When we saw Lone Echo at Oculus Connect 3 late last year, it solved one of virtual reality’s biggest limitations by ignoring humanity’s most common form of locomotion: walking. The game takes place entirely in zero gravity, asking players to navigate its virtual world by pushing off bulkheads like an astronaut or using hand-mounted jets to fly around like Iron Man. It worked shockingly well and easily became one of our favorite games from the show. Intel must have thought so too: It just made the game’s multiplayer component half of its new VR esports league.
Called Echo Arena, the multiplayer part of the space-exploration title pits teams of five weightless robots against one another in a frantic game of zero-g frisbee. The goal is pretty simple: Get control of the flying disc, avoid attacks from other players and toss the space frisbee into the opposing team’s goal. Actually doing this is pretty hard. It’s difficult to navigate four dimensions in itself, and the momentum of tossing yourself off a wall in zero gravity means it’s exceptionally hard to catch a pass. With time and practice, it can be done — but between the mechanics of the game and the VR experience movement model, there’s a clear skill curve.
,
Source: Engadget