Developer: The Munky
Formats: PlayStation VR, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift
Release Date: Out Now
Check out our interview with Keith from developer The Munky about their virtual reality bar-brawler Drunkn Bar Fight:
How would you describe Drunkn Bar Fight to someone who had never heard of the game?
Drunkn Bar Fight is game that allows you to get in touch with your inner asshole. It enables you to do things in social situations which are completely selfish, irresponsible and frankly savage. In the game you pick fights with other bar patrons and work to clear the bar. You give the finger, punch, smash with objects and throw opponents around. It isn’t deep or thought provoking and it has no redeeming social value…. it is just fun.
The game looks like it’s going to offer some silly but very enjoyable dustups, so I’m looking forward to getting my hands on it. How exactly does the fighting work in the game though? Will there be plenty of weapons to use, or is this bareknuckle brawling at its finest?
“Silly” is a great word to describe the game. “Stupid” also works. The game is oodles of stupid. It is fun to punch folks, back hand them, uppercut them in the air and then hook them into a plate glass window but I find most of the fun comes from using the items found in the bar. A stool works wonders against the back of the head. Each bar has multiple things which can be used as weapons including a fire extinguisher, glasses, darts, baseball bats etc.
Are there multiplayer options in place to take on other gamers or is it strictly fighting against AI opponents?
The game is primarily a local social game. Your friends can use the DualShocks to control the other bar patrons. We balanced it so that your friends don’t have much of a chance. Their punches are really slow and their controls barely work. So, how you decide to take them out is only limited by your imagination. We will likely update the game to have multiplayer but right now it is only local.
Are there multiple locations to fight in or do you just stick to your local bar?
Currently there are three locations. The Modern bar, the Saloon and the Rooftop bar. We plan to add two more with updates. We have gotten a lot of great suggestions from the community. Our Rooftop bar, which is a wedding reception, came from the community as did the Saloon.
When the game launched on the Vive, it came with room scale to allow you to freely roam the bar. The PlayStation VR headset is a bit more limited in this sense though, so what have you done to address this? Is there still free movement or are you fixed to one location?
The PSVR allows you to move around quite a bit if you have your camera setup right. A surprising amount. However, the right way to play Drunkn Bar Fight is to plant your feet and don’t move them. We really don’t want you to smash your TV or something else. If you plant your feet you can move around with the Move controller buttons. Whichever way you are facing you will travel either forward or backward. You can turn at the waist to grab objects on the side and you can bend all the way around to reach objects above and behind you. Many people will charge into the crowd and start swinging which is a lot of fun, but the easiest way to play is to start a fight and then let them come to you. We made the game to be like a long hallway. And we try to keep your camera at the opposite end of the hallway and all the opponents between you and your camera. The opponents won’t attack you if they are behind you. They will move in front of you first.
Drunkn Bar Fight has been out for a while on other virtual reality platforms, but is only now launching on the PlayStation VR. Was there any particular reason for the delay? I know that Sony have stricter guidelines in place for what releases on PlayStation VR…
You nailed it. It was actually a lot of work to get the game to work on the PS4. We had to delay some features and will add them in later with updates. Sony was very supportive though. They care about the indies.
The game is still in Early Access on other platforms right now, so is this the same case PlayStation VR release? Can we expect additional content in future updates?
The game is really fun to play as it is now even though it is in Early Access. It isn’t a very complete single player experience. We are in the process of improving it. Our plan is to leave Early Access in May. We are currently in the process of selecting what the next round of features are that we going to add into the game. Some of the top ideas selected by the community include:
- facial animation
- dialog
- deeper single player experience
- more bars
- more weapons
- more modes
Currently the way Drunkn Bar Fight plays now, after you KO opponents, they get back up and hang out at the bar. Many players don’t like it. It makes them feel like they haven’t accomplished something. The community is suggesting we change how things work. After you KO an opponent, and EMT will show up. Once you stop the EMTs, the cops show up. After you throw them outside, SWAT makes an appearance, then Secret Service, then Trump. This seems like a great idea to the team.
Outside of Drunkn Bar Fight, do you have any other projects in the pipeline that you’re ready to talk about?
The team loves VR and there is so much to do. Since Drunkn Bar Fight is doing relatively well, we likely will continue to improve it, add features until people aren’t excited about it anymore. We would like to continue to improve it to the point where it justifies a higher price point.
Finally, can you tell us a fact about Drunkn Bar Fight that no-one outside of the development team knows?
I hope he doesn’t mind me telling you this… but the lead programmer doesn’t drink! That is OK though since I drink enough for the both of us. Gameplay tip: Drink 5 drinks fast.
