Global Game Jam 2017 was the biggest yet, with 36,000+ participants across 700 sites in 94 countries. We also hit a new record at out local site Gamecraft, with over 200 jammers.

Locally there were only 4 VR projects, but they all had large teams and plenty of hardware. This is a big change from last year, when there was a single Vive (Pre release), and a handfull of Oculus DK2 dev kits paired with (frustrating) Hydra controllers. With 4 projects, we’ll have extra time to cover the unique hardware and techniques used in each, and plenty of space to demonstrate.

The Games:

• Earth Beats VR has 4 players pilot space ships using conventional controllers. They fight a 5th player in a Vive who assumes the form of a giant monster with extremely stretchy arms. Learn the joys and pains of multiple Unity viewports in a VR project.

• Fish Team VR pushed the limits of Lighthouse tracking and number of wireless tracked players. Inspired by the verbal fun of Space Team, a single scuba diver in a Vive tries to keep a large number of fish (players with a controller and no headset) safe from roving sharks and rampaging packs of swordfish. We also ended up with a 21 foot by 25 foot tracked area, and some new ideas for sharing Lighthouses during development.

• Space Canoe VR features a Wii Fit board to allow steering by leaning. Learn about integrating Wii Fit, and all the unique and creative ways we’ve seen people row with Vive controllers when a physical paddle isn’t present.

• Spare Parts 2: Revenge of the Spuds is a VR tower defense game focused on dismembering walking potatos, and repurposing their weaponized arms. This was a first project using Oculus Touch controllers, and we’ll briefly cover their basics since it’s also the first Touch talk for the group.