Fun Bits is a game developer with an interesting backstory. Chris Millar, the CEO of Fun Bits Interactive, has a lot of experience in the game industry, which is in stark contrast to the majority of VR developers right now. Since Fun Bits started in 2009, the studio’s most prominent release was Escape Plan in 2012, a unique PlayStation Vita puzzle game. But Millar’s expertise goes back farther than that.
Before Fun Bits, he was at Titan Studios, an Epic Games company, preceded by Stormfront Studios, Lionhead, Jaleco, and Blizzard — where he was an International Producer for 7 years. Needless to say, he’s had his hand in a fair share of games from concept, to development, to release. He’s been involved in game development cycles for PC and console for a long time, giving him and his studio unique insight into the current and future state of VR.
“VR really reminds me of past console development cycles,” Millar explained in an interview. “Back on the Gamecube, PS2, and Xbox, each platform had different controllers. One of the games we worked on, Goblin Commander, was an RTS (real-time strategy) game for all three consoles. Adapting that to each controller was a challenge.”
Millar compares those days of console development to the current state of the VR industry. The HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and PS VR — the three primary VR platforms — all use wildly different motion controllers, two of which aren’t even out yet. That means designing a game like HALP!, the first VR game from Fun Bits, required an approach that was much more like an experiment than anything. As their first game, Fun Bits has released HALP! as a short, 7-10min sandbox/puzzle experience.
“There are a lot of development problems to solve,” said Millar. “The challenges are exciting. That’s why we put HALP! out there as an ‘experiment’ to start a conversation in the VR community. What works and what doesn’t? So, if people dig HALP! and the direction we’re going, then we will continue to push more content.”
The premise of the game is that a scavenger pirate captain has crash landed on an alien world. It’s up to you to help him and his crew fix the broken ship before spaceworms attack. You can also choose to poke around and play with objects in the world – you’re not required to do anything. In this way, it’s reminiscent of other free, experimental VR games like Waltz of the Wizard, or some of the most early Nintendo Wii games.
It’s a simple delight, but one of my favorite moments was throwing tiny little balls into a basketball hoop in the second area of the game. There are tiny robot helpers down below the hoop that will catch the ball and toss it back to you after you make or miss a basket. Small little interactions such as physically pointing your head and neck down to look at an NPC that tosses a ball for you to catch using your actual hand, are minor, but impactful. It’s just a miniscule detail, but it goes a long way towards making it a more immersive experience.
Unlike in the previous areas of the game industry in which Millar was worked, the PC and VR space are fully embracing the Early Access prototype model of development. This way, developers are able to get games into consumers’ hands even earlier.
“A lot of people are experimenting and throwing stuff out there in VR,” said Millar. “It’s kind of like the mobile scene a bit in that way. There is this surge of excitement around a new medium. It’s a great way for the community to give feedback and be part of the development process.”
HALP! is available for free now on Steam for the HTC Vive with motion controllers.
