On our two year Island Time VR release-a-versary, we are revisiting a previous conversation about the game’s development. Thanks for a great two years... stranded on an island ...talking to a crab.

How do you make failure fun? One of the key components to making Island Time VR an interesting arcade experience was crafting the difficulty ramp, cautiously nudging players to try new things as well as making dying over and over ...fun! So, we posed a few questions to our game’s designer, John Bearden, about how a designer does just that. 

John’s worked in the industry for about 10 years, tackling level design, AI and gameplay scripting plus more for games like TUG, Star Wars Kinect and Ghostbusters The Game. His latest project at Flight School is St. Jude Hall of Heroes and he’s hard at work on our next top secret project.

Q&A:

To get started, give us a brief overview of the basic game mechanics involved in Island Time. What are players doing? 

Island Time is all about survival; but, before being thrown into peril, players are presented with a brief story setup through the only real tutorial moment of the whole game, on their boat. During this part of the game, players are not on a timer to survive. They are able to look around them, grab and spin the wheel, and then ultimately push the throttle thus creating their survival predicament. You could almost say that the player sets up their own fate by just starting the game! This gives players an introduction to all of the controls they will encounter throughout the rest of the game: moving in a small space and grabbing items.

Once they are on the island, players are in pure discovery. They must pick up items, craft tools, find food, and watch out for any dangers. This portion of the game is all about the player finding out what they can do and what has consequences. Consequences in Island Time are severe, and this part of design is on purpose. We want the player to fail quickly so they can come back and learn from their mistakes.

At the beginning, the game mechanics are very close to real world actions (such as starting a fire and catching fish), so these mechanics benefit from players trying something familiar and seeing it work in the VR world. More complex mechanics, like crafting, still work off of the basis of VR one-to-one interactions; but, keep complexity to very few layers so players can easily discover all the necessary information they will need to succeed.

The skill curve for the game is all based around the player’s actions and learning how to manage resources. Through repeated play throughs, players adjust their tactics from what they learned the last time; and, if they play with friends, they can get help from people watching their plight or pick up some tips from seeing other players try to survive.

What did you all discover from some of the early play testing (as seen above at PAX South 2018)?  

During early play testing, we struck on something interesting, players who were waiting their turn really enjoyed watching other people play. This is where we started to pivot the game into more of a couch co-op, “game show” style of game! It was fun for people to watch and cheer or jeer players before their turn came up and then when it was their turn, they got to show off just how much they learned. Or, more likely, how they could make new mistakes!

Taking that knowledge into account, we changed a lot of the later game moments into what we called our “Tourist Events.” These moments encourage the player to try to last longer and see more of what the island has to offer. These early play tests also brought us to an arcade style of play: trying to survive the longest. Both of these changes built upon the party game atmosphere that Island Time plays best at.

How do you suggest first time players approach playing the game?

Make mistakes! Try different things until you learn what works best for you! Especially, don’t worry about dying, it happens to everyone!

Once you get over those fears, start to make your plans, decide what you would like to do the next time you try to fix any of those mistakes you made the first time. Don’t be hasty! I’ve seen lots of players suffer from thinking it’s a race. Of course, maybe it is!  Hurry, you’re going to miss that crate! Watch out for the seagull!  OMG! WHAT’S THAT!?!

If you had the chance to go back and add one new mechanic or change one of the existing ones, what would you change or add?

We never expected how much love Carl would get from players. He has really become the star of the game. I think adding some more things for Carl to do would be great. 

We are excited to announce that Creature in the Well is coming to PlayStation 4 on March 31st for $14.99! We have an all new trailer, celebrating the nice things people have said about the game. Also, today on the official PlayStation blog, Adam Volker shared the news and a few more details. 

Want to delve even deeper into the world of Creature in the Well? On March 31, we’re releasing a 70+ page digital “art of” book showcasing drawings, paintings, and concept art as well as the original soundtrack for the game composed by Jim Fowler. They’ll be a package deal on Steam for $7.99. 

