AFFECTED: The Manor for Oculus Quest
AFFECTED: The Manor is coming to Oculus Quest! We made the announcement on Friday 13th (we felt like that was a fitting day) with the release of our teaser trailer.
Oculus Quest launched in May 2019, and for AFFECTED: The Manor to launch in the same year is a proud moment for the studio.
When we were asked by Oculus to bring AFFECTED: The Manor to the new platform, we knew we had to deliver on the expectations of both fans and also what Oculus is looking for in VR content. As such, we built the game from the ground up, recreating all the game assets – every slamming door, creaking floorboard and enough scares to give you nightmares.
To take advantage of Quest’s abilities, we brought hand avatars and interactivity to the experience for the first time, making you feel more ingrained in the environment. Small additions include the ability to interact with doors (they opened automatically before) and other parts of the environment; all intended to make you really feel like you’re in that manor!
Above all, we wanted the experience to leave its mark on whoever dares to don the headset. The Manor’s success since it was released comes down to its simplicity – not having to solve a puzzle or find a key just to leave a room – so a wide range of users can enjoy it. That’s why we made the design decision early in the process that we would not gamify these new interactions.
There is always the opportunity to go back and change a formula, especially with some great gaming features but they ultimately felt out of step with The Manor. That said, a lot of ideas aren’t left on the cutting room floor, you might say they felt more at home in AFFECTED: The Carnival…I won’t say too much… but watch this space.
And that leads me onto a most frequently asked question…
What is happening with AFFECTED: The Asylum and other titles in the franchise?
The short answer is good news; yes, they are happening and are in development.
Although we haven’t built on our consumer releases since The Manor, we’ve been busy building an arcade model that sees people in 45 countries playing it every day. Additionally, we’ve extended the AFFECTED IP in the location-based VR world with installations such as: AFFECTED: The Hotel in Las Vegas; AFFECTED: Ghost Rider – our motion simulator title at a theme park in South Korea and; AFFECTED: The Visit, our latest product made in collaboration with Ultrahaptics – now called Ultraleap – which brings physical touch into the virtual world for the very first time.
This resulted in us reworking our release schedule. With the advances in hardware, game engines improving all the time and a ton of experience, we are looking forward to bringing the next instalments to new and existing fans alike.
And finally, to the fans: Your passion and appreciation for the AFFECTED franchise is beyond our expectations and because of your support we can strive to keep delivering the best VR experiences. Hopefully, we will continue to surprise, delight and terrify you…in a good way!
We will watch enthusiastically as current fans and first-timers enjoy The Manor on Oculus Quest, as we get busy developing brand new AFFECTED experiences.
Alex Moretti
CEO
