Flying is at the heart of the gameplay in Vesper. Through accessing the immersive

3D virtual reality world with intuitive flight controls, the very act of travelling around

the world is meant to be fun and challenging. The player steers by tilting his head

and body forward and backwards to fly down and up, or by leaning sideways to

turn. This is made possible by the virtual reality headset and associated infrared

camera which monitors the player’s head movements. By physically mirroring the

movement which occurs in-game, the player’s absorption in the virtual world will be

heightened.

​

Additional abilities can be triggered through a hand-held X-Box controller, the most

notable of which is echolocation. When using echolocation the bat emits a cone-
shaped sound wave which temporarily reveals hidden insects and prey. They player

will be alerted to the presence of these by auditory clues appropriate to the natural

sound of the insect. Once revealed the player can catch the insect to gain

experience points, which can be spent in the skill tree to improve a variety of

abilities such as flight speed. It should be noted that, while the gameplay takes

place at night by virtue of the main character being a bat, the environment is still

clearly visible. The echolocation ability is specifically intended to reveal insects, and

has no practical influence on the environment.

​

Apart from hunting the player can also collect rare deposits of Rhodoc. By

delivering these to infected bat caves scattered around the world, special abilities

will be unlocked. This, in combination with the skill tree upgrades, will enable the

player to venture deeper into the world. The difficulty of zones is determined by the

presence of predators (owls) and the defensive abilities of insects in that region.