Honey Pot, a freshly minted cooperative virtual reality game, pits players against an unlikely foe: hordes of bears swarming with bees. The concept promises to be both fascinating and challenging.
Overcooked and Vegetation vs. Zombies oscillate between horror and comedy, blurring the lines between two distinct genres. Here’s an alternative: The former is a cooperative culinary simulation, while the latter is a defensive architecture strategy. The notion of creating Honey Pot, the next game in their portfolio, piqued the interest of VRMonkey’s Brazilian team from the start.
In Honey Pot, players employ a unique blend of tower defense and fast-paced action elements, as they manage hives of bees to repel relentless assaults by marauding bears and safeguard their cherished queen. Despite its seemingly absurd underpinnings, this concept surprisingly yields tangible results. I showcased a 20-minute demonstration at the Tokyo Recreation Presentation where VRMonkey featured an exhibition booth. While meeting there, I had the opportunity to interact with studio co-founder Pedro Kayatt and various team members. With the Quest 3 headset, Kayatt gave me a preview of an upcoming VR game, sharing insight into the studio’s thought process behind combining these innovative concepts.
Kayatt informed me that Honey Pot’s initial spark came from Overcooked. Here’s the improved text:
“Mayhem and chaos ensue when attempting co-op in Overcooked,” particularly. The workforce aims to capture the frenetic tempo, blending this concept with their vision for a novel VR tower defense game – the second key inspiration being Vegetation vs. Zombies, comes into play.
At the onset of the match, players swiftly construct defensive structures – towers – along the pathway traversed by enemy entities. Kayatt claims to have conceptualized 14 circular structures – “flame towers, individuals responsible for cultivating green spaces, those who launch balloons to hinder enemy progress” – alongside a diverse array of components offering various advantages or drawbacks. As the game’s focus transitions from strategy to action-packed gameplay, players take on the role of a determined bee, engaging in thrilling battles against the Ursa Advance.
In Honey Pot, I’ve encountered a handful of diminutive foes: vulnerable cubs that succumbed to my attacks after just a few well-placed hits. While some species have endured brutal conditions, facing potential extinction before being wiped out altogether. Luckily, your bees possess additional capabilities on their front legs. Airborne warriors swoop down to outmaneuver their enemies, raking them with precision gunfire from the skies.
While exploring ways to visualize character movement, Kayatt observed that incorporating flight mechanics enhances the overall experience by introducing a new standard for traversing levels. In VR experiences, seamless immersion is crucial, and the Honey Pot technique achieves this by having users adopt a natural pose with their arms extended before transitioning into fluid flapping movements. I couldn’t help but feel a touch of embarrassment, which was met with a quiet chuckle as I reflected on the moment. Notwithstanding, when my character soared excessively high into the air, the motion and animations proved remarkably smooth and intuitive, allowing for a seamless grasping of the experience.
While flying through the air, I could simultaneously extend my arm to hold my bow and use the other hand to draw the bowstring. This newfound ability enabled me to suspend myself in mid-air for prolonged periods, providing an innovative means of intercepting and subduing the marauding bears from unexpected angles. As I released arrows one by one, they rained down on the enemy troops until the round came to a close.
The choice of the bow as primary weapon stems from its unique sensation: “giving in to the constant flow” as you effortlessly glide through levels while aiming and capturing enemies. The harmonious synergy between movement, animation, and gameplay mechanics renders this aspect of the game profoundly fulfilling.
Kayatt’s design prioritizes a collaborative approach for Honey Pot, as they believe playing games with friends enhances overall enjoyment and fosters a stronger sense of community. While embracing solo development may seem like a solitary endeavor, it does not imply the integration of AI bots within yourself. Kayatt verified that its marketing strategy effectively leverages a diverse range of gamers within the team to strike a harmonious balance.
As a winking aside, players are advised to extract the tail fin from their avatars’ rear extremity, a whimsical flourish that’s sure to bring a chuckle to fellow gamers. While this can be employed as a formidable projectile, its use exacts a dire cost: the destruction of one’s own character. As playtesting progressed, mischief ensued as each individual attempted to separate the stinger from its attachment point.
While Honey Pot diverges significantly from VRMonkey’s previous titles, such as Galaxy Kart and Sky Climb, its concept still piques my interest. While studios typically prioritize completing all headset builds simultaneously, Meta Quest 3 development takes precedence as it prepares to debut across Q1 2025.
