PlatformaVR Gets Into the Rhythm With Wave Circles for HTC Vive

Rhythm action videogames are making a triumphant return thanks to virtual reality (VR) technology – or more precisely  Beat Saber – with others including Audio Shield, Audica, and Harmonix’s newly announced Dance Central. Location-based entertainment (LBE) VR specialist PlatformaVR has now entered the market with its first home consumer product  Wave Circles.  

Still in an early prototype form, Wave Circles is far enough along that PlatformaVR has released this initial version for gamers to take a look at. Currently only supporting HTC Vive and HTC Vive Pro, Wave Circles is a rhythm action experience where you play pre-recorded beatmaps and create your own ones with your body.

There are two songs to play through, each with an easy and difficult setting. In time with the music you have to catch circles and hit the coloured blobs with your hands. What’s far more interesting is the feature to create your own beatmaps and share them with your friends – a feature the likes of Beat Saber has only seen through third-party mods.

You’ll need MP3 files of your favourite tunes to start with and then using the HTC Vive controller hit the trigger for circles and the touchpad to make the blobs. At this stage sharing your created beatmaps with a friend is slightly more complicated than hitting a share button, so head to PlatformaVR’s Itch.io webpage for in-depth instructions and the link to download  Wave Circles.

Wave Circles is still a work in progress, with PlatformaVR looking for feedback as it adds further features and more polish.

PlatformaVR is a Russian startup which opened its first free-roaming location in Moscow in 2017. Since then it has expanded, going international by adding a location in Orlando, Florida in collaboration with MindQuest Escape Games. Most recently, the company was at CES 2019 in January to open its second US-based free-roaming centre at Bally’s Las Vegas.

The centre’s display PlatformaVR’s own unique experiences, The Arrival, The Poisoner, and MATCH, with plans to establish new locations in London, UK and Los Angeles, US. As development continues on Wave Circles VRFocus will keep you updated.

https://www.vrfocus.com/2019/03/platformavr-gets-into-the-rhythm-with-wave-circles-for-htc-vive/