Welcome to the Projects page! Here you can see some of my work. I will start with some of my latest projects, and we will work our way down to some older work.
Projects
VR Dining | Game Edition
I have been working as a game designer for VR Owl, a Virtual Reality agency in Utrecht, the Netherlands. My main task was to create game designs and prototypes for the VR Dining Game Edition. When the games were ready to go into production, I had the creative lead on the entire project. The games are build for the Samsung Gear VR.
Check out the website right here.
The VR Dining Games are all about Social VR. As a company outing, employees can enjoy a delightful dinner while playing VR games together in between courses. All games are multiplayer VR games, which will encourage the employees to work together. It’s one of the most innovative ways to create team bonding.
I’ve been responsible for designing and leading two of the four games. The first one was Pictionary.
In Pictionary, one player has to pick a word and draw this on a canvas while the other players guess what it is. After every round, another player will take the stage. Players of different teams play against one another. The drawing is done by using a line renderer, similar as it is done in HoloDoodle. However, the player now draws with a reticle while using their head movement and holding down the touchpad.
Besides designing the game, I was also was part of the development team during the production of this game.
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The second game is a coop on rails shooter called Lazor Overdrive.
A plague of Purple Pyramid aliens has invaded the world. As part of the Blue Broncos Bounty Hunter Squad, you and your team have to eliminate as many targets as possible. Just aim with your head and shoot with the touchpad of the Gear VR headset. Your gun will do the rest. However, another squad called the Red Rhinos is just as eager as your squad to get the most points…
The game has a 80s retro wave look and feel.
The game consists of three stages. In the first stage, you and your team drive through the city, terminating the plague of the purple pyramids. In the second stage, you’ll be driving on the back of a train in a subway system. The PVE gameplay gets an additional PVP element to it, where another group of bounty hunters will be on the other side of the track. Shoot their ride to earn bonus points. Last but not least, the third stage takes you and your team to a river. Your ride transforms into a floating vehicle. While your team gets ambushed by jet ski-riding, sunbathing and swimming aliens, make it to the end of the river, where an allied ship awaits you.
For this game I was responsible for the game designs, prototypes and creative lead during production.
“Black Mirror” Whac-A-Mole Prototype
Fans of the television show Black Mirror will remember the episode ‘Playtest’, where protagonist Cooper Redfield plays an AR version of Whac-A-Mole. You can watch the original scene from Black Mirror here. I’ve made a HoloLens game where players can do the exact same thing.
By combining the HoloLens’ spatial mapping with positional hand tracking, the player can hit the mole on the head. When a player holds his hand in the ‘ready state’ – lifting your index finger upwards – the HoloLens will recognize the hand and create a collider on the hand. The hand’s position can be tracked while in the ‘ready state’, causing the collider to always be exactly where your hand is. From there it’s simple: the hand can collide with the moles, and when this happens, the mole will be whacked on the head.
This prototype has had a lot of media attention from websites like UploadVR, Mashable and VRScout.
VoxelVaders Prototype
VoxelVaders is a game where the player has the ability to draw and shape his own objects to use as weapons and shields. These objects are used in the game as defensive items against hordes of cube-like invaders. The player can smash practically everything in the game from throwing their own creations to smashing drones together.
I was responsible for the concept design, game design and visuals. For the creation of the “weapons”, a custom voxel engine was used. The goal is to survive the waves of enemies as long as possible. You win if you’ve defeated all the invaders.
HoloDoodle Prototype
HoloDoodle is a HoloLens application that lets you draw in the air.
The goal for this prototype was to create a fun way to physically interact with holograms. I wanted to see if it was possible to track the hand of the user and realize physical interaction with the virtual layer.
I’ve tried multiple ways to let the hand interact with the augmented layer. I started by pushing my hand against a cube, which would then be pushed away. Although this very direct physical interactivity felt quite realistic, it wasn’t really practical. Therefore, I decided to come up with a concept which was more about creating than manipulating objects. This became the HoloDoodle.
