Stress Level Zero Ltd.
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| ISIN | 🆔 |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games |
| Genre | Virtual reality |
| Founded 📆 | 2014 |
| Founders 👔 |
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| Headquarters 🏙️ | Los Angeles, California, |
Area served 🗺️ | |
| Members | |
Number of employees | |
| 🌐 Website | www |
| 📇 Address | |
| 📞 telephone | |
Stress Level Zero Inc. is an American virtual reality game development company operating in Los Angeles. Founded in 2014 by Brandon Laatsch and Alex Knoll,[1][2][3] it is the developer of several VR titles, most notably Boneworks, as well as the virtual physics framework 1Marrow Interaction Engine.
The studio is known for physics-based gameplay and advanced VR experiences.
History[edit]
Stress Level Zero was founded in 2014 by Brandon Laatsch and Alex Knoll. Laatsch had recently left the YouTube gaming channel Node after a long history in skits and visual effects. Knoll was a visual effects artist who worked for Node and several other projects.
Knoll stated that the switch to game development came out of a boredom with traditional storytelling through film and video, and an interest in virtual reality as a medium.[4] Laatsch similarly felt that video content was an outdated and unprofitable profession, stating "We gave away a billion views of action VFX, fresh content, for free on YouTube. Therefore video content is worth 50 seconds of your time. That’s all it’s worth. So we wrecked it for everybody".[3]
Hover Junkers (2014-2016)[edit]
In 2014, Laatsch and Knoll were privy to a private tech demo from Valve, who demonstrated early prototypes of virtual reality with base station tracking.[1][5] Laatsch was interested in the technology, but was disappointed when Valve's estimated release date was 2018 at the earliest.[3] However, in March 2015, the Chinese hardware company HTC partnered with Valve to accelerate the development of what would become the HTC Vive. Laatsch and Knoll decided to develop a game for the new headset, promising Valve that the day the headset shipped, their game would be on it.
The core concept of the game was established the same day that the Vive was announced.[1] As a big fan of multiplayer shooters and airsoft, Laatsch wanted player-versus-player action with the added dimension of real-world movement. The concept evolved into Hover Junkers, a multiplayer shootout set in an post-apocalyptic wasteland, where players rode in hoverships fitted to the dimensions of their real-world play space. During matches, players modify their vehicles with scrap, designing cover and shielding with the materials while either fighting or trading with other players they would encounter at random.
In January of 2015, Stress Level Zero launched a limited-time crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, offering special rewards such as merchandise and original characters for top donors. The campaign was extended from February to March 2016 and ended at $180,517, nearly double the original goal of $100,000. The game would release regardless of the campaign's success, but the additional funding allowed Stress Level Zero to add more features, such as a single-player mode designed as a homage to Oregon Trail.
Stress Level Zero worked on Hover Junkers in Corridor Digital's offices, which were located in the Hunter Street studios of Los Angeles. Initially working the same offices, Stress Level Zero eventually purchased an disused half of the conjoined building and began renovation on the new office space, as was documented in a series of vlogs posted to Laatsch's YouTube channel. The renovations continued from September to July of 2016. The two companies' offices were separated by a large metal bulkhead.
During development of Hover Junkers, Stress Level Zero livestreamed development five days a week on Twitch, swapping the stream to whoever was doing the most interesting work at any given moment. The team felt that the small community of interested players that formed around the game provided inspiration and motivation to push the game to completion.[6]
In April 2016, Hover Junkers was published on Steam to a positive reception. It gained an 80/100 score on MetaCritic,[7] an 88/100 by PCGamer,[8] and was praised by critics as an enjoyable social experience, although it also received criticism for a lack of content in the singleplayer campaign.[9][10] Later that year, Chinese game publisher FunPlus invested an undisclosed amount of venture capital in Stress Level Zero.[11]
Duck Season & early development of 1Marrow (2017-2018)[edit]
For their next game, Stress Level Zero experimented with several ideas. Brandon Laatsch wanted to tackle two-handed weapons, having left them out of Hover Junkers due to hardware and time limitations.[12] Laatsch felt that then-current controllers, such as the Vive Wands and Oculus Touch controllers, had major drawbacks to their grab buttons being a toggleable button and not a linear trigger. However, when Valve sent Stress Level Zero early prototypes of their "Knuckles" controllers (which individually track each finger), the company decided that they would be sufficient. This resulted in a pump-action shotgun, which formed the main gameplay element of their upcoming title Duck Season.
Meanwhile, Laatsch was also experimenting with a more complicated VR physics body, under the principle that in order for VR to go mainstream, it would require everything that flatscreen games had - this included a body and smooth locomotion. Using inverse kinematics, a group of eight to ten developers rapidly experimented and prototyped in order to get a fully physics-simulated virtual avatar. These experiments resulted in preproduction of a physics-based shooter known as Hall of the Machine King, set in an automated mining facility in the throes of robot revolution. Production on Machine King slowed as Duck Season went into full production.
