[Russell Holly]

Welcome to the VRHeads Ask Me Anything thread for Moss!

This AMA is scheduled to begin at 12pm Eastern, and is expected to end at 2pm Eastern. The folks from Polyarc Games will be responding to questions with a single account, @PolyarcGames

If you are unfamiliar with Moss, check out our Twitch stream of the PlayStation VR demo to get a feel for the game!

The forum rules are simple - have fun, ask some great questions, and please be polite to both your fellow forum users and the Polyarc Games team participating with us today!

You can start posting questions to the Polyarc team now. Have fun!

[CorkyLunn]

How many design concepts were made of Quill before you decided on her final look? Was it a difficult decision to choose?

Quill and the rest of the game is so beautiful I can't wait to experience the world of Moss

[MDools]

What elements are most important to create an emotional connection between Quill and the player? Why do you think connections to characters can be stronger in VR? What emotions do you want to evoke in players with Moss?

[Russell Holly]

Will Quill be the only character in the game to use ASL as a communication tool?

[DerrickDover]

I absolutely adore Quill and love what I played in the Moss VR demo. And I have to quickly mention one of my favorite moments, when I didn't realize I had to spin the central tower in the final puzzle, Moss, with squeaks and hand gestures, explained to me what I needed to do. I was dying! So so so good!

Question: With so many creative options for developers making VR games, and many opting for first-person experiences, what made you decide on the direction you did with Moss and what we're some of the gameplay options you considered before picking the final direction?

[Cale Hunt]

Your team members have worked on some seriously high-profile games in the past, but was there much experience with VR before Moss? What were some unique challenges you encountered?

[Gidorick]

Is Quill modeled after a specific mouse species?

Is Quill a special mouse or are all of her kind able to walk, craft weapons, communicate, etc?

What role is the player playing? Are we a benevolent woodland spirit? Are we a deity? Were we summoned by Quill?

Do you guys have any office mice pets?

[James Bricknell]

First off, what a beautiful game! The light effects and the movement of the flowers and foliage is just amazing.

Have you guys ever read a book called redwall? It's about a group of monk mice who have a war with rats. I think you'd like it.

My main question is will Moss receive upgrades to her armour/weapons?

[pkcable]

Ok so Moss is a PSVR game cool, BUT what about other platforms? Any plans to port over to Oculus Rift, or Vive? And what about Google Daydream and GearVR? Too advanced for those? Or do I have hope? lol

[Russell Holly]

Can you talk about inspirations behind the music in Moss? Were there any challenges in using spatial audio throughout the game?

[PolyarcGames]

Thank you for having us @VRHeads! There are some great questions coming in. The team is here and we're drafting answers. Again, the best question gets a limited edition Quill figure!

[mr_interested]

Will there be a physical disk version of your game for the PS4?

[krisguy]

This is such a simple question, but what is the workflow for creating these characters? I love seeing them, but I don't get how much work it takes.

[James Bricknell]

Was it a consious choice to create separate instances of each puzzle instead of a more traditional side scroll?

[PolyarcGames]

Ok so Moss is a PSVR game cool, BUT what about other platforms? Any plans to port over to Oculus Rift, or Vive? And what about Google Daydream and GearVR? Too advanced for those? Or do I have hope? lol

Our hope is to bring Moss to every VR headset in the world, but right now, as a small team of 15, we’re currently focused on making Moss the best gaming experience possible for the PSVR platform. As for other VR platforms, because we want to fully immerse the player into the world of Moss, we require both tracked head and hands. There are current limitations with some of the hardware you listed, but with future enhancements, maybe we’ll be on all platforms.

[krisguy]

Our hope is to bring Moss to every VR headset in the world, but right now, as a small team of 15, we’re currently focused on making Moss the best gaming experience possible for the PSVR platform. As for other VR platforms, because we want to fully immerse the player into the world of Moss, we require both tracked head and hands. There are current limitations with some of the hardware you listed, but with future enhancements, maybe we’ll be on all platforms.

At least with the integration of SteamVR into Windows Mixed Reality, there might be one less system to work on. But then again, it might be harder to make it look right. How do you handle these decisions?

[Thwackit]

This had an amazing demo. I love everything about this game. So at the end of the Demo Quill runs into what appears to be a boss, will the be other animal bosses? Or am i reading into this wrong?

[PolyarcGames]

Will there be a physical disk version of your game for the PS4?

Digital only at this time for launch.

[PolyarcGames]

[QUOTE=Gidorick;66678]Is Quill modeled after a specific mouse species?

Chris Alderson - Art Director: Not just one! I looked to a few different types of mice, but landed on only a couple to drive Quill’s final aesthetic. Your standard field mouse, because I love how adorable and small they are, as well as a few others that influenced her colors and markings. The first Quill sketch referenced the Jerboa. Fun fact: Quill was actually a thief and a grumpy old man in her first incarnation.

[krisguy]

Digital only at this time for launch.

I wouldn't expect anything else.

I don't think that many PSVR games, especially from indie studios, will benefit from having disc installs anymore. Patches, changes, additions, expansions, etc. would all be DL anyway. Why waste the extra expense of disc production and distro?

[PolyarcGames]

[QUOTE=Gidorick;66678]Is Quill a special mouse or are all of her kind able to walk, craft weapons, communicate, etc?

Chris Alderson, Art Director: Quill’s world is full of rodents, just like her, all with different stories and personalities. And not all of them are mice! Gerbils, hamsters, rats, guinea pigs, and many more all reside in the world of Moss. On top of that, we introduce a few mystical creatures along the way...

[PolyarcGames]

[QUOTE=Gidorick;66678]

Chris Alderson, Art Director: Some of these secrets will be explained within Moss and I wouldn’t want to give too much away. I can tell you that you are reading the tale of Quill through Moss the book, and you have a special bond with Quill. She can see and interact with you through that bond.

[DerrickDover]

[QUOTE=PolyarcGames;66695]

Is Quill a special mouse or are all of her kind able to walk, craft weapons, communicate, etc?

Chris Alderson, Art Director: Quill’s world is full of rodents, just like her, all with different stories and personalities. And not all of them are mice! Gerbils, hamsters, rats, guinea pigs, and many more all reside in the world of Moss. On top of that, we introduce a few mystical creatures along the way...

YEEEEEEEESSSSS!!!! \ (^ o ^) /

[PolyarcGames]

Do you guys have any office mice pets?

Chris Alderson, Art Director: Great question! No office mice. But we do have a few pets that regularly roam the floor. However, Fergie, my Welsh Corgi, dressed up as Quill for Halloween!

[ZeusApe]

Hi Polyarc!

My girlfriend and I both got a chance to play the Moss demo at PAX West a few months ago (and we were lucky enough to find one of Quill figurines.) We pre-ordered a couple weeks ago and can't wait for it to come out!

What's your favorite part of designing a game for VR as opposed to a normal game? How has the design of the game changed over development?