Half + Half: A Brief Introduction

Not very long ago, I wrote about a company called Normal, who is marketing a multiplayer networking plugin for Unity-based games called Normcore.

Well, yesterday Normal released a new social VR experience called Half + Half, based on Normcore, which is available for the Oculus Rift and Rift S wired VR headsets, and the new Oculus Quest wireless VR headset.

Half + Half supports cross-play between devices (that is, Quest and Rift users can meet up and play together in-world). It is also a cross-buy title; if you purchase Half + Half on the Oculus Rift, you’ll be able to play it on your Oculus Quest (or vice versa) without needing to buy another copy. Half + Half is available on the Oculus Store for CAD$16.99 (Oculus Quest page, Oculus Rift page).

According to their press kit:

Launching September 12th on Oculus Quest and Rift, Half + Half is a multiplayer game developed by Normal. The culmination of four years of Normal’s research into the VR space, Half + Half features five multiplayer experiences for players to play with friends or strangers.

Half + Half is designed with a focus on creating fun and meaningful connections between players by using real-time voice chat, expressive avatars to communicate with body language, and game mechanics designed to make you look as ridiculous as possible in real life, Half + Half is Normal’s hand-crafted world built for you and your friends to hang out and have fun together.

In Half + Half, you and your friends can swim with the fishes, glide through the clouds, play hide and seek, or just… wiggle! The avatars are simply designed but absolutely charming. (They remind me of a mixture of owls, nuns, and Teletubbies!)

Here’s a one-minute promotional video for Half + Half, which gives you a real flavour of the project. It looks like fun!

Alex Coulombe has posted a Twitter thread with mini videos showing you all the parts of the hide and seek game in Half + Half he just loves! And this is just one of the many things you can experience in Half + Half.

If you want more information on Half + Half, you can follow Normal on Twitter and Instagram, or just visit the Half + Half website. (Normal also has a separate website and a blog.)

And Half + Half has been added to my comprehensive list of social VR/virtual worlds.

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