When asked if Oculus Quest store curation will allow for “weird, artsy games”, Facebook’s Chris Pruett had the following to say:
We are absolutely open to weird, artsy games (which describes some of my favorite titles!) as long as they are polished and high-quality. Our core goal is to ensure that everything in our store finds an audience that wants to engage, whether that be a mainstream title or a niche. My advice here is to focus on making the artistry of your work shine.
Last week Facebook announced Quest’s store would have a different content policy than previous headsets — a more console-like policy. On Rift and Go developers submit near-finished games. On Quest, Facebook wants developers to submit a “concept document” early in development. The claimed goal is to have a “high quality” content catalog with “polish, substance, and depth”.
This has lead to concern among developers as to just how restrictive the curation will be. Additionally, it’s still unclear exactly what Facebook’s definition of “high quality” is. Games, like all art, are inherently subjective. Pruett’s comments on openness to “weird, artsy” games may dispel some concerns that the curation would stifle gameplay innovation.
But what if, despite a developer’s best efforts, their game is still rejected? Pruett suggests the best course of action would be to release on Rift instead. Facebook isn’t changing the Rift store’s more lax content policy, as it sees the PC as a more “experimental” platform where players are more tolerant of quality issues. If the game does well on Rift, Pruett tells developers to “use your success there as an argument for Quest”.
