Hit the bullseye target in VR with Olly Power Play

On the lookout for an enjoyable, competitive VR game with an adorable character? IndieBloom are keen to present to you, Olly Power Play.

Childhood memories

Available on the virtual reality headset, Meta Quest 2. Olly Power Play is created by Waysun Inc, ‘a high-tech company that provides a comprehensive and inclusive backend technology platform for the technology industry’ , based in Orlando, Florida and founded in 2016. We were in conversation with various Waysun team members, Mia (marketing assistant), Michelle (marketing manager) and Cynthia (marketing coordinator). Below is what they shared (with the full version on our Patreon page).

The premise for Olly Power Play is rooted in the early console games we played in our youth. For years they focused on family friendly characters tied with fun gameplay mechanics wrapped in an appealing world. Our studio loves the immersive nature of VR and wanted to create a fun mini game concept where we could introduce intuitive gameplay mechanics that everyone can enjoy. From that starting point, we expanded over time with more mechanics, levels, and building Olly’s character. That expansion created a dynamic where a player not only has a fun game, but also has a friend to experience this world with them. The entire experience became elevated, and Olly Power Play was born. We continue to develop our original idea by expanding the levels and game modes while Olly learns a few new dance moves and ways to interact with the player along the way.

The character of Olly the Ox came about as -

We originally created Olly for different games, experiences, and shorts. However, we decided that “Olly Power Play” was the ideal platform for our players to get to know Olly more intimately and engage with him in an immersive experience.

Year of the Ox

Having spent plenty of time with Olly and the game, the team tell us their favourite aspects of Olly Power Play -

We find that the game is easy to pick up, play, and when cast to a TV, it completely leads a group of people to have a ton of fun together. It takes players through the evolution of emotions that comes about from seeing Olly, his island, and competing to beat each other’s best scores. 

Which mode do you prefer to play (Paradise Pitch, Rocky Blockers and Fruit Frenzy) in Olly Power Play? The team choose theirs -

This was a hard choice! We’re torn between Paradise Pitch and Rocky Blockers. The simple and fun gameplay of Rocky Blockers reminds our team of the games we used to play during our childhood. But Paradise Pitch is the first mode where players get introduced to Olly, and the gameplay only gets better through the levels.

With the game just on Meta devices currently, are there any plans to release Olly Power Play on other VR headsets? ‘Currently, we’re working on releasing a version for the Rift platform. We hope to continue developing Olly Power Play for more devices in the future.’ Watch this space.

The best methods for promoting Olly Power Play on social media for the team have been, ‘outreach marketing has worked best to promote our game during and throughout its launch. Direct messaging to influencers, VR gamers, and editorial pages on social media has proven successful. One-on-one communication via DMs and our Discord seems to be the backbone of connecting with VR gamers.’ Drop into the Discord if you haven’t already and want to make a difference, with the ultimate aim for Olly Power Play?

We believe that a significant population of gamers will continue to seek out more immersive experiences within the Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality space to enrich their social interactions and connect gaming with friends and family. Our purpose is to create an interactive gaming experience and a social hub that utilizes the ever-expanding capabilities of virtual reality, immersive environments, and addictive gameplay that brings gamers together in connected play. Olly Power Play is our first step on the journey towards realizing our shared purpose -- we want our players to have a ton of fun together and with Olly! 

Strong arm, steady

When creating your first VR game, feedback is always welcome. ‘The most useful feedback we receive has been from video reviews. We love seeing how intuitive players find the game, how well our throwing mechanic has been working for everyone, and what issues they might run into.’ How good are you at the game and have your arms been aching from throwing all those fruit, trying to beat the high scores? Here are some tips on how to get better and progress further.

Play the game and practice, practice, practice. The key is in the mechanics of throwing. To do better you need to work on how hard you throw and when to release the trigger on the controllers. Another tip to get better and progress through Olly Power Play is to compete! We saw this first-hand when our staff tested the game. Some members were so focused on beating people’s scores that it was motivation to keep pushing forward.  For the players who want some extra advice, we’ve started sharing Olly Tips and Tricks on his YouTube Channel. We encourage all players to check them out and tag us at #OllyPowerPlay on YouTube or TikTok to share their gameplay videos too!

A cheeky question we wanted to ask was ‘Why can’t you throw fruit at Olly?’ 🍏🍐🍎🍊🍈 ‘You most certainly can throw fruit at Olly. It’s just in his nature to defend himself and not in his character to get mad and start throwing fruit back at you. Or (hint), hit 8 targets in a row and Olly will throw you something special to help your game.’

A VR game using throwing and physics would create various issues and challenges. These have been the challenging mechanics encountered. ‘Finding just the right settings for our throwing mechanic took dozens of iterations. Some of our developers throw like playing darts, while others throw overhand like a baseball pitcher, and others sidearm or underhand. We kept at it until it felt natural to throw with any of those techniques. Our arms definitely got a workout for this game.’ 💪

Think your aim is good? Test it out on Olly Power Play!

Any final words for IndieBloom? ‘Olly Power Play is a game that we designed to bring people together to introduce them to Olly in a VR experience that provides a fun, interactive environment. We’ve had a lot of fun developing the game and we’re excited to see how players interact with Olly!’

‘Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy playing our game and meeting Olly. Be sure to check out the new Rocky Blockers and Fruit Frenzy worlds, we just added them with our update and they introduce over 100 plus levels of fun.’

Want to check the full interview with WaySun where we discuss further about the company and stay up to date with Olly? (all the major social channels are covered via Linktree - Facebook, TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Discord and Twitter) Then subscribe and check out our Patreon - you know you want to! 😉