axtonmcgoran.bsky.social

Screen shake, head bob, FOV kicks add punch in a flat game, but in VR they move the world while your head stays still and your stomach notices FIRST. Hard cutscene cuts do it too, the viewpoint teleports. Which camera effect would you cut first for VR?

spent way too long on a menu bug today. world space canvas, can hover the far buttons but can't click them. I think the ray is hitting the panel at a weird angle, idk. still not fixed lol #gamedev #vrdev

Portal in VR with Alyx-style hands. You drop a cube through the portal and it falls out above your head, and you actually look up and watch it land. I'd pay to stand inside that lol #gamedev

tip for flat devs going VR: don't glue your pause menu to the player's face. it follows every head turn, people get a bit sick and can't even aim at the buttons lol. spawn it once in the world where they're looking and let it sit there #gamedev

every dev I know has a finished game sitting in a folder that never got a VR version. honestly it's just the next thing after the next thing lol. it'll still be there when you want it in VR

the menu panels just sit in the room and the controller ray does the pointing. this is a finished flat Unity game, made VR-native with REFRACT SDK. I think it's the little stuff that sells it, idk Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/svY4KDLol/0

hot take: most flat games don't need a VR redesign, they just need the pointing fixed. ray from your hand, menus floating in the room, and the "this feels like a port" feeling mostly goes away. building REFRACT SDK around that #gamedev Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/sdat9kRe0/0

genuinely curious, if you've shipped a flat game, why isn't there a VR version? too much work, doesn't fit, or not enough players? idk, I think the answer's different for everyone #gamedev

VR tip for flat devs: don't lock your crosshair to screen center. In VR the aim should come from the controller, not your head. Once the ray starts at the hand, menus and shooting just feel right. I think that's the first thing to fix #gamedev

honest question for game devs: why don't more finished games get a VR version? too much work, doesn't fit, or the market's just too small? I'm building a VR tool and would love real answers, even the brutal ones

spent my whole evening wondering why the menu clicks stopped working in VR. the ray was coming from the middle of my head instead of the controller lol. flat game in VR, learning a lot 😊

honestly I think a VR port should keep the game's own camera. the second you swap in a custom rig it stops feeling like the same game. that's what I'm building the REFRACT SDK around #gamedev Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/sbiYtLm1o/0

somewhere on my drive there's a finished game that never got its VR version. not because I didn't want to, I just ran out of time lol. building REFRACT SDK so it can still get there Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/sEOS4kVWe/0

made a short film for REFRACT SDK, watch the menus and the controller ray, they sit in the world instead of stuck to a screen. it's a normal flat Unity game, no rebuild. does it feel like a game in VR? idk, I'm biased lol Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/sRkzvjwZx/0

porting flat games into VR and the menus are the bit I keep poking at. turns out you can pull a screen-space canvas into a panel you can grab and the clicks still work, so the game's menu code stays untouched. still finding out how far that holds lol

Made a little film for REFRACT SDK. Watch the menus and the controller ray, they just sit in the world instead of stuck on a screen. It's a regular flat Unity game, same UI, same input, and I think that's why it feels like a game and not a tech demo #gamedev omvion.org

turns out pinning the health bar to your face in VR just makes everyone squint, lol. putting it on a panel in the world that you can move feels SO much better. REFRACT SDK does this with screen-space canvases #gamedev Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/s3QL7cjyz/0

every indie dev has a finished game sitting in a folder, and every time I see someone's VR build I think, mine could be in there too. building REFRACT SDK so it gets a shot Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/sNVYvqLBT/0

Nobody playing a flat game they love is asking for a new game in VR, they just want the same world with the walls gone. Which game would you walk around in first? #gamedev

made a little film for REFRACT SDK, it puts a finished flat Unity game in native VR. watch how the menus sit in the world instead of on a screen, that's the part I care about most. idk if it reads right, I'm biased lol #gamedev Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/sgpieW5RI/0

Outer Wilds' last loop gets me. Sitting by the campfire while the sun goes supernova. I think that moment in native VR would be SO quiet and huge, idk if I'd even move 😊 #gamedev

A delayed game is eventually good, a rushed game is forever bad. In VR you feel it in your body, a menu at the wrong distance, a camera that moves when your head doesn't, controls that fight your hands. What's a delay that paid off, or a rush that never recovered?

porting a flat game to VR and the crosshair is just stuck to the middle of your face like a sticker on your eyeball lol. I think aiming from the controller and letting the reticle sit on whatever it hits is where comfort starts #gamedev

hot take: if your VR port still lets you aim with your head, it's not a port yet. the ray should come from your hand. idk, I think that's the first thing that makes it feel like a game and not a tech demo lol

still building REFRACT SDK solo. the camera, menus and controller ray all hang off the finished game's own rig so your gameplay code stays put. comfort settings are the messy part, every game wants something different lol #gamedev Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/s7U3HWEvo/0

Outer Wilds gives you 22 minutes before the sun goes supernova, then you wake up by the campfire and go again. On a flat screen you watch Brittle Hollow fall into a black hole, in VR you'd FEEL the drop under your feet lol. Which moment would you walk to first?

got a finished flat game sitting in a folder called "VR someday"? same lol. building REFRACT SDK solo so those actually get a shot #gamedev Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/s4ZMihXiL/0

the first walk into Hallownest still gets me. the bench, the quiet, those huge dark shafts dropping away. I think standing inside that fall in VR would be SO unreal. what's the first spot in a flat game you'd stand in?