Duck Season released on September 15, 2017 for SteamVR.[13] It received mostly positive reviews, and was a narrative horror game. It received an overall ranking of Very Positive, with 84% of reviews recommending it. UploadVR praised the game's shotgun mechanics but criticized the repetitiveness of the gameplay.[14]
Duck Season was the first game set in Stress Level Zero's shared universe, and contained many references and Easter eggs to future games. Specifically, concept art for Hall of the Machine King was prominently featured in an in-game, fourth-wall-breaking virtual game conference demo for Duck Season. It also retconned Hover Junkers into the shared universe in the form of an in-universe game franchise.
Development of 98.6 DeadFM and Boneworks (2018-2019)[edit]
At the 2018 Game Developers Conference, Stress Level Zero presented a small demo of their physics framework for Hall of the Machine King, which was later featured on the Node channel.[15] The demo included an array of physics objects in a room later featured in Boneworks, known as the Redacted Chamber.
For reasons most likely related to scope, Hall of the Machine King was shelved and work began on a spinoff game, known as DeadFM, which would build up to the prior game. The setting, plot and characters were scrapped, and only the physics framework was saved for DeadFM.
DeadFM would star Jimmy the VR Hero, a virtual actor played by Jimmy Wong. However, this game was also deemed too challenging and was similarly shelved.
On March 2nd, 2019, a devlog of DeadFM was published to the Node channel, featuring Jimmy as the protagonist in the stead of Safety Steve, indicating the turn
In February 2020, Stress Level Zero published Boneworks on the MetaVR Store, along with a temporarily exclusive level called Tuscany. a level from one of the earliest versions of the Oculus software. It was then released for the Steam version of Boneworks in update 1.4 released April 9th, 2020.
Completion of 1Marrow Interaction Engine and Bonelab (2020-2022)[edit]
At the Meta Gaming Showcase 2022, Stress Level Zero revealed a trailer for their rumoured Project 4, which became officially known as Bonelab. Bonelab will feature improved graphics and physics interactions, as well as mod support and compatibility with Meta headsets. Bonelab is developed with the company's in-house physics framework, the 1Marrow Interaction Engine.
The 1Marrow Interaction Engine had been worked on since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020.[16] It included a revision of physics and interaction, as well as the body remapping feature, which allowed differently-proportioned avatars to be swapped midgame.
Bonelab was also released for the Quest 2. "The goal for the Quest was how to optimise for a standardized target - how to make this game available to everyone who has a VR headset, rather than the top 10%."[16]
Bonelab included the protagonist of DeadFM, Jimmy Wong, as a major character.
[edit]
All of Stress Level Zero's games are set in the same shared universe, although usually only vaguely connected through easter eggs and settings. Laatsch stated in an interview that they wanted the shared universe to be "vague enough that anything goes", while still providing references and easter eggs for dedicated fans.[5]
The main link between each game is the Voidway, a strange dimension outside of time and space that hosts many malevolent entities known as cryptids. Cryptids take many forms, and although they are not well understood, they generally aim to escape into the real world to cause chaos. They often appear as inanimate objects, such as a cat clock or a sock monkey, but can also appear as animate forms, such as the murderous Dog from Duck Season or the enigmatic Void Figures seen in Boneworks.
The Voidway also contains void energy, a strange power source with near limitless applications. Several companies have utilised void energy, most notably the conglomerate Monogon Industries to power their MythOS simulation. Gammon Systems also used void particles in the 1980s to create games like Duck Season, which transport the player's consciousness into the Voidway.
Stress Level Zero itself also exists in its own universe, as an VR studio partnered with Monogon. In Boneworks and Bonelab, their offices can be found inside MythOS, where they are partway through development of a new simulation called Fantasy Land for MythOS.
Products[edit]
Games[edit]
Hover Junkers (2016)[edit]
Hover Junkers is a multiplayer VR shooter and the first game created by Stress Level Zero. Set in a post-apocalyptic desert, players construct hovering vehicles out of junk and scrap, then patrol the wasteland and encounter other players. A singleplayer campaign was added post-launch, which recieved criticism. The music for Hover Junkers was composed by Michael Wyckoff and Red Eyes Studios.
Duck Season (2017)[edit]
Duck Season is a VR horror game set in the 1980s. Ten-year-old David over the course of a day as he plays Duck Season, a retro video game developed by Gammon that transports the player's consciousness into the Voidway. The Dog, who appears as a friendly helper in the virtual world, is revealed as a cryptid attempting to escape from the Voidway into the real world by murdering the game's players. Duck Season has multiple endings, which revolve around the treatment of the Dog. It was released in March 2017, and later had a non-VR PC port known as Duck Season PC.
