The new Star Trek: Bridge Crew (Star Trek: Bridge Crew) game from Ubisoft's Red Storm Studio is coming soon, and this game is expected to be one of the most interesting social VR games.
The game is scheduled to land on the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PSVR platforms on May 30th, and will support cross-platform multiplayer mode. In the previous conference, my colleagues and I tried the game and we interviewed David Votypka of Red Storm Studio. It is worth mentioning that another Ubisoft work "Werewolves Within VR" (Wolfman Killing Game), which Votek is responsible for, went live last fall.
"Star Trek: Bridge Crew" is a seated game, basically a table game experience. In the game, four players will work together to manage starships and perform various tasks. We manage Aegis, but you can also choose the Enterprise version in the TV version.
You can communicate with other players through voice, such as giving instructions and answering questions. Each player's responsibilities are different, including the captain, the helmsman, the engineer, and the tactical officer. You can direct the starship to complete the tasks in the game, such as exploring or fighting, and sometimes both.
After experiencing some interesting tasks, I took off his head and sat down and interviewed Votik. The following is an interview piece compiled by Xiao Bian.
David Wotica, creative director of Ubisoft's Red Storm studio, is the director of Star Trek: Bridge Crew.
When did you start this project and when did you start thinking about VR?
David Votika: For me, I thought about VR about 20 years ago. I always wanted to do this thing. I had a little VR in the 90s and I went to school. Then VR slowly sank in the next 15 years. I work in the gaming industry. When the concept of VR was revived, I started to discuss with Ubisoft and Red Storm, and also put forward some ideas. "Werewolves Within" and "Star Trek: Bridge Crew" started at this time.
Prototyping and promotional projects are a long process. We started to explore the end of 2014 and then made more progress in 2015.
Isn't your initial idea of ​​4 people sitting together?
Votica: Yes. Over the years, the only concept I didn't think of was social VR. I have seen some games based on multi-players. But Michael Abras of Oculus, who delivered a speech at Carnegie Mellon University. He mentioned that there are still many unresolved issues regarding VR, but he is convinced that VR will be the most social medium. And I was thinking "Really?"
We have been trying to deepen the social elements of online multiplayer outside of VR. We transformed one of these prototypes and applied it to VR. Then we sat around the table. We thought at the time: "Wow, feel that the other person is there." The scene is very real. This is very different from an avatar. At this time we began to think about creating social games around VR.
This is after "Werewolves Within" and "Eagle Flight." Do you have lessons learned from other early VR projects?
Voltica: For example. We discovered after the release of Werewolves that people stayed in VR for longer than most people imagined. When VR came out, people suggested that the experience should stay within 10-15 minutes. But we see that players of Werewolves Within can stay in the game for several hours. This adds confidence to our time in designing the Star Trek mission.
Another thing we learned from Werewolves Within is that the community’s response has been very positive. They provided us with useful advice and help. In addition, players who are unfamiliar with each other can have fun together, and we were very worried when designing this game. For "Werewolves Within," you need at least 5 players, and "Star Trek" is designed for 1-4 players, so you can choose between single mode, or a friend and two NPCs. The game is very flexible. But you may wish to come up with an interesting match with a stranger.
It may seem strange to sit and play the game. Have you ever considered designing a more active version of your game and adding more moves?
Votica: Some people told us that they prefer to move around on the bridge. However, we have some considerations. First, we need to set the operator station on the wall, so the game needs a bigger range. But second, for a cross-platform VR game, not all platforms support the room-scale experience. This is one of the reasons why the game is set to create a seated experience.
The game is focused on being a team management station. This is the reason we chose this method, at least for this game.
When did you think of making Star Trek a game prototype?
Votica: Very early. We started by considering a multiplayer game. Red Storm's game designers Hunter Janes and Chris Curry proposed to me based on multi-player ideas. Then I talked with the Ubisoft Licensing Department and they provided me with a series of upcoming films, including Star Trek. For multiplayer based games, I don't think there is anything better than Star Trek. This IP and VR are very suitable.
Do you need to create something yourself? Because this is not the standard Star Trek bridge.
Votica: Yes. On the Aegis, we have these beautiful glass touch screens. Even in the new movie, shots on this kind of screen are flashing. We got a lot of these assets from CBS, but we still have a lot of freedom when designing games. (Note: CBS Television has obtained the copyright of the TV version of "Star Trek").
On the original series bridge, we hope to restore the real scene as much as possible. There are 36 color buttons on the bridge, there is no label, but we have set pop-up help tips. When you watch the original program, you think, what does this button do? But the actor will press different buttons in each episode. They never press the same button. I think this gives us a bit of flexibility.
