Recently we've been describing Parkview Towers as a 'MMVR' game. So what does that mean? Let's start with the last part - the VR.
How is this VR? Star Trek's Holodeck has long been the gold standard in (fictional) VR technology. So let's use that in our example.
Imagine that you're on the Starship Enterprise, and you have time for a little R&R. You instruct the Holodeck to create a program featuring a living room in a high-rise apartment building in a city under attack by hostile aliens.
In this Holodeck simulation, you can stand in the virtual living room and look out the virtual windows. Alien fighters whizz past and buildings crumble in the distance as the aliens try to bomb and strafe the city into submission.
So how does that relate to a PS4 game? How can we create this in our own living rooms?
Well, for starters, the Holodeck version simulates a living room. In the PS4 version, we don't have to simulate the living room.
You're already in a real living room.
We only have to simulate the window.
Your real living room plays the part of the in-game living room. Your television monitor plays the part of the window, and the onscreen graphics play the part of the scene outside the window.
In this way, we get real 1:1 immersive VR on the PS4.
So what about the Massively Multiplayer part? Well, as described previously, yours is not the only window onto the virtual game world. Dozens of other online players are looking out their own 'apartment windows' in the same way you are.
You work cooperatively with these other players to keep the invaders at bay, primarily by firing at the aliens through your window with your physical gun peripheral.
MMVR for PS4 So there you go. Parkview Towers is a Massively Multiplayer Virtual Reality game for PlayStation 4 with PlayStation 4 Camera.
Naturally Parkview Towers' virtual window effect can only function properly when the player is within the PlayStation 4 Camera's range.
Which brings up an issue: What happens when a player leaves the camera's range?
Parkview Towers uses an elegant solution that seamlessly integrates this limitation into the game.
If the player (or the PS Move Motion Controller attached to his weapon) moves out of range of the camera, a Blast Shield will quickly descend from within the wall to cover the window.
The Blast Shield descends to cover the window
In other words, the graphics on your television monitor that depict the virtual world outside your window, which rely on accurate head tracking data to be rendered properly, are suddenly covered by a depiction of a 2D plane that is flush with the window/monitor, which does not rely on head tracking data.
With the Blast Shield down, the monitor can be viewed from any vantage point - even from far outside the PS4 Camera's range - while maintaining the integrity of the virtual world.
The Blast Shield has an integrated (virtual) video screen. The video screen can show a 'live shot' of the scene outside the window, so you can see what's going on out there even with the Blast Shield down.
Back in 2007, one Johnny Chung Lee made a popular video demonstrating how to use head tracking to create a virtual window. He used a Wiimote and Sensor Bar to track the position of his head:
Similar schemes had been used previously - for example, on The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man ride at Universal Florida, built in 1999. The Spider-Man ride doesn't need head tracking, though - instead, the motion of the ride vehicles is simply synced to the video:
Here are a couple more examples of virtual window effects created with head tracking from YouTube:
Note: This post, which
assumes PS4-only, supersedes the previous 'Introducing Parkview Towers'
post (available here), which assumed previous-gen and multiplat.
"What's going on out there?"
Parkview Towers is a massively multiplayer tower defense gun game and virtual apartment community for PlayStation 4 with PlayStation 4 Camera.
Concept video demonstrating the 'Virtual Apartment Community' aspect of Parkview Towers
Parkview Towers requires:
PlayStation 4 with PlayStation 4 Camera
PlayStation Move Motion Controller
Sharp Shooter Attachment or Shooting Attachment
Parkview Towers is also compatible with:
PlayStation 3D Glasses
Xperia devices
The Game
Introduction Several apartment buildings
overlook a park or square in the heart of a large city. The city is being
attacked and invaded by hostile alien forces.
The head tracking
capabilities of the PlayStation 4 Camera will transform your television screen
into a window onto that park, and your living room will become a hi-rise
apartment in that city under siege.
In Parkview Towers, your television monitorbecomes a window onto a city under alien attack.
You will be issued a physical weapon (see Peripherals below) to help repel the alien invasion. Damage, destroy, and distract the various alien craft from the unique perspective of your apartment window.
But you’re not alone. Those other apartments you can see out your window are all occupied by actual players! You can see their silhouettes in the window, and you can see their attacks against the alien invaders.
Each player has a semi-permanent residence in a specific building. Your closest neighbors can hear you shout, and you can hear them.
It’s up to the brave residents of Parkview Towers to repel the aliens and save their city’s generator from destruction. If your entire neighborhood can learn to work together, the aliens don’t stand a chance.
Neighborhood layout. The Generator lies out of frame to the lower left. The apartment buildings create a gauntlet for attacking alien bombers, fighters, and mechs.
Goal You are defending your neighborhood and the nearby power generator from the aliens. If the aliens do sufficient damage (a process that takes days or weeks of real-world time), your neighborhood will be evacuated, and you will have to move into an apartment in a new neighborhood.
