In a way, Maskmaker’s wonderful crafting system is a little like game development itself.
You start out with a foundation – one that’s comparable to a lot of other titles, and then you make it yours. Components like mechanics help define your creation, whilst it’s the decorative painting that truly brings it to life. Of course, we’re simplifying a little bit and not mentioning the many, many stressful hours of prototyping, bug fixing and bashing things into shape. In fact, we’re probably better off letting Ethan Stearns from publisher MWM Interactive take over here.
In the video above, Stearns shares early prototypes of the gorgeous VR game, which released last week. First, we get an early look at puzzle design in the ‘grey box’ stage, long before developer Innerspace has implemented the game’s stunning environments. Next up there’s a really fascinating look at the early stages of the mask making itself.
There was a time, we learn, that the team was working on actually dipping a mask into paint and having the paint cover only the area submerged, and not the whole mask. “The only problem was it was very difficult to be precise for things we need in puzzles later,” Stearns explains of its omission.
It’s a pretty eye-opening look at the tireless work that goes into something like Maskmaker. That’s not all though, we also have some early concept art for the game at the bottom of this post. It shows some of the first designs for the architecture, which is one of the best parts of the experience.
Maskmaker is available now on PSVR and PC VR. In our review, we said the game was wonderfully intricate if a little familiar. Make sure to check back tomorrow as we round out our month of exclusive coverage on Upload Access with a (rescheduled) Q&A with Innerspace live from our virtual studio!
