UK-based studio Coatsink Software is part of a small group of developers that are already working on a virtual reality (VR) sequel. The team released its first VR title in first-person puzzler, Esper, onto the Gear VR mobile head-mounted display (HMD) earlier this year. But, while that experience is now also being ported to the Oculus Rift in time for launch in Q1 2016, the recently-announced Esper 2 is sticking with the Gear VR as its leads platform. Why did the developer choose to stay on the mobile device instead of moving to the PC HMD?
That’s something that VRFocus asked Coatsink Software’s Jonathon Wilson in an interview that will be published in full later this week. “So when we started development we didn’t know how close CV1 would be,” Wilson explained. “That’s one of the main reasons, but we believe there’s a lot of potential in the Gear VR. It could- it has probably a bigger opportunity to expand into a wider VR audience. It’s an accessory for your phone – a lot of people are going to see this as – which could then draw them into more VR. Like, people who want to use it more often and then develop into Rift.”
But, with the original Esper on its way to the Oculus Rift, could the sequel also head to PC? “It’s a possibility,” Wilson noted. “It’ll probably depend on how well Esper 1 does. And then we’ll see what the timescale is and if it’s something that Oculus are interested in it’s definitely something that we’d interested in.”
Esper 2 will expand on the original’s telekinesis-based gameplay with more locations and a robust voice cast that includes the likes of Nick Frost. Coatsink Software is also currently working with Boneloaf to bring its popular multiplayer brawler, Gang Beasts, to the Oculus Rift.
VRFocus will continue to follow Coatsink Software’s work on Esper and Esper 2, reporting back with the latest from the company.
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