I initially wanted the user to be able to draw from their fingertips, but as only the hand and not the fingers can be tracked, and every user has a different hand size, this proved to be quite inaccurate. I tackled this by creating a small cursor right in front of the hand, which acts like the tip of a brush. The drawing is done by creating a trail renderer from the cursor.
From there, the concept is simple: By pushing the cursor – which floats right before your hand – against the panel “buttons” you can select line colors and line thickness. The cursor will act accordingly by becoming the same color and thickness as the settings you’ve selected. Next, air tap and hold to start drawing, and release your finger to stop. Made a mistake? Just say “Undo” to delete the last line you’ve drawn. Say “Clear All” to delete everything. With these voice commands, I allowed the panel to stay nice and clean.
HoloGolf
HoloGolf makes it possible to play golf in your own living room thanks to the power of the HoloLens.
The goal was to create a game for people who are new to the HoloLens. The game mechanic should be really easy to use and understand. I wanted to do something based on physics in order to create a sense of realism, but also give it a futuristic look to make it feel a bit more surreal. That’s how I came up with the concept of a golf game which you can literally play in your living room. The idea is simple: aim where you want the ball to go and tap to shoot. The further you aim, the harder the shot. The visuals I’ve designed give it the futuristic, surreal feeling.
Although the game is still in a prototyping state, we already have developed a tool which allows us to create new tracks in a very small amount of time. By placing waypoints we can automatically generate a new track in a matter of minutes.
Tap ‘N Boom
Boom your way up. Speed your way down. Crash into the earth.
Tap ‘N Boom is an Android mobile game. A match in Tap ‘N Boom has three stages:
- Get as high as possible by creating explosions to boom yourself up
- When falling down, time your tapping just right to increase your score
- Once you’ve crashed into the earth, earn Boom Coins by tapping the resources
I’ve been mainly responsible for the content development, technical game management, project management and marketing.
Mine Crisis VR
Mine Crisis VR is a virtual reality expierience for the Oculus Rift DK2. The year is 1922. All communication with the mineworkers of the Atlanta Mining Company is lost. Your mission is to find out what happend to the mineworkers. After descending down the mineshaft, you soon start to notice that something very sinister has happened…
The company Pilotfish wanted me to create an VR game based on rotation and pressure sensors they’ve created named Honeywell Spheres. Although we didn’t have the tools to use the Honeywell Spheres, the game is inspired by the input of the spheres. Right now, you can play it with a Xbox controller. Ride through the mines, destroy the evil opponents and get the highest score.
Otherside
An unknown alien lifeform has brought chaos to Earth. The aliens have captured Celeste, the Princess of Amsterdam, at the docks of the IJ. They combine their technology with ours to give Prince Remus the challenge of a lifetime. Armed with superhuman abilities, he must get to the other side to save his one true love…
Otherside is a First Person Platformer, in which the player has to jump from one boat to another to get to the other side of the IJ. This might seem quite easy at first, but it is pretty hard to master! I was inspired by games like Frogger and Mirror’s Edge. Although these two games might sound like a weird combination, it turns out to be a great match!
I’ve made this game alone, with the assets from the De Pont Project from Submarine Channel. The game is also showcased on their website.
Weird Willy’s Wonky Metal Arena
Survive this crazy arena! Fight off the evil minions of Wizard Willy! Use your spells for victory!
I made this game for the Global Game Jam 2016. The theme was Ritual. We’ve implemented this theme through the game mechanics. The player has to cast a spell by using specific button commands on a Xbox controller.
I was responsible for the level design and programming.
Mobile Development – World Fashion Centre
I’ve been working on a mobile application for the World Fashion Centre in Amsterdam. The app is developed in Android Studio. I’ve been involved in the design as well as the technical development for this app.
The World Fashion Centre wanted an application which:
- Gives you general information about the WFC
- Has the ability of indoor and outdoor navigation
- Shows which showrooms and offices are still available to rent
- Shows an overview of all the facilities in the WFC
The app was eventually never released, so I don’t have a link to the app. However, here are some screenshots to give you an impression.
Remco Hilbert 