Add to your Steam wishlist here!

A bunch of folks have asked if we’re doing a physical release of the game and we are insanely excited to finally say YES! 

Creature in the Well will be released for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 by iam8bit along with beautiful limited edition art cards and special box art. More details in the coming weeks! 

During the Steam Halloween sale, you can get a special treat: 15% off Creature in the Well! To celebrate, Creative Director Adam Volker created some spooky Ichabod Crane-inspired art featuring Bot-C and the Creature… in an actual well.

If you’re picking up the game for the first time, we’d love to hear your thoughts! Give us a shout on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram – and don’t forget to leave a review on Steam.

Thanks,

All of us at Flight School 🚀

Our pinball hack-and-slash dungeon crawler (*ahem* pinbrawler), Creature in the Well is out today! It’s available for Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and Steam for $14.99 USD. If you’re a subscriber to  Xbox Game Pass on Windows 10 PC and Xbox One, guess what? You get it for FREE!

Mark your calendar: Creature in the Well will be coming out on September 6, 12PM ET, for Steam, Nintendo Switch and Xbox One. It'll also be available as part of the Xbox Game Pass for Windows 10 PC and Xbox One. Unlock the power of an ancient facility and face the ominous, all-seeing Creature in this unique pinball-inspired hack and slash! 

We humbly request that you consider pre-ordering Creature in the Well or adding it to your wishlist. 

Curious to know what the heck a pinball-inspired hack and slash dungeon crawler is like? We’ve got you covered. Here’s a 101 trailer with creative director, Adam Volker, who explains it all:

See us at Gamescom and PAX West!

This week through August 24th, play Creature In The Well at the Xbox booth during Gamescom in Cologne, Germany. We’re also coming to PAX West, in the Indie MEGABOOTH. Look for us at booth #656!

We just announced some news during the Xbox E3 event: Creature in the Well will be coming to Xbox One! It’ll be available with Xbox Game Pass on Windows 10 PC and Xbox One. That means we’re on track to release simultaneously on Nintendo Switch, Xbox One and PC later this summer. 🤯

Creature in the Well is a top-down, pinball-inspired, hack-and-slash dungeon crawler. As the last remaining BOT-C unit, venture deep into a desert mountain to restore power to an ancient facility, haunted by a desperate Creature. Uncover and upgrade powerful gear in order to free the city of Mirage from a deadly sandstorm.

Don’t forget to add the game to your Steam wishlist, follow on Twitter or like the game on Facebook for the latest.

PS. Game director Adam Volker talked a bit with Geoff Keighley about the game, GamesRadar named it one of the best of E3 and we’re returning to the MIX LA and demoing at the Xbox Showcase during the week. 🚀

Join Flight School’s Chuck Peil at Annecy for a panel on AR: When Animation Integrates the "Real World" XR.

Immersive experiences present new opportunities for animation and visual effects studios. Augmented reality enables creators to integrate characters and animated objects into a real environment. What are the creative, immersive and production challenges faced by the animation sector? Chuck joins other animation and AR experts on the panel including, Diego Rosner, Grégoire Parain and Bruno Samper.

More details:

Wednesday, 12 June

16:00 → 17:15

Impérial Palace Salle du lac

Panel info at annecy.org

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Rejoignez Flight School’s Chuck Peil à Annecy pour participer à un panel sur l'AR: Quand l'animation intègre le « monde réel » XR.

Les expériences immersives offrent de nouvelles possibilités pour les studios d'animation et d'effets visuels. La réalité augmentée permet aux créateurs d'intégrer des personnages et des objets animés dans un environnement réel. Quels sont les défis créatifs, immersifs et de production auxquels fait face le secteur de l'animation? Chuck se joint à d'autres experts en animation et en AR, dont Diego Rosner, Grégoire Parain et Bruno Samper.

