PRChat
| PRChat | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Original title | PRChat |
| Studio | VRChat Inc. |
| Publisher | VRChat Inc. |
| Senior Developer | Graham Gaylor, Jesse Joudrey |
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
1st February 2017 |
| platform | Microsoft Windows |
| Game engine | Unity |
| genre | Massively multiplayer online game |
| Subject | virtual worlds , chat rooms |
| Game mode | Multiplayer |
| control | Mouse , keyboard , gamepad , motion tracking , eye tracking , lip synchronization |
| system advantages preconditions |
|
| medium | Download |
| language | multilingual |
VRChat (from the words "VR" for virtual reality and " Chat is") is a free-to-play - MMOG by Graham and Jesse Gaylor Joudrey that is optimized for virtual reality and players through the use of 3D avatars allows to interact with other players in a virtual world .
Although the game is optimized for virtual reality, it can be played on a normal screen without using it .
The head-mounted displays Oculus Rift , Oculus Rift S , Oculus Quest , HTC Vive Valve Index and Windows Mixed Reality are officially supported .
Gameplay
The game principle is based on other virtual chat worlds such as Second Life and Habbo Hotel . Players can create their own worlds ( user-generated content ) in which they can communicate, interact and play with one another online using 3D avatars.
The avatars can be controlled by audio lip synchronization , eye tracking and motion capturing or by classic input methods such as control with mouse and keyboard .
Different mini-games , such as Capture the Flag , are also supported. Some servers also support digital painting , cinema mode and karaoke .
A software development kit released alongside the game gives players the ability to create or import character models from different series and adopt them as their avatars.
Development and dissemination
The game was released on February 1, 2017 through the Steam Early Access program for Microsoft Windows . The game was developed in Unity . HTC has invested 4 million US dollars in the game and co-opted by the developers. VRChat should therefore be the official social VR app for the HTC Vive.
The game achieved great popularity, among other things, through the many presentations on the web video portal YouTube and the live streaming service Twitch , which resulted in many users playing the game without a VR device. The game also created its own content such as forums , podcasts or news sites.
In order to limit trolling , the developers have implemented a panic button which, when activated, ensures that all avatars around you are muted and replaced by a gray standard model. This function is primarily intended to help live streamers and their viewers who feel disturbed by the trolls.
reception
Chip Online , The Daily Dot and Polygon criticize, among other things, the many trolls and sometimes racist and insulting remarks in the game, which have already become Internet memes . The web video "Do You Know The Way", which has been clicked a million times and shows a group of VR chat players walking around in the virtual world and posing as a modified, allegedly Ugandan form of the character Knuckles from the Sonic series, received special media attention and criticism. Play a series of games and repeat the phrase “Do you know the way?” With an African accent. Thereupon the developers announced that in the future more emphasis should be placed on the moderation in the game by the players and the hiding of critical content.
Gründszene.de sees the game as a mixture of Second Life and a crazy comic world in which characters from anime , the Internet or other works of pop culture can be found. VRChat describes itself as the future of social reality.
The number of users is up to 20,000 simultaneous players. In February 2018, only 8,000 players were online at peak times. According to Steam Spy, approximately 3.5 million users own the game.
Trivia
A web video that shows how players in the virtual world deal with a person who is currently having an epileptic seizure received media attention . Actually, the user did not suffer from photosensitivity and was therefore not prepared for the situation.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d VRChat is a bizarre phenomenon that has Twitch, YouTube obsessed. In: polygon. Retrieved June 27, 2018 .
- ↑ 'VRChat' Is A Social Platform, A Dev Sandbox, And A Step In The Right Direction. In: Tom's Hardware. February 1, 2017, accessed June 27, 2018 .
- ↑ a b c d What you need to know about the US hype VRChat now. In: Gründerszene Magazin. February 6, 2018, accessed June 27, 2018 .
- ↑ VRChat Raises $ 4 Million Round Led By HTC - UploadVR. In: UploadVR. September 21, 2017. Retrieved June 27, 2018 .
- ↑ VRChat becomes the official social VR app for HTC Vive. Accessed June 27, 2018 (German).
- ↑ VRChat: Now with a panic button for streamers. Retrieved June 27, 2018 .
- ↑ PRChat. In: CHIP Online. Retrieved June 27, 2018 .
- ↑ Collin MacGregor: Ugandan Knuckles Meme Has Infested VRChat. In: Heavy.com. January 9, 2018, accessed June 27, 2018 .
- ↑ How Ugandan Knuckles turned VRChat into a total trollfest. In: The Daily Dot. January 10, 2018, accessed June 27, 2018 .
- ↑ VRChat team speaks up on player harassment in open letter. In: polygon. Retrieved June 27, 2018 .
- ↑ VRChat: Hype is calming down, user numbers are solid. Accessed June 27, 2018 (German).
- ↑ Gamers help gamers: The player has an epileptic fit in the middle of the game. Retrieved June 27, 2018 .
- ↑ VR Chat: Quick help for epileptic players. In: IGN Germany. January 27, 2018, accessed June 27, 2018 .
- ↑ User suffers epileptic seizure in virtual reality chat - derStandard.de. Retrieved June 27, 2018 .