It’s all but inevitable that your city will eventually succumb… but how long can you hold out?
Real-Time Persistent World When you launch Parkview Towers on your PlayStation 4, you’re not starting a game –
You are opening a window to an alternate world that always exists outside that
window, even when the window is closed.
Events unfold in real time. You can leave the game running for hours, and you can actually do other things around your house - go make a sandwich, or just gaze out the ‘window’ - during the frequent lulls in the attacks. Remember, your living room is now an apartment in Parkview Towers, and your television monitor is a window. But when you hear the warning sirens, you’d better be prepared to man your post.
PlayStation 4 Camera Functionality
Head Tracking Creates the ‘virtual window’ effect at the core of the game.
Hit Detection Detects when a player is hit by an alien beam or projectile.
Silhouette Position Other players in your virtual neighborhood will be able to see your approximate position in your virtual apartment in silhouette form. Nearby neighbors may see a more detailed representation.
Room Color As seen by other players, your virtual room will take on the color of the lighting in your real-life room.
Gesture-Based Actions
Open/Close Drapes/Blinds
Open/Close Window Glass
Blast Shield Mode (Down/Auto)
Use Binoculars
Use Telescope
Throw Tennis Balls
Throw Confetti
Throw Paper Airplanes
Use Bullhorn
Use Laser Pointer
Use High Beam (powerful flashlight)
Spray Water with Water Hose
Control R/C Plane and/ or Blimp
Prepare and Throw Grenades
Prepare and Throw Smoke Bomb
Open or close the curtains with a wave of the arm.
Voice Commands The Window can be controlled with voice commands.
Open/Close Drapes/Blinds
Open/Close Window Glass
Blast Shield Mode (Down/Auto)
Repair Window
Voice Proximity Simulation The PlayStation 4 Camera’s microphone will pick up your voice and transmit it to your neighbors in the virtual world.
A custom Parkview Towers Shooting Attachment may also be available.
The PlayStation Move Shooting Attachment (above) The PlayStation Move Sharp Shooter Attachment (above)
The Weapon has six Modes:
Laser Gun (steady)
Blaster (bolts)
Rifle
Shotgun
Rocket Launcher
Grenade Launcher
The Motion Controller will use its light and vibration capabilities to simulate the different weapon modes and to indicate when the player has been hit or stunned.
Combat Goggles Optional LCD shutter glasses. Combat Goggles enable
stereoscopic 3D and Screen Sharing functions.
[Screen Sharing is a patented
Sony technology that uses LCD shutter glasses to reveal two different
(alternating) video images to two different viewers.]
These could be PlayStation 3D Glasses or a different existing or custom Sony model. Ideally the Combat Goggles' shuttered lenses should flip up and out of the way when not in use, allowing for smooth transitions between the real world and the game world.
Open the glass 'manually' or use the window remote
Window Remote An Xperia device, the
PlayStation Move Navigation Controller, or a DualShock 4 controller can be used as a physical remote
control for the virtual 'window.'
Open/Close Drapes/Blinds
Open/Close Window Glass
Blast Shield Mode (Down/Auto)
Repair Window
[These are redundant controls
– all these functions can also be controlled with gestures or voice commands as
described above.]
Monitor Stand This custom Monitor Stand can hold two monitors one above the other, to create a large ‘double-hung window,’ or it can hold a single monitor sideways, to create a smaller double-hung window. It also works as a conventional monitor stand. All configurations integrate dedicated shelves for the PlayStation 4 Camera.
Supports Single Console/Monitor or Multiple Networked Consoles/Monitors
Standard Configuration One console and one monitor. Your monitor represents a single window in your virtual apartment. Most players will use this configuration.
LAN Creates Multiple ‘Windows’ Add a second console on a LAN to create a second window into the game world. Two monitors can be placed side-by-side to form two windows along a wall, or they can be placed at a right angle to one another to create a ‘corner apartment’.
Two monitors can be stacked one above the other to create a large ‘double-hung window.’ A stand will be available for this purpose (see Peripherals).
Networked systems consisting of (4) or more consoles will be given access to exclusive virtual ‘Penthouse Suites.’ These Penthouse Suites can be configured to match many different monitor arrangements. Up to 16 consoles can be linked to create the ultimate 16-window experience.
Other Uses for Multiple Consoles/Monitors Monitors can be used for more than just windows. A monitor could become a mirror, a bookshelf, a fireplace, or a weapons cache. A monitor could even create a portal in a real-world wall in your house, provided that there’s a PlayStation 4 Camera setup on each side of the wall.
Xperia Tablet Creates New Windows
Xperia Tablets can be used to create additional windows - just as with the multiple console/monitor setup described above.
Stay Connected to the Game World with Xperia Tablets and Xperia Phones
Xperia Tablets and Xperia Phones can be used to access in-game maps, news tickers, and more - while playing at home, or while you're on the go.