‘First Encounters’ immerses players in a space-themed adventure where the goal is to capture as many space creatures as you can before the time is up. What sets the gameplay apart on Meta’s new headset is the way users can turn their real world surroundings into a reactive virtual space-scape, offering a whole new blended reality gaming experience.

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The project utilised the Quest’s impressive passthrough capabilities to allow virtual content to bleed into the user’s physical environment. Whilst the Quest Pro laid the groundwork with colour passthrough, only the Quest 3 is capable of using its depth sensors to extract a mesh that reflects the shape of the user’s environment and individual surroundings. This feature in ‘First Encounters’ gently transitions the boundaries between the player’s room and the virtual world, enriching the gaming journey and creating a truly immersive experience where players can break down their walls to reveal a hidden world beyond. 

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Working with the capabilities of the Quest 3, we were able to design assets and visual effects that took into account various challenges, including the need for seamless integration, device optimisation, and the complexity of creating interactive effects that respond to and integrate with real-world conditions.

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‘It’s difficult to find another mixed-reality game in the Quest Store that meets or exceeds the calibre of AR immersion you experience with the extraterrestrial game.’ - Mashable

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‘Quest 3’s First Encounters Will Make You Believe In Mixed Reality.’ – The Gamer

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‘The single most fun MR experience I’ve had so far is First Encounters.’ – The Verge

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