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Tekken Producer Explains Virtual Reality Girl Demo 'Summer Lesson'

Bandai Namco Games began streaming an introduction video previewing its demo software "Summer Lesson," which utilizes Sony's Project Morpheus virtual reality headset to simulate interactions with a high school girl. Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Asia is hosting a user experience meeting for the software this Saturday and Sunday, allowing around 700 users to test the software.

Tekken series director Katsuhiro Harada explained the interactions with the characters in a second video.

As producer and chief director, he explains in the video that the goal behind Summer Lesson was to make the game's character recognize the player's existence. This is because in normal games, even if the player recognizes the character, the character will never do the same for the player. He adds that within the game, if you look away from the character too much, the character will get upset, or if you get too close to her, she will be surprised. Harada also explains that he wanted to create an interactive and realistic enviornment, in which actual nervousness may arise from the player.

When asked why he and his team created the game, he explains that he wanted the news of game to create a large buzz, due to it making virtual reality available to a wide audience. He also added that he wanted the amusement of the game to be spread by verbal communication. Also, Harada and his team worked to create a system that would connect to the future.

AS a message to players, Harada commented that the game and its use of the head-mounting display is only the first step of this technology. Harada added that the team is currently developing new contents using the same technology, and that in ten or fifteen years, the technology will have progressed to an amazing level.

The demonstration session also included several other games, including a Sword Art Online demo.

The device is not a final product, but a work in progress. Shūhei Yoshida, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios said during a presentation at this year's Game Developers Conference (GDC) on Tuesday that "virtual reality is the next innovation from PlayStation that will [shape] the future of games."

Currently, the developer kits for the headset have a 1080p output display, 360-degree head tracking, a 90-degree field of view, PlayStation Move and DualShock 4 support, and a spatial sound system.