Odyssey VR: The Deep Space expedition started as a side project in 2016 in Australia where we were building experiences for people who want to know what is is like to be an astronaut and more interestingly how to learn scientific facts about space environments (what are they) in the three-dimensional space experience. That was an interesting topic that me and my friends wanted to explore further. We attended to an exhibition in Stockholm, Sweden and an early version of Odyssey VR was presented there. So we started creating Odyssey VR (and other products) in our development studio in Finland.
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here are a couple of things we wanted to explore: How to build an experience that can be played in VR simultaneously with desktop players or as a single player. https://www.touchdowncreations.com/2018/09/23/odyssey-vr-combines-desktop-and-vr/
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To build a story based, narrative space adventure experience that combines multiplayer possibility.
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To make a memorable VR experience that also explores issues and searches answers to climate change and sustainability.
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To make and publish a game, learn and explore the area of VR and production.
What is the story behind:
The story is about humans who built a temporary outpost in space after the world could no longer support life.
The objective is to find a planet that could support life, but in order to get there the players have to protect the exploration ship (Odyssey) from asteroid storms and failures. At this point the game is limited to protecting the ship and there isn’t yet a new home planet to reach. It is still an early access game and not yet a full version. In addition to actual game play, the single player can explore the main ship and learn more about the background story.
What makes it special:
The game is a single player/multiplayer game where friends (up to 3 players) can join. The game has uniquely some academic research behind it, such as the study of virtual characters. It was developed by a indie team of about 5 people and most of the voice acting, 3D models, programming and story was made by us. Totally inspired by Chris Hatfield’s video about being in a spaceship. Combining VR, Desktop multiplayer, and a story based post-apocalyptic space theme in Odyssey VR has potential and we are proud of it.
Odyssey VR is now on Early Access on Steam and 1.0 will be published this year with a Soundtrack DLC. The game has changed a lot due patching after the trailer was released, so I hope for patience. Here is the image to the playlist for Odyssey VR soundtrack:
