Hi everyone! My name is Jonathan Hawkins, and I'm the founder and creative director at White Elk. This week we introduced Covert for PSR VR, and we're excited to not only share the new VR game with you but also help you share VR with your friends and family!
Covert is a unique co-op game that pairs PS VR with a smartphone or tablet. The VR player is a thief; their mission is to break down enemy bases to complete various mission objectives. The average player guides the VR player to these safe spaces through their bird watching experience; they have access to security guards, can even access security systems, and access computers! They are connecting to a VR player through our free companion app (available on all the latest iOS and Android devices.)
The game has eight different mechanics, six hours of gameplay, and an engaging story filled with dozens of colorful characters. Your guide on this journey is Stacy, a gadget genius. He is the last known member of the Society known as the Thieves, a world-famous thief organization, stealing the rich from the poor. They have been split in two by their former boss, who put the Society's former leader and chief thief, James Bourdain, in prison. Stacy hires you and your friend to join the Society of Thieves, to avenge them and to get rid of this century's deception!
After the operation Eclipse: Edge of Light, a game about being alone in a strange land, I wanted to create something for the community. I noticed that when I shared VR with my family and friends, everyone wanted to try that, but there weren't many games that allowed you to have a shared experience with someone in VR. I wanted to create a VR game that I played together with my wife. So, I challenged myself and the team at White Elk to create something different and I could explore a new type of game.
This has been quite a challenge as there has been nothing like it ever done before. Many different ideas, mechanics, and scenarios we tried didn't work, but we learned from that failure. In the end, we had to focus on building simple communication tools between VR and mobile players so that they could play the game well in one room or across the country.
For example, a hijacker can guide a thief through that one by tapping twice on a map to create marks that the thief can see in the world. They can touch open doors and devices to attract the attention of a thief. The fun "blind gadget" also offers them a way to give the VR player a "Get out of Jail Free" card, so that they can escape difficult situations in the face of multiple enemy guards.
Once we made these tools, it was very easy for us to design many different fun situations. I can't count how many times I've heard, “No, some left. Communication is hard!
In the end, I feel that we were able to overcome these challenges and fulfill our purpose of creating a social VR game. We received many emails and messages from people who had a great time sharing Covert with their children, parents and other important people.
It's a fun bedtime game, where you can take turns transferring the PSVR, or reconnect with an old friend in another city. My wife and I had a great time playing, and I hope you all do too! 🙂
Thank you!
– Jonathan Hawkins
PS: We have an Eclipse: Edge of Light patch with Mov support soon!
