Going into PAX Prime a few weeks ago, I assured myself that I had to try at least one demo that utilized Virtual Reality technology. Not only did I get a chance do so, but I got to play a game that seamlessly transported me to a completely new world all on its own. That game is Mindfield Games’ Pollen. I had the opportunity to sit down and chat with Co-Founder and Project Lead of Pollen, Olli Sinerma, and Zsuzsa, my guide through the demo of the game, who’s on the marketing and acting side of things.
As I first chatted with Olli, he explained that the story begins on Earth where a job opening lands you an opportunity to go to space. In space you explore Saturn’s largest moon, Titan. As you continuously explore the space station, and other areas on Titan, you slowly come to the realization that there’s actually a mystery lingering not only on Titan, but also within the company that sent you there.
Pollen can be described in the most concise and simplest manner as a first person exploration game utilizing VR technology; however, taking a more in-depth look into Pollen, you get much more than that – especially in the realism category. Inspired by exploration games like Gone Home and Sci-fi movies of the 70s like Solaris, Pollen is also richly packed with nostalgia through its gameplay, intricate space station design and detail. In parallel with what exploration games depend on, Pollen is environmental heavy and is fuelled by players’ curiosity and interaction with the world. Olli further added that while there isn’t much music in Pollen, the bilinear audio and high texture art are the main atmosphere setters.
After my chat with Olli it was time to get some hands-on time with the game itself. With the Oculus and headphones strapped to my head, I was transported to the world of Pollen with Zsuzsa as my guide. She walked me through on what I could interact with, and exactly how I could interact with it. At first it felt surreal, almost overwhelming. As I looked around, everything around me was extremely clear and vivid with a lot of detail and realism.
As I walked around within the space station, I picked up magazines and books then physically leaned my head forward to see what was actually written on them. By leaning my head forward, I even got a glimpse of the imprinted design on a toilet paper roll. Yes, a toilet paper roll. I turned on a toothbrush, tried to build a card castle, and even threw things as hard or as softly as I wanted. I could even hear how hard or softly things I threw collided with other items. A bit of the mystery within Pollen did surface while playing the demo, which was intriguing. Also, there were some references to pop culture that were quite humorous and entertaining.
Whether it was the visuals or the audio, it was all astounding. Without a doubt, I was completely sucked into the world of Pollen even with quite an early build, needless to say a mere demo. Pollen definitely surprised me not only based on its utilization of VR technology, but by the presentation of the game itself. I know I’ll be keeping an eye out for Pollen, and I’d advise you do the same.
Pollen is set to release in 2016 alongside the Oculus Rift and will become available for other VR headsets as they release.