A flat game's HUD is painted onto the screen, but in VR there is no screen, so the same UI sits glued to your eyes with no depth. The fix is moving it into world space, then deciding per element, in the world or on the player. Which HUD element is hardest to place in 3D?

IGN says you can play Titanfall 2 in VR now. honestly that's the dream, a finished flat game you already love and the only question is what it feels like to stand inside it. which one would you walk around in first?

Looking to connect with some game devs. I'm working on a big VR project for developers and want honest feedback from people who ship games. Why do so few games get a VR version? Too much work? Doesn't fit? Market too small? DMs open, I'd love to connect.

made a little film for REFRACT SDK, it takes a finished flat Unity game and puts you inside it in native VR. there's a bit where the music drops out and it's just the voice, tell me if it lands #gamedev Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/sE1yeI5hR/0

making a little film for REFRACT SDK, it drops a finished flat Unity game into native VR. the camera sits on the game's own rig and I honestly think that's what decides if it still feels like the game. does it? #gamedev Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/sTwCAKQX3/0

Porting a finished flat Unity game into native VR with REFRACT SDK. The camera and the HUD are what I'm most nervous about, I think that's where it either feels like the game or doesn't #gamedev Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/sPaVSbtOi/0

made a little film for REFRACT SDK, it puts a finished flat Unity game into native VR. watch the very start, the world just opens up around you before anyone says a word. tell me if it feels like stepping in lol, I'm biased Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/spfr9zyRX/0

idk, I honestly think a VR port should start with where the player's eyes and hands are, not the gameplay. camera, UI and input decide if it feels like the game or a tech demo. fix those first and the rest is mostly already there

Made a little film for REFRACT SDK. My favourite part is when the menus leave the screen and just hang in the room around you, honestly SO satisfying every time #gamedev Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/se1QyITlJ/0

ported our menus to VR and the pause screen was just glued to my face the whole time lol. no screen in VR so I think it should be a panel at arm's length you can grab. comfort starts with where the UI lives #gamedev

made a little film for the VR tool I'm building solo, the last stretch goes quiet and our own score takes over. tell me if it feels like a memory #gamedev

every flat game dev I know is quietly thinking "should I look at VR" right after shipping, and honestly you don't have to start over. the scenes, code and art are done, the work is just the layer around them

made a short film for REFRACT SDK. a finished flat game, then you're standing inside it in native VR. watch for the moment the menus leave the screen and sit in the room around you, idk why but that part gets me. does it land for you? Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/swljJvuVJ/0

ngl the first thing I cut in VR was camera shake, your head is the camera now and anything your body isn't doing just makes you feel sick lol. head bob went right after. #gamedev

honestly I think most flat games are closer to VR than their devs believe. the scenes, code and art are already done, it's the camera, UI and comfort stuff that eats the time. what got you stuck first?

made a little film for the VR tool I'm building solo. 113 sound effects placed by hand and honestly it was SO worth it. the voice stays really quiet on purpose, REFRACT SDK puts you inside a finished flat game Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/se2Xy3EEK/0

porting a flat game to VR and the HUD just sits there like "where do I live now" lol. turns out every UI element needs an actual spot in the world. still figuring out what feels right at arm's length

made a little film for the VR tool I'm building solo, it takes a finished flat game and puts you inside it. still early but I'm SO happy to finally show it

turned a flat game into native VR and the depth is SO much better than I expected, idk why I'm surprised lol. would you play your favorite game like this? #gamedev

A solo dev took a finished flat horror game and walked into it in VR. No rebuild. Same game. The scan took 7.7 seconds. 8 render layers split into two eyes. 14 menus lifted into the room. This is REFRACT. Check out the REFRACT SDK: https://omvion.org/t/c/sOXokl2xV/0

Turns out a finished flat game doesn't need a rebuild for VR, it needs four jobs done: camera, UI, input, comfort. The scenes, code and art all stay, the work is the layer around them. If you've shipped a flat 3D game, which of the four would be messiest in yours?

Made a film for REFRACT, 113 sound cues placed one by one and honestly it was SO worth it. You finish a flat 3D game, look at the world you built and wish you were inside it. That's what we're making REFRACT for. Which of your levels would you walk through first? omvion.org