Boneworks (2019)[edit]
Main article: Boneworks
Boneworks is a VR physics game set in Monogon's simulated reality MythOS. Playing as Arthur Ford, a security officer who secretly works for a rival company known as Gammon, you must fight your way through the glitching simulation. Boneworks features realistic physics interactions, including a fully simulated body for the player character.
Bonelab (2022)[edit]
Bonelab, previously known as Project 4, was announced in the Meta Gaming Showcase. Improving upon the physics and optimizations of Boneworks, its central feature is official mod support, with mods playing a large role in the gameplay and story. Players are able to swap their body, or 'avatar', during gameplay, which changes their physical proportions, weight, strength, and other factors. Maps, characters, items and avatars are all able to be made using a SDK for Unity, which can then be uploaded and used in Bonelab.[17]
Upcoming Games[edit]
Stress Level Zero has several titles in varying stages of development. Concept art and other assets have been teased from these projects, as well as statements and posts from employees and associates.
98.6 DeadFM[edit]
98.6 DeadFM (often abbreviated to DeadFM) is an upcoming VR game set in the shared universe. Although nothing regarding plot or development has been announced, several pieces of information have been given. The soundtrack has already been composed,[18] including the theme song Ima Say Ma Namowa, which was released first in Boneworks due to popular demand.[19]
Based on concept art, the protagonist of DeadFM is portrayed by Jimmy Wong, who previously worked with Brandon Laatsch on the web series Video Game High School. Jimmy Wong's likeness seems to be used, similar to how Brett Driver's likeness was used for Arthur Ford's model and voice acting.
A reference to DeadFM was found in Boneworks' soundtrack, with the message "you're listening to 98.6 KCCW" visible when the audio file was inspected. A singular piece of concept art, depicting Wong hiding from a zombish in a carpark with several Monogon items, was also released.
Hall of the Machine King[edit]
Set in an remote mining facility, players will play as a Sabrelake security agent named Safety Steve, who must fight back against the robot workers who have suddenly gained sentience and revolted. The game will also involved the Voidway via a strange entity known as the Wormbridge.
Concept art for Machine King was first discovered as an easter egg in Duck Season, depicting several environments in the facility. Concept artist Nate Ebbing released a slew of 3D models and images for Hall of the Machine King on his ArtStation page, although they were later removed as they "no longer fit the game".
| Year | Title | Platform(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Hover Junkers | SteamVR |
| 2017 | Duck Season VR | SteamVR |
| 2019 | Duck Season PC | Steam |
| Boneworks | SteamVR
OculusVR | |
| 2022 | Bonelab | SteamVR
OculusVR Meta Quest 2 (standalone) |
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Hover Junkers for HTC Vive: One of VR's first killer games is like being in a real gunfight". New Atlas. 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
- ↑ "Stress Level Zero". StressLevelZero.com. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Chevalier, Eric (2016-07-11). "Take a Look Inside Stress Level Zero". VRScout. Retrieved 2019-12-13.
- ↑ This is Real - Stress Level Zero, retrieved 2022-07-03
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 EP#7 | VR Pioneer Brandon Laatsch, retrieved 2022-11-06
- ↑ "HTC Pays a Visit to Hover Junkers Dev in Latest 'This is Real' Video". GMW3. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
- ↑ "Hover Junkers". Metacritic. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
- ↑ "Hover Junkers". Metacritic. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
- ↑ "Review: Hover Junkers". GMW3. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
- ↑ "Hover Junkers Review - Scrap Metal Shootout". 2016-04-05. Retrieved 2022-06-28.
- ↑ "FunPlus invests in Hover Junkers creator Stress Level Zero". VentureBeat. 2016-08-02. Retrieved 2022-07-09.
- ↑ Guns in VR, retrieved 2022-08-20
- ↑ "Duck Season on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
- ↑ Feltham, Jamie (2017-09-18). "Duck Season Review: A Nightmare On 8-Bit Street". Retrieved 2022-08-19.
- ↑ Testing The BEST VR GUNS Ever Made!, retrieved 2022-10-31
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 BONELAB Gameplay Reveal - True VR Innovation, retrieved 2022-11-06
- ↑ Archived collection of Q&A with Stress Level Zero developers https://pastebin.com/rjiVUGJ9
- ↑ "Projects". Red Eyes Studios. Retrieved 2022-06-30.
- ↑ Michael Wyckoff & Jonathan LaMarche - Pick It Up (Ima Say Ma Namowa) [Boneworks Radio Song], retrieved 2022-06-30
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