CCP, creators of the extremely popular EVE Online MMO, has been a big supporter of virtual reality from the very beginning. Development of EVE: Valkyrie, a virtual reality space combat simulator, for the Oculus Rift before Facebook purchased Oculus VR for $2 billion in 2014, and it was one of the first games announced for PlayStation VR.
EVE: Valkyrie has since become the chief example of virtual reality’s potential, with mind-blowing demonstrations shown at major gaming conventions like E3 and EVE Fanfest. In fact,Valkyrie will be included with every Oculus Rift Bundle, forever linking it to the start of the high-end VR era for consumers.
Gunjack, another space shooter developed by CCP, released for Samsung’s Gear VR last fall. So, it seems no matter what virtual reality device you pick up, CCP is there. The company further demonstrated its commitment to the technology by raising $30 million last year to back development of virtual reality content. With the Oculus Rift launching in March, HTC pre-orders beginning later this month, and Sony expected to announce the PlayStation VR’s launch date sometime soon, people are buzzing about the prospects of virtual reality.
CCP CEO, Hilmar Veigar Pétursson, speaks to [a]listdaily about working to forge a new technological frontier.
Last year, CCP stated a goal of building the world’s first AAA-quality game for VR, but EVE: Valkyrie seems to have picked up a few rivals, with more to come. In what ways will the game continue to stand out?
We celebrate the fact that more developers are joining the cause of creating excellent VR content. We will need a lot for this new platform to succeed. Our approach is to build our games and experiences from the ground up for VR, leveraging all the amazing strengths that the platform has, such as presence and immersion, like nothing else we have ever experienced. We appreciate that others take a different stance but this is our plan to stand out.
Between Gunjack and EVE: Valkyrie, CCP will have games for Gear VR, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR. Is there a difference in promoting games across the three devices?
I don’t think we know the answer to this one yet! We’re learning along with everyone else what works best. We’ve had good luck partnering early with the platform holders and building games that showcase all the great things about their devices. What we have also learned is that the mode of input matters a lot, a lot more frankly than the output, so our focus is to build games and experiences leveraging the strengths of the input mechanism, which I believe will be the differentiating factor going forward.
Will we ever see Gunjack release for other devices like the Oculus Rift, or for other (non-Samsung) smartphone devices through Google Cardboard?
We’re definitely looking into other platforms. Gunjack is a natural fit for all most any VR platform so it’s just a matter of what’s the right thing for the team to do next.
What are the challenges in promoting a game for an emerging technology like VR?
The big one is that VR has to be experienced for people to fully understand what’s so great about it. You can’t demo a VR game on a stage or during a livestream and hope to capture people’s imagination. So we make an effort to be a part of as many live demo opportunities as we can and continue to be inspired by people’s reactions to our games and experiences.
How long do you think it will take for VR to catch on with mainstream consumers?
I think we’ll see a similar adoption pattern as most new technology. The first VCRs cost a thousand dollars in the late 1970s, but that’s what it took to prove that people wanted a way to record television at home. Generally, we keep in mind that we as innovators and early adopters have a tendency of over estimating the first three years and underestimating the first 10 years, so we are very mindful of planning around slow adoption but being fully prepared to follow through once the platform starts to take off.
Have Gunjack and anticipation for Valkyrie helped to grow the EVE Online player base?
We have noticed throughout the year that any move we make in the market raises our profile and makes people more curious about everything else we do. Our goal for Gunjack and EVE: Valkyrie hasn’t been to use them to grow EVE Online per se, it’s more about bringing the EVEuniverse to a new audience. But brand awareness for CCP and EVE grows as a result, and that helps with bringing more players to EVE Online.
What is the most important thing to keep in mind when launching a game for VR?
I would say that people should be prepared to be in the business long term. We’re not going to see multi-million-selling VR games this year.
