Rhythm violence game Thumper will launch alongside Sony PlayStation VR on Oct. 13.
The demand for VR headsets is expected to increase in the coming years. Sony's PlayStation VR is one of the most anticipated VR headmounts of this year. Sony has confirmed that about 50 VR games will be available at the launch of the headset, and Thumper is included.
The rhythm violence game has been developed by Drool and demonstrated at the Experimental Game Workshop during the 2015 Game Developers Conference. Gamers were shown how to play the game, that is, pressing buttons in sync with the beat, while a beetle races on a track.
On June 29, Marc Flury, a designer and programmer of Thumper, wrote in a PlayStation blog that the game will have nine playable levels in 2D and also in VR. Flury suggests that many enhancements have been made to the game to create a great VR experience and take advantage of the PlayStation VR. The movement speed, visual effects and more aspects of the game have been fine-tuned for VR.
"It's hard to describe if you've never been a space beetle on a screaming hell ride before. But no matter which way you play, we think you'll feel the violence!" says Flury.
The game developer says audio is a vital part of Thumper. Brian Gibson, a musician, has taken a different approach while composing the music for the rhythm violence game. Flury says most rhythm games normally have the music pre-composed, and developers fit the gameplay around the music.
However, for Thumper, Gibson used the "gameplay first" method, which means that the gameplay was designed first and then music was composed accordingly.
At launch, Thumper will be available for $19.99 from the PlayStation store. Drool will also launch a collector's edition of the game in partnership with iam8bit, which will include Thumper's soundtrack on vinyl and a download code. The special edition will be priced at $45.
"Our Thumper CE includes a game code and vinyl soundtrack with cover artwork designed by Robert Beatty. Robert's music and art were a key inspiration for Thumper and we can't wait to hold this beautifully designed package in our hands! It will include a psychedelic picture disc and some extra special features we'll announce soon," says Flury.
Gamers interested in the collector's edition of Thumper can preorder their copy from iam8bit.
Check out a video trailer of the upcoming rhythm violence game below.
