In a recent Podcast episode of Q2C VR Gamer Live, Eric & Todd sat down with some of the biggest names in VR gaming right now, Scott & ProperD, two developers behind “Ghosts of Tabor”.
From Dream to Virtual Reality
Scott, whose earlier ambitions had him vying to build a VR version of the flatscreen FPS game Tarkov, painted a vivid picture of the initial hurdles. “Despite the timelines developers provided, my resolve drove me to forge ahead and craft this dream myself, culminating in just 11 months,” he shared.
This passion wasn’t only about building a game, but also recreating a slice of Europe in VR “‘Tabor is a real place. It’s a real city in the Czech Republic. My wife is Czech, my daughters have Czech, their both speak Czech, I speak Czech, our family still lives in the Czech Republic, we go twice a year minimum…Every map you see is inspired by a real place in Europe somewhere.” said Scott.
The Confluence of Gamers
ProperD, already a seasoned player in the VR space, recounted his first meeting with Scott through the vibrant world of competitive gaming. His admiration for Scott’s audacious vision was evident: “The moment I heard of a VR Tarkov, excitement surged.
I used to play a lot of MMOs. So I kept thinking like, I wish I could just like, grind towards like getting this legendary weapon that I can just hold in my hands, you know, just like a fiery axe or some shit like that. And now it’s I mean, it’s the equivalent, you’ve got your bunker, your gun wall and stuff like you’ve got this display cabinet, essentially, of all of these legendary weapons that you can like murder people for to bring home. It’s exactly that feeling
ProperD
Addressing the logo comparisons, Scott remarked with confidence,
People say what they want to say like oh you did this tarkov exactly see like oh your logo looks like tarkov i’m like yeah there’s a silhouette in it tarkov stole it from daisy…my marketing worked you knew exactly what i was going for with the logo so i’ve already got you hooked it’s it’s just i don’t know man it’s…we are tarkov vr
Scott
Teamwork Makes The Dream Work
The path to “Ghosts of Tabor” wasn’t devoid of challenges. Scott’s gratitude towards his steadfast team echoed throughout the conversation. “Their sacrifices, from time and effort to even taking pay cuts, made this possible,” he reminisced. These sacrifices didn’t go unnoticed, with Scott proudly declaring the team’s newfound stake in the company.
The developers in the team even cut their pay for the sake of the project. They now own part of the company.
Scott
Revisiting a particularly intense moment, Scott narrated, “While awaiting approval from Meta for App Lab, we faced frame rate challenges… It was a rollercoaster…
It was on Friday, the launch party was on Saturday, we were launching on Monday, and we were still fixing stuff that Meta was telling us to fix through our publisher.
Meta hadn’t even approved us for App Lab yet. So that night, we’re all sitting around the fire pit, they’re getting ready to push the patch and Phish goes over and he clicks update, and he’s like, “Scott come here.” And I’m like, what’s up man? And he’s like, the time we were working so long hours we didn’t catch it so we failed a check.
Your frames are too low. We’re like, how? Like, how are they too low? And then Ray was like, we have fucking space warp enabled! And we said, son of a bitch. So we resubmitted and we got it that night when everybody was around and lit, smoked a cigar and drank some more and had a great evening. And I think we got kicked out of the outside venue though, haha
Scott
The Game and Beyond
The game’s mechanics, as Todd pointed out, have been exceptionally well-received. “The inaugural match experience is nothing short of exhilarating,” he stated.
Breachers vs. Ghost of Tibor: A Friendly Rivalry
The gaming community has sometimes compared “Ghost of Tibor” and “Breachers”. As Eric pointed out, even though they might not be the “exact same type of game”, their existence on the same platform brings forth inevitable comparisons. Yet, there is an underlying tone of respect and camaraderie, with developers acknowledging the merits of each other’s projects. Eric shared, “It was awesome to hear Scott talking about how happy he was with Breachers.”
Ghost of Tibor: A Deeper Dive
“Ghost of Tibor” was touted for its intricate gameplay, with the interview revealing its broader scope and detailed mechanics, setting it apart as a more intricate VR game. Discussions touched on the game’s progression system, suggesting a significant focus moving forward, especially concerning traders and leveling up mechanics.
On the other hand, “Breachers”, while being commended for its robustness, drew concerns about its sustainability. As mentioned in the conversation, without further map expansions, there could be potential longevity issues.
VR Content Creation: A Brief Glimpse
The interview also shed light on the broader aspects of VR content creation. Eric’s admission of creating his first TikTok and his admiration for VR creators on the platform stood out. The quick-paced, compelling nature of TikTok content creation, especially within the VR sphere, was acknowledged as a challenging but essential domain.
My advice to aspiring VR developers is to remain persistent and to not give up on their dreams
Scott
As the interview drew to a close, Scott’s heartfelt address to their community stood out: “To every viewer and player, your support propels us. Thanks for turning our dreams into reality.”
Watch the full interview here:
