Virtual Reality enterprise’s 2nd national prize in six months

Virtual reality game Hyper Party Ware VR wins Shuttershade Studios a US$3,000 marketing package

A VIRTUAL REALITY game, developed by a group of games design graduates from the University of Huddersfield, has won its second major award.

Hyper Party Ware VR has been created by Marcus Nichols, Parampal Singh and Chris Vickery.  The trio, who are all directors of Shuttershade Studios, have won the XR Indie Pitch competition which took place at the global mobile games industry conference, Pocket Gamer Connects London.

Hyper Party Ware VR is a collection of mini-games including basketball, darts, ping-pong and more and was created with the aim of bringing people together to experience Virtual Reality gaming in a less isolated way than the standard format.

The trio had to create a pitch about their game that lasted no longer than four minutes and had to allow one minute for questions.  This was then delivered to five pairs of judges in a ‘speed-dating’ style competition.

Their prize was a Steel Media Marketing Package worth US$3,000 and a unique XR Indie Pitch baseball bat trophy.

This is Shuttershade’s second major award in less than six months.  They battled 23 entries to become the winners of Tranzfuser 2017, a unique competition designed to provide a platform for showcasing creative leaders of the future.  They won £25,000 funding for their game, which Marcus says has been put towards the game’s development and now they are seeking new funds to continue with the game.

Shuttershade Studios’ Co-Director Marcus, originally from Lowestoft in Suffolk, initially thought of the idea for the game after he watched his younger brother playing a VR game together with this friends and noticed that while one had the headset on and was enjoying the game, the rest of the group lost interest and started to play other games on their mobile phones.

He explained the variety and speed of the mini-games in Hyper Party Ware VR were the reason why gamers found the experience more engaging than other VR games currently available on the market. 

“Everyone can become involved whether they have the headset on or not,” said Marcus.  “The game allows other players waiting their turn to interfere and distract the main player, causing them to make mistakes.”

Due to the unprecedented amount of success Shuttershade Studios received, Marcus, Parampal and Chris sought the help of the University’s Enterprise Team in the Duke of York Young Entrepreneur Centre to officially set-up the business. 

The trio will now spend the next few months polishing the game and exhibiting it around the country.

• Play a demo of Hyper Party Ware VR and meet the team at the Insomnia Games Festival in Birmingham, running from 29March to 1 April.