Drums Rock, the arcade game that plays drums while beating demons to the beat of rock music, delivers the most complete version (and craziest news) when it comes out with the launch of PS VR2! From the team here at Garage51 Entertainment, we’re excited to highlight what we’ve done with this technology, which you can try at home on February 22. Get excited!
We have been and are growing stone drum in a few months when we get the PS VR2 developer kit. At the time, we were tweaking the gameplay and fighting with the record labels to get good songs for the game. We started testing the features of the PS VR2 headset and Sense controller.
We’ve tried countless different VR headsets in the past, but with the PS VR2 headset, we’ve found that it’s possible here to do things that no one else has been able to do before. And that’s exactly what we did. We want to take the risk and nail it. We chose to go overboard instead of being afraid to try all these new features, and now I think it’s the best decision possible.
In case anyone hasn’t noticed, we are avid fans of the musical rhythm genre. Drums Rock is a tribute to all that we love about the games that defined that genre. Maybe it’s just us, but haven’t you memorized parts of the songs and even played them without looking? I’m sure some crazy guy has even played an oral guitar like Jimi Hendrix. Well, now, in Drums Rock, play without looking at double scores!
eye tracking
After getting our hands on the PS VR2 dev kit’s headset, eye tracking was the feature that surprised us the most, so much so that we built a gameplay mechanic around it and tweak settings so it’s really fun. Let me explain:
Below the marker line there are two switches, one for each eye. These switches activate when we close our eyes or are not looking at the incoming note lane. They have a small cooldown to avoid being triggered when the player blinks or glances to the side to see the musical notes. When the switches are activated, your score will be multiplied by x2. They can also be combined with string modifiers that don’t fail, reaching x8. It’s a risk-reward mechanism that I personally love!
All of this looks good, but I’m sure some of you are asking yourself the following question: If I close my eyes or don’t look at the notes, how do I know that I’m taking double notes? ? It hurts to admit that this question left us wondering after the design ideas were finalized, but the answer came much faster thanks to the game sound. We had to work with our sound design team to create an effect that wouldn’t detract from the songs we love so much. To our relief, a few reverb effects combined with volume controls were enough to deliver clear feedback while maintaining the essence of the music.
haptic feedback
With all the effort we put into eye tracking and a game where you play drums and cymbals with drumsticks, you certainly don’t think we’ve forgotten about haptic feedback, do you? Obviously not.
Imagine how each drum, disc or trap has a different vibration. The Sense controller’s haptic feedback allows us to replicate those differences in gameplay. We give players the option to adjust the intensity of the feedback they receive.
Vibrating headphones
By now you will know that the PS VR2 headset also includes feedback. We can’t miss an opportunity to use it. Imagine being scared when you’re in a concert hall and you feel the subwoofer vibrating across the floor with every bang! Creating that tangible feeling is crucial to this immersive experience.
To implement the headphone’s response to music, we have prepared a special vibration map key for each song. To keep them alluring and avoid you adjusting to this feeling, each one is unique.
We’d love to keep revealing more, such as how the game runs at 120fps and real 4k resolution, or how we’re upgrading each mechanic and song, but I think you should wait. and experience it yourself. Just a few more days until you can rock ‘n’ roll in Drums Rock!
