'The controls of where you go were based on head motion, so you look where you want to go and then you push the trigger.' 'We had controllers in our hands and two triggers which symbolised closing the hands,' he explains.
With that in mind I thought 'Yes, that's something I could easily prototype.'' Research and development ensued. 'Usually I look at the wall and see where the next hold is. 'I thought OK, what happens when I climb?' Matthias says in a behind-the-scenes video by Oculus. Matthias Otto, Senior Developer at Crytek and his fellow developers climb twice a week. Their research involved collaboration with 'proper' climbers. The team behind the game included some climbers, who recognised the potential to render the climbing experience into VR. This content is blocked because you have disabled Social Media cookies
By July 2017, it was named as Oculus' best-selling title to date, grossing over $1 Million. 'Players will scale new heights and explore stunning environments in a new gaming experience developed exclusively for VR.' In 2016, the game was showcased at the Adidas Rockstars competition. ' The Climb brings alive the excitement and thrill of rock climbing in incredible virtual reality,' the game's marketing spiel reads.
In each section, there are five levels: Easy, Medium, Hard and two Boulder challenges, plus a practice wall. Footwork doesn't come into it, confusingly (or conveniently, perhaps). Quickdraws named 'Savepoints' dangle just out of reach, which are curiously clipped-into using a lanyard as a redpoint-like progress-marking system, despite the player apparently soloing. The game immerses players in three different environments - Bay, Canyon, and Alps - where the objective is simple: climb the features in the landscape by 'grabbing' the handholds while moving your arms (oddly depicted as floating, 'severed' gloved hands during gameplay) and pressing the controllers in each hand to grasp a hold.
Released in 2016, The Climb is a wireless Virtual Reality game developed for Microsoft Windows by Crytek in partnership with VR developer Oculus, playable on the company's Rift and Quest VR headset devices. 'With no means (or will) to try rock climbing directly,' Henry continued, 'I took a different approach, I bought Crytek's The Climb.' 'I think it was a reaction to being so unable to travel anywhere that my brain needed a hit of the most extreme kind of travel.' 'I had a definite moment deep in lockdown blues when I became weirdly obsessed with mountain climbing videos, like Everest, K2, that sort of thing,' another added, explaining that he had fallen into a 'YouTube hole' of adventure videos. 'After lockdown I want to face my fear of heights and get into rock climbing myself,' one reader enthused. Despite being an incredibly dangerous approach, it translates well into a video game.Gaming fans echoed Henry's sentiment in the comments. Making their climb without protective equipment like ropes or harnesses, you can immediately see why.
For the unaware, free soloing is a niche of its own in climbing circles, practised by very few athletes.
Back in 2016, modern VR was finding its feet and VR games felt more like tech demos, not full experiences - a situation which has long since improved.įor game design, strength lies in simplicity and The Climb executes its concept well, utilising an extreme form of free solo climbing to advance. Granted, a Quest port of a four-year-old Oculus Rift game is an odd choice, considering it didn't even launch with motion controls initially, but it set a high bar early for what VR could offer. Having gotten an Oculus Quest 2 last month, games were needed for my fancy new tech. With no means (or will) to try rock climbing directly, I took a different approach. Actually, that might explain this new fascination with climbing athletes, who wouldn't even blink at the sudden chill. When that cold wind hits, consider me gone. You'd have never caught me doing it heights are not my friend and that's especially true outdoors. 2020 was a strange year for us all but, speaking personally, I didn't have "start to appreciate rock climbing" on my bingo card.