The man behind Iron Man and The Mandalorian is jumping into the world of VR with Gnomes & Goblins VR. Jon Favreau has teamed up with VR publisher Wevr to develop the upcoming game, which has been 5 years in the making. Now, the game will make its debut later this month.
Gnomes & Goblins VR is an open-world fantasy game where players will go on an adventure to explore an enchanted forest filled with unique characters, artifacts, and mini-games. The game will allow players to make their own choices that affect the story with the help of guide Buddy the Goblin. This unparalleled form of world-building mixes creativity with narrative elements as magic lurks in every corner as you craft and collect items. Expect to be immersed in this magical world filled with possibilities based on the preview shown.
Beginning development back in 2015, the road to creating the game was a long one, as the team had to restart from scratch in 2017 according to VentureBeat. Wevr finally gave a 20-minute preview of the game at the Venice International Film Festival. “This version of Gnomes & Goblins is really our experiment with all the learnings we’ve had to date about VR,” said VR director Jake Rowell. About 50 people at the company worked on the product through different phases, teaming up with Madison Wells Media and Favreau’s Golem Creations. “We had people from both games and films working on this together,” Rowell said. “That was very helpful to us.”
Wevr has previously worked on VR with games like TheBlu, which took players deep under the sea to travel alongside creatures like whales and sea turtles. It was this game that got Favreau interested in the VR experience. The Jungle Book director worked with Wevr behind the scenes during the early stages looking through concept arts and rough sketches of the game. “I’m incredibly happy to see how Wevr has brought my original vision to life in virtual reality,” said Favreau in a statement. “We worked hard to create the mood and feeling that Gnomes & Goblins is like a virtual theme-park ride, where magic and meaning are waiting around every corner.”
Gnomes & Goblins VR will be available on platforms like Steam, Oculus, and Viveport on September 23.
NEXT: Oculus VR Studio Renamed To Facebook Reality Labs