I grew up with Tinker Toys, Lincoln Logs, Erector Sets, and LEGO’s so my creative aspirations are off the charts when it comes to creating something from nothing, and while there have been plenty of gadgets, inventions, and building games, none of them have ever been as intuitive or dangerously addicting as Fantastic Contraption for the HTC Vive. Best of all, if you purchased your Vive through the main HTC store you are going to get this game for free as part of a software bundle that comes with the hardware.
Designed from the floor up with room-scale in mind, Fantastic Contraption puts you at eye-level with all sorts of colorful pieces and parts that allow you to build the contraption of your dreams using intuitive hand motions to stretch and connect pieces together in what is certainly going to become a family favorite VR pastime. Best of all, spectators can watch the building process in a full screen window on the monitor/TV.
Neko the cat is your guide and provider of endless parts. Simply select the part from Neko and stretch or shrink it to your needs then attach to other parts to build the machine necessary to complete your goal – getting a purple block into the distant target location while navigating all sorts of crazy terrain and obstacles. There are infinite solutions to each of the 50 official puzzle levels that come with the game that range from super-easy to don’t-break-the-$800 headset hard. The first few levels provide outlines of the required pieces, so you can get the hang of things.
Don’t let the childlike innocence of the presentation fool you. Despite the charming and colorful VR world, cute cat and dog interaction elements, and cartoon-like puzzles pieces, Fantastic Contraption will truly test your imagination and problem-solving skills. You can easily test your device by hitting the Play button which will activate your contraption so you can see what, if any, changes need to be made. You are limited only by your imagination, and once you have created the contraption of your dreams…or at least one that gets the job done, you can share your design with the online community.
The game is actively being monitored by the developers with numerous updates, fixes, and community suggestions being implemented monthly. There is so much creative freedom to be had here it rivals the art program Tilt Brush – another pack-in title with the Vive, only Fantastic Contraption builds functional devices and not just 3D art. My only issue with the game is the lack of basic building pieces. It would have been nice to be able to unlock some more advanced parts like gears or something to build more intricate contraptions, but this is a great start.
Fantastic Contraption is perfectly suited for VR making it easy to see why they included it with the purchase. Not only is it physically comfortable to play for extended periods of time, it makes flawless use of the motion controllers and introduces one to the joy of a full room-scale experience. Being able to walk around your model and tug and pull and stretch various bits or pick-up and move the whole thing is an experience that you just have to…well…experience.
If you want to entertain your kids with an educational playset that will spark their imagination with none of the clean-up of a thousand-piece LEGO set, then Fantastic Contraption is for you. It’s also a great introduction to VR and the endless possibilities it offers. I highly recommend you check this out.
