The Global Game Jam is always an amazing opportunity to play around with new gaming technology. Last year my team created an augmented reality game, and this year I had my heart set on making something for The Oculus Rift. When Xin Xin walked on stage and describe a Matrix-like game using the Rift my decision was made on the spot. Down the rabbit hole we go!

After 48 hours of coding, drawing, and having some of the best cinnamon buns of my life, the result was Black Hat Oculus - a local co-op heist game. Player 1 is the bandit, sneaking through a dangerous arena with the Oculus Rift, trying to grab as much loot as possible and get out before being detected. Player 2 is the hacker; their monitor displays a top-down view of the game. They can see many dangers that P1 can't, including traps, laser beams, and the enemy's cone of vision. With the top-down view they can also alert P1 as to what's behind doors, or the best time to turn a corner to avoid a guard. P1 is reliant on P2 to stay alive, but P2 can only communicate through text.

This combination of asymmetrical information with limits on communication speed made for some wonderfully tense and frequently funny gameplay. If you've got a Rift download the game and let me know what you think!