Discovering The Sport of Curling

VR Curling is a sports game developed by Brian Macumber. The simple sports game lets player experience how to play curling.

A Winter Sport Involving Brooms

Curling is a known sport for countries that are predominantly cold like Canada, Finland, Norway Sweden, and Switzerland. This winter sport has an objective: players have to glide and guide their “stone” across the icy “sheet” and it must land on the “button” or the center of the “house”. They have to deliver 8 stones to the house and near the button. They can also attempt to knock out their opponent’s stone away from the house. Points are determined how much stones are close to the button while remaining inside the house. If the stone stops outside the house, players don’t get a score. Players also have to brush the sheet to reduce friction and remove the “pebbles” or frozen water droplets that cause the “curling” of the stone or straying away from the straight line.

Improvements For The Sport

VR Curling supports single and multiple players with local or online modes. This sports game utilizes modern technology to recreate realistic curling. It has locomotion for player movement where they have to move on foot instead of teleporting from one position to another. It is executed by using the trackpad or joystick. Holding the trigger button while using the trackpad or joystick will increase movement by a factor of 1.5x. The throwing mechanics are based on player movement upon releasing the stone. They can also boost the stone’s momentum, throwing strength and spin. This is a tactical advantage for doing trick shots. On the other hand, the stone’s linear and angular velocity is depending on the amount of the stone curling. The most important part of curling is sweeping the sheet and players have to sweep the path for the stone. A well-timed sweep also determines the stone’s amount of curling and speed during its sliding. The game has an option to turn on the sweeping particles for visualizing the sweeping effects. Each particle has a color-coded meaning: red means effective sweeping, green for moderate and blue for minor effectivity. The game also comes with other modes if players wish to try something else. Throwing Challenges only have stones to throw across the sheet. There are no brooms provided for the Throwing Challenges so that players have to be precise in sliding their stones. Sweeping Challenges involve sweeping the stone while restricted in the designated areas. Players are tested for their brushing techniques to ensure their stone slides at the optimal speed and curling direction. There are several incentives for winning matches against A.I. and other players. They include unlockable stones, brooms, and sheets.

A Different Winter Sport to Partake

VR Curling can change the perception of non-curling players that this is a mediocre sport in real life. The sports game is a great break from typical winter sports games like hockey, skiing, and snowboarding.