Ex-Ubisoft devs unveil ReRoll, an ambitious stab at turning reality into a game
For years, games have repeatedly tried to outdo one another in the quest for the most expansive, interactive open-world experience possible, but what could offer more true freedom than our own planet?
That's the basic idea behind ReRoll. In development at Pixyul, a new studio created by two former Ubisoft developers, ReRoll uses civilian aerial drones to capture images from all over the globe which are then stitched together to create the in-game world. Further, ReRoll employs a "Reality Sync System," that takes real-time environmental data from our reality and feeds it into the game. If it's snowing in Chicago, ReRoll's virtual rendition of the Windy City will likewise be blanketed in fluffy white flakes, Pixyul claims.
Little is known of ReRoll's gameplay, though its developers describe the game as a survival action-RPG. "To subsist, you need to eat, rest, exercise, learn, fight but most of all find all the different ways to survive," reads the game's official description.
While no release date has been established for ReRoll, Pixyul has set up a crowdfunding effort on the game's website. As with most fundraising attempts, those who contribute money to the development of ReRoll will earn exclusive swag in exchange for their blind faith in the project - in this case, weaponry and vehicles to be used in the game.
[Image: Pixyul]
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MONTREAL - February 3, 2014 - Video Game Industry Veterans start a new development studio (PIXYUL) and unveils their first game (ReROLL)
Based in Montreal, PIXYUL has been recently founded by Julien Cuny and Louis-Pierre Pharand who have previously worked on multiple successful franchises from leading video game publisher Ubisoft.
Today, PIXYUL is proud to announce the studio's first game: ReROLL
ReROLL is a survival Action RPG with a fresh take on the genre: a contemporary settings and a true open world playground.
To develop this game, PIXYUL will be using a unique production approach: drone-sourcing. Unlike many games that take place in fictional settings or interpretations of known places, ReROLL premise is the real world.
Using small civilian drones, like the eBee mini-drone developed by senseFly, a partner of PIXYUL, our intention is to drone source and recreate the entire planet one square kilometer at a time. These autonomous drones are equipped with small digital HD cameras and they map out the environment by taking thousands of pictures. These pictures are processed with existing 3D softwares to reconstructs the actual environment as 3D objects. This data and these 3d objects will generate the game's environment or in video game terms, the level design.
The world of ReROLL is also deeply connected to reality. The Reality System Sync (RSS) connects the real world to ReROLL. Days are 24 hours with day & night cycles, with time set to where your character is in the world. Real life weather systems are connected to the game universe... if it's freezing & snowing for real where your character is... it will in the game.
ReROLL is the promise of the ultimate Survival Action-RPG in a true open world setting.
To subsist, you need to eat, rest, exercise, learn, fight but most of all find all the different ways to survive!
In ReROLL, your characters are always active in the world. Using the activity tracker directly in the game or via your mobile device, managing your characters time wisely allows you to develop new skills and upgrade your expertise to your liking.
ReROLL is a very ambitious project; the production is broken down into playable bricks. This way the game will be constantly growing and always releasing new features and real world regions.
To fund the development of ReROLL, PIXYUL launch today a crowdfunding campaign on his website.
The game packages you purchase range from access to the game or pre-determine skill set.
PIXYUL is reaching out to gamers that wish to have the ReROLL experience, gamers that want to be part of the early process, to be the founders of the ReROLL community.
By purchasing the different game packages, players, we like to call them Gamer Angels, will be directly funding and impacting the making of ReROLL.
