Factsheet
Developer:
KO_OP
Based in Montreal, Quebec
Release date:
2014
Platforms:
PC
Website:
http://spacedog.ko-opmode.com/
Description
Strap into an Oculus VR headset and join Spacedog, your plucky and dangerously incompetent canine captain as you plot a course across the galaxy. Bumble your way through engine failures, solar flares, giant space-heads and more with the help of your AKAI-LPD8 MIDI controller, thoughtfully obscured by the Oculus itself. Please Don't, Spacedog! is a psychedelic adventure game inspired by the player-centric stories of games like Flotilla and FTL: hang out with Spacedog, listen to the space-radio, and fumble to hold the ship together through a chaotic interplanetary road trip.
History
Please Don't, Spacedog! was KO-OP's first Oculus design experience. The team wanted to explore the uniqueness that something like a VR headset could bring to the medium of video games, and wanted to explore (and mess with) expectations rather than taking normal control paradigms and shoe-horning them onto the VR experience. Using a MIDI Controller to model the inside of a spacetruck meant players have to confront unfamiliar territory, playing with the idea of immersion and embodiment in games.
Features
- Oculus VR support with a unique twist: play the game with an LPD8 MIDI Controller
- The inability to see your hands as you try to tweak knobs and punch in button sequences leads to comedic disembodied play, subverting and messing with designing for "immersion"
- Exhibition Only - please request a build if you'd like to feature Please Don't, Spacedog!
Videos
There are currently no trailers available for Please Don't, Spacedog!. Check back later for more or contact us for specific requests!
Images
Logo & Icon
Awards & Recognition
- "Official Selection, [Select/Start] PLAY" - Viborg Animation Festival, Viborg, 3 October, 2014
- "Official Selection, XOXO Arcade" - XOXO, Portland, 12 September, 2014
- "Special Exhibition, Joyful Bewilderment" - BigSushi.fm and Rogue Ruckus, Boston, 12 April, 2014
- "Official Selection, ALT.CTRL.GDC" - GDC, San Francisco, 19 March, 2014
Selected Articles
- "...the talk of the town at last month's alt.ctrl.GDC"
- John Polson, IndieGames.com - Please Don't, Spacedog! is Oculus VR immersion done right - "It's also probably the world's only canine-astronaut simulator."
- Sean Buckley, Engadget - GDC's alternative arcade: a gallery of crazy, homemade game controllers - "...but the fact that the game didn’t hit me over the head with the awesomely cute spacedog to my left earned my respect while also showing there’s great opportunity for unexpected visual stimuli within the realm of virtual reality."
- Garrett Martin, Paste Magazine - Virtual Reality and Irrational Exuberance - "Still, I left the conference a believer in virtual reality — or unreality. Some of the most intriguing games that I played last week were abstract or even cartoonish."
- Chris Suellentrop, New York Times - Virtual Reality Is Here. Can We Play With It?
Additional Links
Designing for the Oculus with Spacedog
Interview with Indiegames.com about VR design indiegames.com.
Photo Credit: Kert Gartner
Kert Gartner kertgartner.com.
About KO_OP
Boilerplate
KO_OP is a unique, award-winning game studio focused on the creation of visually arresting avant-garde games. They recently released GNOG for PlayStation, iOS, and Steam – a title which has earned them a prestigious IGF nomination, numerous awards, and industry recognition.
More information
More information on KO_OP, our logo & relevant media are available here.
Please Don't, Spacedog! Credits
G.P. Lackey
Design, Art
Bronson Zgeb
Design, Development
Ramsey Kharroubi / Marskye
Sound
presskit() by Rami Ismail (Vlambeer) - also thanks to these fine folks