“Summer Lesson” is a VR game that lets users spend time with an attractive Japanese schoolgirl alone in her room as her tutor, of course. Screengrabbed from Bandai Namco Entertainment/YouTube
Virtual reality is about immersing the user into a digitally created fantasy world, be it on the battlefield or a roller-coaster ride. But one virtual reality game for the PlayStation VR dares to offer a different kind of experience for users—one that focuses more on human interactions than grand explosions and scary ghosts.
Previewed last year and again featured at the Tokyo Game Show 2016, “Summer Lesson” is a VR game that puts the user in the shoes of a tutor who will be working with a cute Japanese schoolgirl named Hikari Miyamoto over the course of seven days.
The user will have a 360-degree view of Hikari’s room and will also be able to interact with her through head gestures such as nodding for yes and shaking the head for no for a more immersive and intuitive experience. There will also be certain instances wherein Hikari will ask the user to lean forward such as sharing an earpiece to listen to music or biting down on an offered piece of cake.
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This footage from the Tokyo Game Show 2016 stage demo and livestream shows how uncomfortably close Hikari can get. Some might find it startling while a few may even find it exciting, to say the least. Screengrabbed from Niconico livestream
The previews show that Hikari can get quite close to the screen in order to simulate a sense of personal space and presence that will have a few users leaning back to make room for this attractive VR girl.
Over time more content will be made available to simulate other interactions, such as going out for a jog, visiting a cafe and watching a fireworks show. The 3D modeling work done on Hikari is quite striking and her facial expressions make her seem more believable. It’s safe to assume that if PlayStation VR delivers the virtual reality experience that its hardware promises, a good number of gamers will be spending a great deal of time with Hikari.
VR had often been marketed with horror titles, action games and roller coaster simulators, but few have presented the kind of social interaction simulation that “Summer Lesson” is going for so far. It could open up a new genre of games as VR moves to become more mainstream.
“Summer Lesson” is scheduled to be released exclusively for PlayStation VR on Oct. 13. Check out the official Tokyo Game Show 2016 PV below and visit the Japanese site for updates. Alfred Bayle
Tokyo Game Show PV
