Meta launches cross-platform gaming app and AI tools

Meta's Hizon Worlds has revealed a new multiplayer shooter called Super Rumble, and that's not all, the update also includes cross-platform gaming apps and tools.

The free-to-play shooter, introduced on the Meta Quest blog, went into open beta in May, showcasing Horizon Worlds’ vastly improved imported graphics and new scripting tools. The game has proven to be very popular, and Meta will continue to develop, refine, and expand Horizon Worlds and the game dynamics — Meta may finally be able to create a truly interesting digital world.

It's a very simple game: users enter a simple arena filled with seven different weapons, using which they can try to kill other players in the arena. Each round lasts a few minutes, and after death you will respawn a few seconds until the buzzer sounds, completely free. By leveling up, you can unlock new skills and new equipment in the game.

Super Rumble is actually a confluence of a few important factors that all contribute to making the Metaverse better. Meta's in-house game studio Ouro Interve built the game using brand new tools that allow for bringing outside elements and assets into the Horizon world, rather than just using the built-in library. "We really raised the ceiling on what Horizon can be in terms of visual complexity, interactivity, and fun gameplay," Meta's Metaverse lead Vishal Shah told Lowpass. "It's a game that's deeper and more playable than anything Meta has developed before, and not for nothing, it actually works really well."

But most importantly, Super Rumble gives you something to do in the Metaverse. A lot of so-called immersive experiences amount to standing around looking at something, or watching something happen on a screen within a screen. That’s why you see screenshots of groups of people standing around Decentraland looking lonely, and why most of the experiences you hear about are just tech demos. It’s cool and fun to be dropped into a 360-degree place to explore, but the novelty wears off quickly, and often there’s nothing underneath.

In many ways, Super Rumble is just a pretty good game that happens to exist inside of Horizon Worlds. First, the sense of existence is real. Super Rumble's arenas are fairly blocky and rudimentary, but they're still fun to explore because people are able to actually move around in this 360-degree space, a quality that can't be matched by other systems.

There's some big metaverse stuff going on here, too. First, your character in the game is your Meta avatar -- it's really fun to play as yourself. When you're in a match, you can hear and see everyone else, so it's like we're all in the arena together with our headphones on. You could theoretically play with your friends all day long, without having to matchmake with a new team every time. Super Rumble is a game, but it's also a place, and that's a neat strategy for the Meta.

The challenge for Meta will be to continue to build on Super Rumble, adding new levels, weapons, and worlds to make it worth returning to over and over again. It will also have to convince people that the game is fun enough to make it worth eventually diving into Horizon Worlds, meticulously customizing their avatar, and learning how Meta's universe works. So far, the game seems to be a hit with those who play it, but not compelling enough for Horizon Worlds.

More importantly, Meta must continue to find ways to prove that Super Rumble is more than just a VR game. In general, VR and AR games are promising, but people are still not convinced that the "Metaverse" will be a place where they want to "spend their lives." Both as a technical achievement and as a virtual event, Super Rumble is a step in the right direction, but there is still a long way to go.

Editor-in-charge: Peng Jing