Now you can fly through the space-time vortex.
We already know how hard it can be to keep track of time while in VR. But now imagine you’re in the Doctor Who TARDIS, journeying through the depths of space time. Transporting into vortexes from past eras, from the current vortex to re-imagined designs from the 1960’s and 1980’s. It’s easy to get lost in VR, and that’s what BBC is hoping with their new VR game.
Doctor Who fans can now step inside a VR version of the show’s title sequence in this new game. Doctor Who Time Vortex VR gives you the chance to pilot the TARDIS through the depths of the space-time.
The game is a VR reboot of the Time Vortex 360 mobile game released earlier this year. As you speed through time, you will tackle hazards and obstacles emerging from the future ahead. You must quickly react by physically turning around to evade threats from the past. As you progress through the game, you are constantly transported into different time zones from past eras.
The game is available to play using cardboard headsets, Google Daydream, Samsung Gear VR and HTC Vive via your web browser. However, those of you without headsets can play the game on Samsung Internet, newer versions of Android or iOS, and the latest versions of Chrome, Firefox or Safari.
The endless runner game gets more and more difficult the longer you play, taking you on a visually intense journey through the iconic vortex from the show’s opening credits. Using the device’s accelerometer, you can control the game by physically moving around, even giving you the the ability to turn around and travel backwards in time.
“After releasing the 360 version of the game, we had lots of comments from players suggesting it would make a great VR experience,” said Jo Pearce, Creative Director, BBC Digital Drama. “For this re-boot we wanted to offer a VR gaming experience that is as accessible as possible and test the limits of what is possible to develop using WebVR.”
Developed for the BBC by Goodboy Digital, the game has been created using the WebVR API and combines HTML5 and WebGL using PixiJS v5.0 to create the journey that works on a wide range of hardware.
To play, you can visit bbc.in/TimeVortexVR.
