Social Deduction Gaming Meets Virtual Reality with the release of, Decommissioned. A joint venture between Meta and the development team at Gravity Jack
SPOKANE, Wash., May 9, 2023 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Meta is continuing their investment in online communities within the Metaverse, more specifically, for their Oculus Quest virtual reality headset. In a strategic partnership with the digital agency at Gravity Jack, the teams are announcing the release of a social deduction virtual reality game named Decommissioned. Decommissioned is a futuristic space-themed VR experience taking place on the now-colonized planet Mars. With the ability to host up to eight players in real-time, participants must work together to identify who in their group is sabotaging their mission on the red planet — all while performing in-game tasks aimed at identifying the culprit. If the group fails, their mission on Mars officially becomes Decommissioned.
Meta approached Gravity Jack to create an experiential reference project for developers worldwide on how to use all features of the Oculus headset, while promoting amazing gameplay. First, it had to be a multiplayer VR game, second, they needed a highly organized code base to be published where Meta developers across the world can learn from it, and lastly, the project must include Meta’s newly released avatar software. The rest was up to Gravity Jack to conceptualize, design, develop, and execute.
The project proposal excited Meta to the point that they embedded team members into Gravity Jack’s development process — a first for Meta. “Right away, Meta understood our vision for the game. Their confidence in our team to take such a large project and run with it really shows in the details throughout the game.” Commented Jennifer Richey, Chief Strategy Officer at Gravity Jack.
Decommissioned features four immersive gaming environments where players must work together and individually on tasks that help save the Mars colony from being shut down. However, one or two players in the group are actively working against the rest by sabotaging the tasks during gameplay. It’s in the game’s main lobby where players interact with each other through teamwork, betrayal, and eventually voting. Before voting, players discuss their experience in working with each other to try and identify who amongst them is sabotaging the game. If incorrect, another round of gameplay ensues. This cycle continues until the saboteur is revealed or the timer runs out.
As a premier developer for Meta, Gravity Jack put their end-to-end gaming capabilities on full display for Decommissioned. The game’s development put the Oculus’ interactive hand-tracking functionality front and center. Throughout the experience, the players will pick up, move, and even blast (they are on Mars after all) a variety of objects. Additionally, the team produced a custom soundtrack that ranges from a theme track to detailed in-game sound effects. In terms of 3D artwork and animation, Gravity Jack didn’t hold back. Decommissioned strikes a perfect balance of highly realistic VR environments paired with Meta’s avatars.
“This was a cornerstone project for both teams,” said Ryan Palmerton, Gravity Jack’s Project Manager. He went on to add, “the fact that this project’s code and development will be the standard for Meta developers worldwide is a big deal.”
Gravity Jack is an American full-service digital agency with a pursuit to create a world where technology and the human experience intersect seamlessly. Founded in 2009 on the basis of augmented and virtual reality, Gravity Jack is the first and oldest American-based agency to offer AR development as a service. Having dedicated time and resources to research and development from the very beginning, Gravity Jack has been issued several patents surrounding AR technology. In addition to AR, Gravity Jack’s VR, WebAR, 3D artwork, and mobile app executions have been a source of innovation for independent agencies, Fortune 500 Companies, and the Department of Defense. To learn more about Gravity Jack and the wide range of digital services offered, visit them at www.gravityjack.com.
Pull Quote
“Right away, Meta understood our vision for the game. Their confidence in our team to take such a large project and run with it really shows in the details throughout the game.”
Media Contact
Mark Buche, Gravity Jack, 1 5098639228, marketing@gravityjack.com, https://gravityjack.com/
SOURCE Gravity Jack