Subnautica VR

Introduction

Subnautica is an open world survival developed and published by Unknown Worlds Entertainment. In it you play as a survivor in a exotic alien ocean world. The majority of the game is set underwater and as the game progresses players will have to dive into deeper and darker waters. While Subnautica is not a horror game, many players has describe feeling thalassophobia, that is the fear of bodies of water that appear dark, and deep, while playing Subnautica. Which why I have chosen it for my student choice project, as someone who has play many horror games in VR and non-VR, I find it intriguing that Subnautica scared me more than any other game I have played and it is this horror VR element I will be focusing on it.

Why is it a good use of VR or AR?

It seems to me a lot of VR games, while immersive, lack a living game world. Many of the VR games I have played often feel like on rail shooters. Unlike many other VR games, Subnautica offers multiple living biomes to explore which will leave you feeling something between sheer dread and speechless wonder. Each one is designed to have unique fauna and flora which can interact with the player. You will have encounters with everything from docile alien fish to hulking leviathans. Subnautica starts the player off in bright and shallow coral reef but as the player advances they will have to deep into deeper and darker parts of the ocean to progress. In those parts is where the VR horror really shines, there is something instinctively scary about just floating in black watery void, if you’re deep enough or if it is night you may not even which way is up. Wearing the clunky VR headsets actually adds to the immersion since real life drivers often have to wear similar size head gear when deep diving.

Notable for a survival game, Subnautica does not give you a traditional kind of gun to defend yourself with. All you get is knife, which is practically useless when fighting any of the bigger creatures out in the alien ocean. So, players often be forced to flee if sighted. Later in the game as players scavenged more material, they will gain access to some more offensive weapons but nothing in vein of actual gun. The closet the Subnautica will give is something akin to the gravity gun from half-life.

In VR, the full immersion is often complemented by the sounds of the game world. The sound design in the Subnautica is by far one of its best aspects. From sound of the flow of water as you swim to the distant roars of leviathans, you will always be hearing something. This level of sound design was achieved by actually recording the real-life oceans here on earth.

Who are its intended users?

Intended users is gamers. Particularly who enjoy a good survival game with lite horror elements. Subnautica can also be for those who want to experience diving but do not have the time or money to do it.

What are the issues (positive and negative) with it?

Subnautica is not a game for everyone. Those with a real crippling fear of the ocean would probably find the game unplayable. Many players report experiencing nausea with Subnautica more than other VR games due to the omnidirectional movement players have in the ocean and it can be disorienting at times especially in the dark waters it is easy to lose track of which way is up. To add to this issue, since the game was not developed natively for VR, some of the HUD elements look distorted

Subnautica has some land sections which can be a drag to play through, particularly in VR. Some players have described the movement in these sections to feel like a “walking through Vaseline”. Which is true, movement on land is very slow, likely a result of the physics engine favoring the player being in the water. Beyond these negatives, Subnautica is a great way for players to experiences the feeling of diving in the ocean without actually having to go through the training of diving in real-life.

YouTube Presentation

Credits

Screenshots taken from:

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https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2135130575

https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2245402807

Gameplay footage in presentation was record by me