Will the entire series be different? Do you need to observe what they do in each bridge?
Voltica: There are three seasons in the original series. We basically choose a time point, which is probably the second quarter. We model the bridge based on this season. At first, there was no room for Sulu's console. They were added later. The scene will evolve over time. So we chose a time point and then developed it as a foundation.
How many tasks are there in the game?
Voltica: We haven't announced yet. We will only announce it when the game is about to be released. However, there is a story mode in the game, and two bridges including four unique consoles. The two bridges play differently.
How long does each task take to complete?
Voltica: It depends on the players and their experience. On average, each character needs about 25-30 minutes. Some need a little longer time. For example, sneak quests, which take longer.
Will everyone like this game as you would expect and will they like these characters?
Voltica: Many iron powders like this kind of game, and they use the “lingo†they learned from Star Trek. But some players are just ordinary fans, or do not quite understand Star Trek. When they enter the game, they will look at the console and then say the hull strength is a few percent. The captain will ask "How strong is the hull?" and they will say "The hull strength is 50%!". It's like dialogue in Star Trek. If you want to sound like a starship crew, the operator station can help you understand these terms.
Based on feedback from last year, you may still have many things to optimize.
Vultika: Yes. The operation station shown at the E3 conference is much simpler, because the demo is probably about 20 minutes for each player waiting in line, and we also need newbie guidelines. Since then, we have added many things for each operation station. The tactical officer now has a targeting subsystem and a scanning subsystem. Engineers can allocate energy on demand and direct the energy in one system to another. This is a high-risk and high-return gambling, because if you drive too long you may destroy a system. The helmsman manages the pulsing voyage, which is the third sailing mode in the game. The captain can get a lot of information in the AR pop-up screen. In addition, if you are playing with the NPC, the captain can command the NPC through all these popup menus.
This is just a small example. The operation station has been greatly improved. We have also joined a distribution system where you can assign who is responsible for the transmitter and who is responsible for the system intrusion. This is another specialized system in the Aegis. The crew can reasonably allocate tasks. We have added tons of things since E3.
At least in the movie, the Kobayashi Maru test should be an impossible task. What kind of result do you want in the game?
Votica: The reason we joined the Kobayashi Maru test is that many people have feedback requesting the Kobayashi Maru test. This is a classic plot in Star Trek. We need to design it as an unbreakable task, and I believe we have succeeded. But we also need some measure of success. If you enter the test and end up in failure, you do not want to play again. So the measure of success is how many people you can save from the Kobayashi Maru test.
There are interesting strategies here. We saw in the media activities that 6 people saved 102 people in total. The record in our studio is 111 people. Once you select this task and unlock it, this task becomes a challenge in the menu. This way you can play repeatedly and try different strategies.
What is the driving force of other mission design?
Votica: We are basically writing tasks for ourselves. CBS will review and we will cooperate with them. We want to bring different tasks to players. Star Trek is not just about fighting, so we want to add more gameplay. Sailing challenges, stealth challenges (to avoid detection), and even escape. In the fourth mission, your starship has been severely damaged. You need to escape and try to hide and avoid the Klingon's pursuit.
In sailing mode, you are usually chasing fugitives. The game also provides a research-type task, you are just exploring, scanning and investigating different places. We try to bring players a variety of experiences because Star Trek itself has a lot to do.
Is the role of each crew member different in different tasks? When I was against the Klingon in the Kobayashi Maru test, I felt that the responsibility of the tactical officer was even more important.
Vultika: It will be different depending on the task, and it may even be different depending on the issue you are dealing with. I just mentioned a mission that you are being chased. Basically the hull damage has been very serious, so the engineer is the most important role in this task because you need to repair the starship and make sure that the ship can only fly normally and escape the enemy. The pursuit.
Did other Star Trek games bring you inspiration?
Vultika: We don't refer too many other games, mainly because we are developing VR format. We just want to develop an experience about the bridge, and I don't think there is a more suitable format than VR. There is no other way you can feel like you are on the ground and you can operate a starship like a crew. There is a single-player game called Bridge Commander. You personally act as a captain and order the NPC through the menu. However, the core of this game is not that you and your friends are on a starship, and that you control the spacecraft as a crew member. And we hope to create such a game.
What makes you think about the future of VR and other games?
Votica: Under the social VR system, "Werewolves Within" is a "circumference" format. You can imagine that other kinds of card games and table games can take this format. Star Trek is a multiplayer based format. You can imagine a military game, a space game, and many different kinds of games. The point is that you are in a shared space with other people and then enjoy the joy of working together to complete the task.
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