Plus d'informations :

Mercredi 12 juin

16 h 00 → 17 h 15

Salle du lac de l'Impérial Palace

Obtenez plus de détails et ajoutez le panneau à votre emploi du temps.We’re excited to be at PAX East in Boston beginning today, March 28th, through March 31st. Here’s where you can find us, playing games, hanging out and just being really excited to see you!

Creature in the Well in the Indie MEGABOOTH

Play our latest game with its creators, Adam Volker and Bohdon Sayre, at booth #13079. We can’t wait to hear what you think about playing pinball with SWORDS! The expo hall is open 10AM - 6PM each day. Come check it out!

Panel: What VR Devs Learned From their First VR Games

AIXR

’s panel of VR game developers delves into key insights learned while making their first VR games. Joining our own, Bohdon Sayre, are: Shawn Patton (Principal Designer and Design Director, I Expect You To Die), Steve Ellmore (Co-Founder, Disbelief), and Autumn Rose Taylor (Studio Director, Owlchemy Labs).

Date and time Sat, 30 March 2019, 10:30 am EST

Location Arachnid Theatre, Boston Convention & Exhibition Center

Get more details and add the panel to your schedule.

Today, we’re excited to share our new game, Creature In The Well, announced during Nintendo’s Spring 2019 Nindies Showcase. Unlock the power of an ancient facility and face the ominous, all-seeing Creature in this unique pinball-inspired hack & slash!

This is just the beginning. In the coming months, we'll have more to share and you'll be the first to know!

In the mean time, if you want to chat with us, feel free to join us on our very own Discord server. You can also find us on Facebook and Twitter. Another thing that would really help us out would be to add the game to your Steam Wishlist!

Bande-annonce de Creature in the Well

Aujourd'hui, nous sommes ravis de partager notre nouveau jeu, Creature in the Well, annoncé durant le Nintendo’s Spring 2019 Nindies Showcase. Déverrouillez le pouvoir d'une ancienne installation et affrontez la créature menaçante et omniprésente dans ce hack'n'slash unique inspiré du flipper!

Ce n'est que le début. Dans les mois à venir, nous aurons plus à partager et vous serez les premiers informés!

The arts are big and bright in Texas, thanks to entrepreneurial creators. This week, Texas Senator Kelly Hancock recognized our CCO Brandon Oldenburg for his accomplishments and promotion of the arts in his home state. We’re so proud!

Read the full text of the senate resolution here.

It’s been a blast collaborating with Ringling College of Art + Design students over the past year and a beta version of their VR game, Wet Dog Corp. is playable today right outside the SXSW Gaming Expo at the Austin Convention Center. Here’s the details:

Play a VR demo of Wet Dog Corp. and meet the students from 12pm - 11pm today, March 15. 

Play, a carnival-style game inspired by Wet Dog Corp. 

Enter for a chance to win an Oculus Rift VR headset.

Snuggle pups from Austin Pug Rescue in the ‘Pug Petting Zoo’ experience.

Tons of free swag!

Follow @wetdogcorp on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to stay updated on all the good good good (and wet) dogs at SXSW.

More details in the Ringling College press release.

Our team of artists and technicians are gearing up for SXSW. Connect with us at one of these events:

Oculus VR For Good Premieres

Flight School has been the production partner for the VR For Good Creators Lab since the program’s inception, assisting over 25 creators in producing 200+ minutes of VR films. Premiering at SXSW this year are Girl Icon, Home After War and Mercy.

Wet Dog Corp. With Ringling College

During SXSW Gaming, our recent collaboration with Ringling students will pop up on March 15th, in the parking lot at 601 E 4th St. from 12pm to 11pm. Test a beta version of the VR game, Wet Dog Corp., which finds you washing mucky, virtual pups. Oh, and we'll have dogs for petting from Austin Pug Rescue.

