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Description

Pistol Whip is a game developed and published by Cloudhead Games. It was released on PC using the Steam storefront on November 2019. It is also available to play on PlayStation VR. This game is inspired from John Wick, but it has similarities to the game Beat Saber. The player is thrown into a hand crafted action scene, but with breakneck soundtrack. Even though the music aspect may be similar to Beat Saber, the player has complete freedom on the controls and can shoot, dodge, and melee enemies however they want. But the satisfaction comes from aligning the beat of the music to the action, making the gameplay thrilling and exciting. The game has multiple modes, leaderboard, songs and maps to make the gameplay thrilling and the the content of the game massive. Players are able to challenge themselves to get a better score or match the gameplay with the soundtrack. The game is available on Steam, PlayStation VR, Oculus Quest, and Viveport.

The game visuals and style will remind players of another popular VR game Superhot . The game is not aiming for realistic visual and immersiveness but is focused more on the soundtrack and the action. The cartoony visuals and style makes the game more fun and works well with the feel of the game. It is both satisfying to watch and play the game, and aiming to match the soundtrack and the action makes the gameplay fun and exciting.

Use of VR Technology

Use of VR Headset and Controllers

Aa any other regular VR games in the market, the game makes use of the VR headset and two controllers. The game Pistol Whip requires players to dodge bullets by crouching, moving the head left or right depending on where the bullet is coming from. So the game makes full use of the gyroscopes, accelerometers in the VR headset, it also makes good use of the optical tracking of the modern VR technology. As the game requires a lot of information of the current orientation and the position of the player, the optical tracking technology used in the modern VR headset helps a lot for the system to keep track of the player with the least latency.

The player also makes use the controllers as the gun. The game also has a mode where the player can equip two guns at the same time while playing, making use of the two controllers while in gameplay. While if the player chose the option to only use one gun then one of the controllers is rendered useless during gameplay. The controllers is also used to navigate throughout the whole game. The player will always have the gun in their hand which can used to select options and navigate throughout the game by shooting the options

Credits to Virtual Reality OasisSource: YouTube Video

Unlike non VR games where the player is presented with options and settings in a linear fashion usually with a fixed camera, VR games have many other creative options they can choose for their menu. This is the case for Pistol Whip, when the game starts the player is presented to a virtual room with a gun in their hand which can be controlled using the controller. In the first room they can choose either Training or Start Game. The player chooses an option by shooting at the billboard which has that option using the gun in their hand. This method of selecting option will be used throughout the game, unlike using regular cursor which is controlled by the controller, the player selects options by shooting at them using the gun.

In the main menu, the player is in a room, the room is layered out with options. For example, there will be a briefcase in front of the user which can be opened to customize or select their guns. There will be also be options for settings, selecting the scene of the game, setting difficulty, selecting music, viewing leaderboards etc. This variation for doing the menu makes full use the VR technology, as the player is presented with a virtual play room, making use of the 360 viewing angles of the VR headset. Also making creative choices in the use of controllers to navigate throughout the menu options.

Gameplay

The goal of the game is for the user to get a high score and improve them if they want to get a higher ranking in the leaderboard. During the game the player can gain score by killing enemies, either by shooting them or melee them. Headshots gives player a higher score, while body shots give a low score. The gun will have limited ammo in the magazine, if the player wants to reload them they have to aim their gun to their hip by working their hands downwards. This action will reload the magazine. The game play makes good use of motion controls to give players a semi-realistic gun reload while in fast action gameplay.

The player will also have a health bar presented in the shape of a heart in the left side of their view without disrupting their gameplay. They have to shoot heart shaped icons presented throughout the game to repair their armor/health. The game also requires the player to dodge incoming bullet from enemies as well as avoid obstacles. The player can do that by moving sideways, or crouching down. The optical tracking and the sensors will track the player and integrate that into the gameplay.

