Watch An Infant Video Game Grow Up With "Valtexis"

This web browser game allows users to watch it evolve into something big and interactive.

March 10, 2014, 8:00pm

Valtexis is not quite like any web browser video game currently available on the web—especially because it isn't finished yet. As a mix of video game, experimental storytelling, and creative programming, this project will plunge the viewer into an ongoing project that will evolve over time, all on your desktop.

The video game's storyline has not even fully been laid out yet, and the creators Dylan Galletly and Geoffrey Lillemon of Random Studios describe it as a "playground for research and development." Right now, the narrative and available game play is as simple as it comes: the eponymous protagonist, Valtexis, has woken in a world between two dimensions with nothing but a spear in his hand. He needs to throw the weapon to find his way home, though home hasn't even been coded and designed yet.

In other words, we have the chance to watch a project bloom into a realized video game, using 3D still renderings,WebGL and three.j s. Over the upcoming months, the video game's world and narrative will continue to be fleshed out, providing a more intimate and personal gaming experience for users everywhere.

The Creators Project talked to Lillemon and Galletly from Amsterdam, who explained why they launched a game before it was finished, as well as how they used a soundtrack to convince one of Random's developers, Thijs van Hoof, to hop aboard the in utero project that is Valtexis.

The Creators Project: Can you give us a few details on the genesis of Valtexis? What did you start with?

Dylan Galletly: I was "a bit hazy" (hey — it’s Amsterdam) at one of our Thursday research and development nights we have at Random. I was staring at the image render Geoff had created months back. (I have a folder on my desktop which feeds my screensaver called [STUFF GEOFF SENDS ME]—it’s full of wonderful things). In my haze, I imagined the alien/robot character throwing the spear through the triangle that was in the scene at the time.

Can you describe the universe in which the hero evolves?

Valtexis has woken in an extraordinary, in-between dimension. His spear is part of him and is the one thing he knows, his only weapon. He is curious and vulnerable, but also powerful. He throws the spear to try and find his way out—and back home. Will it lead home? We’ll have to wait and find out.

Dylan, was it complicated to convince Geoff to collaborate on this project?

Not at all. Geoff says yes to everything. Take that as you wish—use your imagination. The main complication was convincing a developer/team to get on board with me. Since this was a self-start (out of work) project initially, it can be a little tough to motivate people to work late on your wacky ideas.

To sell my concept to the team, I created a sound treatment, and ran it over the 3D-renders to create a video. Being a sound designer, this was the best way I knew to explain what was in my head. This was an interesting process for us, as usually sound comes last (or near the end) in the process.

What are your expectations for this project and what kind of experience do you want to offer?

Ultimately we wanted this to be about us. I know that sounds selfish, but when producing high-end interactive projects, we’re often tied to clients desires—with a more user experience approach, based around clear interfaces, and set user-flows. Valtexis is simply something to play with alongside great sound and interesting visuals.

This platform is contemplative because the characters and world will evolve in front of the viewer's eyes over time,making it both a video and a game.Can you give us a few details on its interactive aspect?

In terms of interactivity, at this stage, it’s extremely basic. All you can do is throw the spear and look around the landscape. In later versions we hope to integrate walking and a way to explore the environment. In initial prototypes we played with our own motion tracking to bring the character to life, but it was too much work getting a seamless experience, and our main goal was just to get the first version up.

Can you tell us a little more about the game's soundtrack?

This was the first time I’d worked on an HTML sound project and I enjoyed the process, it wasn't too different to the way I usually work in Flash. In terms of the story progression, I’d like to create more of a sound ‘journey’ where the users interactions change and evolve the sound experience around them. Look out for this is in coming versions.

Geoffrey, how did you integrate your character design into a video game protagonist?

Geoffrey Lillemon: The spear throwing gentleman used in Valtexis was a posture study of a magician holding illusions and props. After Dylan came to me with the initial idea, I wanted to see what kind of compositions could be formed from different motion capture data being applied to him. In the end we couldn’t use the motion capture data due to time so we animated him instead.

Working with 3D assets in WebGL is always interesting from a creative standpoint because you suddenly make rapid changes in realtime without having to render.

Concerning the technical aspect, how does the use of WebGL and three.js help this project?

DG: With the assets we had from Geoff and our 3D modeller (Realexis—Valtexis came from his and Valtteri’s names to form ‘Valt-Exis’) we found using WebGL with three.js was the best way to implement these in a web-based environment. Also, we are interested in getting experience in with these technologies while they are still in the early stages.

You are now at version 0.4. What can we expect ? What is the next phase of this project?

DG: As mentioned, we will update the sounds to create more of a changeable journey as you interact with things. As for visually, we’re looking into adding more graphics modes to keep the scenes changing. For story advancement, you’ll have to wait and see, but Valtexis is currently learning to hack code.