Panel: Building Worlds with Creativity and Technology

CEO Kyle Clark joins fellow Texas A&M University alumni to discuss the future of world building. The discussion will focus on viewer immersion and the critical connection they must have to the natural and built environment in which we live, work and play.

It’s the first week of May but our last week for challenges in Island Time VR! Let’s go out with a bang! We want to see how many skulls you can collect. Look for skulls in the packages that float up to the island. This one is a pro-level challenge so flex those virtual muscles.

Here’s how to enter:

Step 1: Buy and play Island Time VR on  PlayStation VR, Oculus, Viveport and Steam!

(an essential first step).

Step 2: Die.

Step 3: Complete the challenge, if you can.

Step 4: Take a single screenshot of your challenge entry (i.e., all of your skulls) and post it publicly on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook using #IslandTimeVR.

Step 5: Die (again, maybe, depends on how well you are playing).

The top winner will receive a special, limited edition Carl The Crab enamel pin, Flight School shirt and, heck, we’ll throw in a signed print featuring artwork from our Emmy® nominated VR experience, Manifest 99. Entries must be submitted by 11:59:59 on May 7, 2018 to qualify. Winners will be announced the following day.

What are you waiting for? Grab some coconuts, a boombox and get to SURVIVIN’!

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C’est la première semaine de mai, mais notre dernière semaine à relever les défis de l’Island Time VR! Sortons avec un coup! Nous voulons voir combien de crânes vous pouvez collecter. Recherchez les crânes dans les paquets qui flottent jusqu'à l'île. Celui-ci est un défi de niveau professionnel, alors fléchissez ces muscles virtuels.

Voici comment entrer:

Étape 1: Achetez et jouez Island Time VR sur Island Time VR on  PlayStation VR, Oculus, Viveport et Steam!

(une première étape essentielle).

Étape 2: Mourir.

Étape 3: Complétez le défi, si vous le pouvez.

Étape 4: Prenez une seule capture d’écran de votre participation au défi (c’est-à-dire l’ensemble de vos crânes) et publiez-la publiquement sur Instagram, Twitter ou Facebook en utilisant #IslandTimeVR.

Étape 5: Mourir (encore une fois, cela dépend peut-être de la qualité de votre jeu).

Le grand gagnant recevra une épinglette en émail spécial Carl The Crab en édition limitée, une chemise Flight School et, heu, nous y jetterons un imprimé signé présentant les œuvres de notre expérience VR nominée aux Emmy®, Manifest 99.. Les candidatures doivent être soumises au plus tard le 11 : 59: 59 le 7 mai 2018 pour se qualifier. Les gagnants seront annoncés le lendemain.

Adam Volker, Creative Director, and Barrett Lewis, Composer, sat down to discuss working together on the Manifest 99 Soundtrack.

Manifest 99′s soundtrack can be found on Steam, Spotify, Apple iTunes, Google Music Store, Pandora, YouTube Music, and many other online music providers.

Manifest 99 is now available on PSVR, Oculus, Steam, Viveport and Daydream. 

What was your creative vision for the soundtrack at the beginning of the project? How did that change over time? 

Adam: I had emotions each scene needed to convey, but it was important to me that Barrett brought his own vision to the music of the project and what each moment in our story was meaning to him.

Barrett: After reviewing with Adam about his directorial vision, I learned that there was an artistic inspiration from the film noir and art deco era. In addition, the story flows much like a silent film, and explores a huge range of complex emotion. We decided that traditional orchestra (virtual orchestra in this case) was the best approach to capture and uphold that palette.

What placeholder tracks were you using before you had original music? How did they inform the creative process?

Adam: There were lots of references we tossed back and forth.  The Sixth Station by Joe Hisaishi from the film Spirited Away is probably the piece of music I listened to the most while working on Manifest 99.  It's so beautiful.

Barrett: Yep. As Adam mentioned, Sixth Station inspired the piano and overall mood. That piece is quite beautiful with a delicate complexity!