Players can change up their gameplay by using modifiers, which are basically different modes the players can use while playing to change up the gameplay e.g. dual wield, no ammo, infinite ammo etc. This also varies the use of VR equipment. For example if the user goes for no ammo mode, the player will be only using the controllers to do melee attacks and the shooting capability of the controllers will become useless. Whereas if it is dual wield the player will be using both the controllers in their hand to play the game.

User Interface

To make full of the VR headset's field of view and to allow players with minimal distractions, the User Interface of the gameplay is littered with minimal information presented in a subtle, non distracting but also in creative ways. To inform the players of the bullet remaining in the gun, the ammo count is present just behind the gun and when it reaches low amount players will know to knock their guns by moving their hands downwards to reload.

The players will also need to know their health level as well as their shield amount, so they are presented to the player by using a heart icon just to the left of their field of view. To know the combo the player achieved while in game, the number will be present in the right hand side of their view. To also inform the player of the score they gained from each kill, when a bullet hits an enemy a umber will pop up showing their score, headshots have high scores and other scores are determined by where the player hits the enemy.

This way of presenting the information makes the game non distracting while the player can focus on their game. It makes full use of the VR field of view to present the information without disrupting their field of view on their gameplay.

Intended Users

This application is made mainly for the purpose of entertainment. It is intended to be used by gamers to play the game and enjoy the fast action shooting and music gameplay. It has its similarities to other popular VR games such as Beat Saber and Superhot. The game will bring in audience who has interest in playing games of the same genre. While the game itself is not entirely creative, it uses aspects from popular games mentioned above to bring in players as well as provide more content for them who are interested in playing games of the same genre in the VR platform while adding tweaks and gimmicks to not bore the players.

Platforms

The game is available to play on PC and PlayStation. While PlayStation is the only modern console currently that supports VR games using PlayStation VR headset, players can also enjoy this came in PC. While it is compatible with any modern latest VR headsets, the developer recommends Steam Index, Oculus Quest or Rift, HTC Vive etc. The game is available for PC in the following storefronts: Steam, Oculus Quest, Viveport.

Issues

Positive

While the idea for the game is not entirely innovative as there are games in the VR market which is similar to this game. It does incorporate two genres into one to captivate audiences from both of the genres. It has fast action shooting gameplay which interests audience from action games, also incorporating music aspect with combo system which will bring in players from the popular game Beat Saber.

It makes good use of the current VR technology to create innovating menu, and selecting options. The gameplay screen is also not cluttered with information to disrupt the gameplay of the player. The game also includes simple movements for the player to perform while in game to add more mechanics to the game which makes for a fun, exciting gameplays.

It has a good list of awesome soundtracks which will make the same scene repayable with different soundtrack enabling for fun exciting gameplays each time. This is a good way of reusing same scenes for more content in the game. The music played also affects the movement of the players as players tend to move with the music as the game goes on adding a refreshing feeling each time they play the game.

As there is a lot of movements requires during game by crouching or moving sideways it is a good way of simple workout while also having fun.

Negative

As there is a lot of color changing happening with a lot of colorful elements scattered throughout with bright and flashing lights, it is not appropriate to players who has epilepsy. Also as the player is experiences the game via a VR headset the players need to be really careful.

As the game requires a lot of movements, players need to be careful of their surroundings as they can bump or cause accidents if their player space is not sizeable without any obstacles in the way. Even though the game is recommended to play with minimal wiring VR headsets, players using extensive wiring headsets need to be careful as there is a chance for the players to trip or tangle themselves in wires causing accidents.

As the player is usually stating still which the during the gameplay the model moves forward there is a chance of it causing nausea or motion sickness of the player is not using appropriate headsets with comfortable visual settings so that the players dont feel nauseated.

While in gameplay, the game only makes use of the front 180 degree field of view, and ignores the capability of the VR headsets to look behind them. It leads to a more linear movement and restricting in that aspect.

YouTube Video

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