implementing those mechanics to imbue them with a sense of weight and gravity that felt immersive, but not disorienting, took months of work.
Even then, Agemans explains it was impossible to get climbing "exactly right" because the mechanic only requires players to use their arms. Unless the dev team was willing to ship each copy of the title with a makeshift climbing wall, players' feet will remain firmly planted to the ground, and that made things tricky.
"We put a lot of effort into jumping. It took us a long time to get that to a point where it felt realistic enough, but we couldn't achieve the same kind of realism with climbing because you can't use your legs. It's too complex [a movement] to perfectly
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