What was it like composing music for Manifest 99? How early in the process did you get started? How did the soundtrack evolve over time? 

Adam: I think it was important to put Barrett into the headset and have him play through the experience really early on.  As soon as you could get from the beginning to the end we were talking about music.  One of the moments that stands out most to me was a debate about how on the nose we should be with sadness in the project.  Barrett wrote this one piece of music that was full of it, we decided to pull it back a bit in the end.  I'm glad we did.

Barrett: Absolutely. I had written “remorse” during that scene, but it was the wrong emotion. Adam wanted to focus on the positive intention, which was more redemption or absolution. It was great fun writing that piece, but I’m glad we cut it too. It is included in the soundtrack though! :) Composing for Manifest 99 was an incredible and rewarding experience. As Adam said, I had started very early in the production. That meant that scene choreography and timing would be changing along the way, so I had to make sure the themes were flexible enough to adapt to those changes quickly.

How does the soundtrack relate to the themes of the experience? 

Adam: The music, like the experience changes between past and present.  We used a different palette to play over the stuff on the train and the stuff from the flashback scenes.  Thematically though, I'll let Barrett answer that.

Barrett: Many people have heard of a “le motif” in music, where a character or scenario earns it’s own theme. Manifest has at least 4 characters however, and I didn’t want to clutter the story with too many themes. instead, I wrote a main theme that is modified by what instrument it’s performed by. For instance, the Bear is represented by the guitar, the Doe is an oboe, and the Owl is flute. Everything else is less thematic and more textural, the Train composition being the best example.

The soundtrack is quite subdued in areas. What was the intention behind this? 

Adam: This was because each piece of a project has a time to shine, and a time to support the other parts.  It's not about hearing music 100% of the time.  I think we were both playing Breath of The Wild while making Manifest 99 and we discussed the musical approach of that game a lot.  It does a great job of bringing music in and out while the player is playing.

Barrett: Exactly. Music should only be heard when it needs to. It’s common for a film to only have about half the length of the picture in music.

What are the challenges of composing music for a real-time narrative experience? 

Adam: Looping music is a necessity for anything done in real time and really hard to keep interesting if it's going to play over and over and over and over.  We tackled this problem by trying to give the music a logic, and layer it so that different layers could fade in and out of the rhythmic train sounds.  This gave the music a dynamic quality and kept it from getting stale.

Barrett: This was some of the most fun! Many of the music cues are triggered by interactive events, which vary depending on each viewers experience. These cues are layered on top of a variety of loop able rhythmic tracks for cohesion and energy. 

Any advice for others composing original soundtracks for narrative VR experiences?

Adam: Use spatial audio as much as possible in VR.  It's so satisfying!!

Barrett: Haha. Adam is right! I would only do this for sound design however. Binaural music could be more distracting than anything else, unless your VR experience is based around that concept. For instance, you wouldn’t necessarily want the piano melody to suddenly move behind you because you turned your head (unless the music is diegetic). To me, the score is an emotional “inner voice” so it works best to remain stereo to allow all other sound to be spatial.

What did you learn from the process that you will take with you on future projects?​

Adam: VR has a lot of potential to bring people deep into the worlds of the stories we tell.  There are techniques we should bring with us from film and gaming to do that, and there are many things we should abandon to try new ways to do it.

Barrett: Agreed. VR is a totally new frontier of storytelling, and while we approach it with experience from film and gaming, it also invites a fresh “what if” mindset, which is a perfect haven for creative innovation.

Week three of challenges! Let’s get right to it. This week is simple – survive the longest amount of time out of ALL the Island Time VR survivors out there. Send us a screenshot of your best record time!

Here’s how to enter:

Step 1: Buy and play Island Time VR on  PlayStation VR, Oculus, Viveport and Steam!

(an essential first step).

Step 2: Die.

Step 3: Complete the challenge, if you can.

Step 4: Take a single screenshot of your challenge entry (i.e., your record time) and post it publicly on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook using #IslandTimeVR.

