I independently developed and published Photopia VR, a tech demo that brought the iconic gameplay of Pokemon Snap into Virtual Reality.

I completed the project over the course of one week; during this time I produced an overall design for the game, then designed and implemented the key game mechanics. This short deadline was a challenge I set myself, an exercise in efficient development and taking a game from concept to publication.

My design process involved lots of research and iteration – I know a strong initial design can make implementation much more efficient. In this case, the gameplay was inspired by an existing game, but translating its core mechanics to VR required a lot of thought. I have found that some long-existing game design formulae aren’t applicable to Virtual Reality; most developers know the standards for simple features like movement and interaction, but the solutions are not nearly as well-defined for VR.

I felt the gameplay of Pokemon Snap could be translated effectively into VR, and aimed to make the experience as immersive and tactile as possible. Players manually look around the environment as they travel, and must aim, zoom and shoot with a handheld camera.

Photopia VR is built for PCVR. It can be downloaded for free, with a premium version that unlocks the Night Mode environment.