Tech Case: Augmented Empire

CreaTech case: augmented Empire VR game

Coatsink was founded in 2009 by Tom Beardsmore and Paul Crabb and has developed games for PC, PS4, PS Vita, Nintendo Switch, Oculus Rift, Gear VR and Microsoft mixed reality platforms.

In July 2017 the company launched the pioneering Samsung Gear VR game, 'Augmented Empire', a mobile VR role-playing game (RPG) considered one of the deepest and most accomplished experiences on the platform.

Samsung Gear VR is the most popular head-mounted display (HMD) on the market, excluding Google Cardboard, and  the team at Coatsink had produced other popular games for the headset, including Esper, Esper 2 and A Night Sky.

In Augmented Empire, high value citizens live in luxury whilst marginal characters and criminals exist in squalor. The player uses look-and-click controls to instruct a team of six augmented misfits in a world rendered as an “augmented reality” diorama, interacting with the office around them to investigate new developments, make calls, and develop the skills of their team.

One of the game's key differentiators is the soundscape, with scripts voiced by leading actors including Kate Mulgrew (Star Trek Voyager), Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead), Doug Cockle (The Witcher series), Garrick Hagon (Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope).

The playable demo for the game was created over a period of three months in order to secure funding for the project from Oculus Studios. Full development began in July 2016 and lasted for 11 months.

'Augmented Empire' is considered a flagship game experience for Gear VR. It was the first tactical RPG created exclusively for VR and Coatsink cite it as an example to the sector of what can be achieved in this space.

With games now beginning to see mainstream adoption in the augmented reality (Pokemon Go) and mixed reality spaces, and as the hardware for VR/AR/MR matures and becomes even more affordable over the next few years, Coatsink believe that VR will begin to see mainstream adoption globally and become commonplace across all sectors of industry.

Read the full version of this Immerse UK case study here.