Writing for VR: Stuck In Place

Games on the Vive and Oculus have great potential, and the recent creations on the systems are examples of this. Battle simulators, shooting galleries, horror games, there are many possibilities with the technology that allow for a greater feeling of actually being in the world of the game; it feels like an actual experience at times.

However, many of these successful titles are games that are mere simulators, or simple horror concepts. Games that haven't embraced a storyline yet. The early days of VR are still in force.

One company, on the cutting edge of gaming at all times in its history, is Valve. And they have begun to foray into VR with a Portal-based short game, Aperture Robot Repair. And I believe this is a good example of a story beginning to enter into VR games.

The game is about a robot repair technician (you) fixing the robot co-op characters, Atlas and Peabody, from their previous game Portal 2. And in Portal style - things go wrong quickly. The game is very similar to many others, taking place in a small room without the player moving, except with the VR headset, for looking around. However, this game gives the stationary position a reason, a rationale - the repairman is stuck in this small room which is the only safe space for repair, as it's their repair station.

The story is also simple, being the simulation of being a repairman, but with greater focus on the happenings on the outer edges of the game, meaning what's happening in the background. The introduction of a story playing out in the background is a core concept that holds a lot of value in VR, because the player IS a character in the story so the player chooses what the character does.

It's not a third person perspective on the character, because the player plays through the EYES of the primary character. This limits writing a conventional story with dialogue, even for a company like Valve who is famous for their silent protagonists. But the storylines happening in the distance, in the background, is one of the most effective ways available to give a plot to the story, allowing the game world to be seen and observed, with interest.

With VR, there are many difficulties faced in presenting a story. Some games and companies are trying to usher in stories into their VR games, but ultimately, the genre is still in its infancy. While I'm sure we'll get there some day, early examples are promising. I'm going to keep an eye on Valve's future VR material, hopefully we'll get Half Life 3: VR Edition someday soon.