Star Trek: Bridge Crew was recently announced during E3. It is a VR simulator where we take on typical tasks on the bridge of a Star Trek ship via VR headset.
The cat is out of the bag! Ubisoft had already announced two new, previously unknown VR games before the E3 2016, and one of them is Star Trek: Bridge Crew! In this VR game, which requires a corresponding device like an Oculus Rift, a HTC Vive, or a Playstation VR, up to four players can take on the roles of the bridge officers of a Federation starship.
One player is the Captain, and the other three must scramble for the positions of Tactical Officer, Navigator, or Chief Engineer. The game then generates missions that, although procedurally created, still follow a story. The setting of the game is always the Federation ship “USS Aegis,” which is supposed to resemble the USS Enterprise (from the J.J. Abrams remake) by 90%.
Kirk or Picard?
“At first, it might seem like you’re just pressing buttons and that it could be really boring,” said David Votypka, the Senior Creative Director at the developer Red Storm. “However, the buttons actually do something, and that makes it cool again. You are on a Federation ship, firing torpedoes, raising shields, and declaring a red alert. It is an exhilarating sensation, especially when you play it with your friends in VR!” Collaboration is particularly important, as only when the Navigator organizes a targeting solution for the Tactical Officer can they fire their phasers and torpedoes. Only through good teamwork can you succeed.
“It’s up to you whether you choose the ‘Kirk approach’ or follow a more methodical one,” Votypka said. Thus, captains often have to make tough decisions, for example, whether to try to save an entire colony or just the essential Vulcan scientists there.
What do you think of the idea of commanding a virtual starship bridge? Boring or the absolute dream of every Star Trek fan?
