Waltz of the Wizard (0)

Overview

is a virtual reality only wizard simulator, playable in standing and room-scale modes. Available only on Steam and for all of HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows Mixed Reality headset owners, you have a first-person perspective of a wizard. It is one of the highest rated VR products on Steam. The game is split into two main sections.

Wizard's Tower

The first part of the game is a sandbox set in a wizard's tower that serves to introduce you to the game's implementations of VR mechanics, and has you mixing combinations of ingredients to unlock spells, such as fireball, transmute, and giant, which demonstrates how to use the controllers to interact with the environment in different ways. Almost everything in the room can be interacted with in multiple ways.

There is also a choice of locomotion methods, and Waltz's unique "telepath" method is designed to enable realistic movement while minimising motion sickness.

Within this area, there are several short mini-experiences that you can access by looking at spheres and playing an in-game xylophone.

Labyrinth

Within the initial sandbox area, there is a door you can interact with to enter a new area, the labyrinth. Using the some of the skills you have learned in the sandbox, you roam the labyrinth, killing enemies and enabling towers to complete the area.

Data collection

Waltz of the Wizard is essentially a very polished tech demo for Aldin Dynamics' Ghostline analytics suite. As part of the user agreement, you agree to data collection and aggregation, i.e. your gameplay and movements are logged and sent back to Aldin. They occasionally publish which, while obviously promotional material, break down various key interactions within the game.