Step 5: Die (again, maybe, depends on how well you are playing).

The top winner will receive a special, limited edition Carl The Crab enamel pin, Flight School shirt and, heck, we’ll throw in a signed print featuring artwork from our Emmy® nominated VR experience, Manifest 99. Entries must be submitted by 11:59:59 on April 30, 2018 to qualify. Winners will be announced the following day.

What are you waiting for? Grab some coconuts, a boombox and get to SURVIVIN’!

Another week, another challenge! This time, we want to see just how many spears you can craft while surviving in Island Time VR!

Here’s how to enter:

Step 1: Buy and play Island Time VR on  PlayStation VR, Oculus, Viveport and Steam!

(an essential first step).

Step 2: Die.

Step 3: Complete the challenge, if you can.

Step 4: Take a single screenshot of your challenge entry (i.e., all of your assembled spears) and post it publicly on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook using #IslandTimeVR.

Step 5: Die (again, maybe, depends on how well you are playing).

The top winner will receive a special, limited edition Carl The Crab enamel pin, Flight School shirt and, heck, we’ll throw in a signed print featuring artwork from our Emmy® nominated VR experience, Manifest 99. Entries must be submitted by 11:59:59 on April 23, 2018 to qualify. Winners will be announced the following day.

What are you waiting for? Grab some coconuts, a boombox and get to SURVIVIN’!

Fans of Island Time VR either love or hate Carl The Crab, the only other living thing on the island with you. We love Carl – he’s kind, generous, adorable and goofy, just like Greg Miller from Kinda Funny who provided his voice.

To get a better understand of how Carl became such a cute little crab, we talked to the person that came up with his visual design, Ruby Wang! As an artist at the studio, Ruby creates new designs for characters, environments and assets. Most recently, Ruby was the art director for Island Time. Before joining the team, Ruby interned with with Tonko House, working on animated series for Hulu Japan, The Dam Keeper Poems, based on the characters from the studio’s Academy Award® nominated short film.

What are some things that every artist should consider when designing characters for VR?

Designing characters in VR is different than designing characters in animation or film. In VR, artists have to consider the player’s viewing angle. Players can walk around, get up close, or see under the character model. Artists have to make sure every angle of the character reads well and look nice, and also keep enough details in limited design to maintain the game’s quality.

Tell us about Carl. What’s he like?

He is a goofy friendly guy who is funny and wanted to help people all the time. He is willing to sacrifice his own claw to save your life. Carl is one of those people who wouldn’t leave you alone at a stranger’s party, and will support you and encourage you even when you are dying. 

What are some of the ways you were able to incorporate his personality into the design?

When I design a character, I will always try to understand my character as much as I can. Meaning, I will learn about this character’s personally and understand his/her role in the story. In early development of Island Time VR, we didn’t have a specific characteristic we were looking for. I did a lot of thumbnails for the team to see which one touched them the most. The round shape friendly crab got picked! Then I referenced from people around me whose personality is the closest to Carl. Study and observe him/her, and incorporate what you learn to your design. This is my way of bringing believable personality to a character.

What do you think of Greg Miller’s voice performance? Did he add another dimension to Carl?

Absolutely!  I wasn’t sure what Carl’s voice will be like. Spongebob’s voice was somehow always in my mind. But when I hear Greg’s voice coming out of Carl’s mouth, it just matches together perfectly and naturally! He made me feel like Carl’s voice should always be like this. It is really impressive how voice acting can add to a character so much!

What’s your top tip for surviving in Island Time?

I know it’s going to be frustrating and crazy in the beginning, but the crucial thing is to keep your mind sharp and calm. Carefully organize your resources, paid attention to what your best friend Carl wants to say, and keep an eye on the seagull. The game seems simple, but it’s actually really mathematical. You will find more surprises when you survive longer enough. But most important thing is to play with your friend and family and have fun!