On reflection, tailored horror experiences in VR can deliver something few other genres manage – pacing. Gallardo tells me, "We try to always give you something to explore and nothing is ever the same". Playing Switchback VR, I encounter many moments that another player may not discover, simply by where I look and if I blink This can include simple changes in paths – shooting a signal takes my cart down left or right tracks, into speedy rollercoaster sections where I need to physically duck to dodge hazards or even into puzzle rooms that can only be solved exploring the environment with the beam from a UV light. This idea of immersion is not new in VR but Switchback VR and the use of eye-tracking, along with Supermassive's implementation, points to a future where horror gaming and VR are really an ideal match, one made in hell, if you will. This is where PSVR 2 can really make a difference in new approaches to game design, by tailoring a game's experience to how a person behaves and delivering a new level of immersion. "We do a lot of that stuff to make you feel it is your journey," explains Gallardo. Of course there's the Dr Who Weeping Angel's shock of the mannequin scene but eye-tracking is everywhere in this game, including an encounter where enemies come to life if you look at them, or stand rigid if you stare back into their dead eyes – this creates a tense and even tactical moment late in my playthrough where I have juggle enemies by staring them down in an attempt to manage a dose of maniacal surgeons. Switchback VR uses eye-tracking in more subtle ways than you'd think, too. Starring at enemies in Switchback VR for PSVR 2 will stall them (Image credit: Supermassive Games) Switchback VR has one message, try not to blink " haven't seen this before," he says excitedly. Gallardo says they questioned if this would even work, "that fear you have when you start to embrace something new," and remembers how, "our minds kind of exploded every month," as the idea was pushed further. The team created a room filled with bodies hanging on walls and every time a player blinked more bodies were spawned. These enemies will multiply and attack if I blink but, just as startling is how the environment will change too, with the lighting shifting tone and the whole atmosphere changing depending on how I react.ĭuring the prototype stage for the use of eye-tracking. The moment occurs when my rollercoaster cart slowly crawls through a corridor of mirrors past mechanical mannequins dripping in rotting flesh, looking at their own reflections in large dusty mirrors. Gallardo details how a scene I played through earlier (I'm playing a pre-release build of the game at developer Supermassive Games' UK studio) could have been so much worse. He explains how "we can the movement of enemies in the corner of your eye not only the enemies, but the environment too". The eye-tracking technology in PSVR 2 is so advanced Alejandro Arque Gallardo says the game will even monitor and react to things in your peripheral vision. Behind this door is a room of demonic mannequins, but how many depends on your blinking (Image credit: Supermassive Games)
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