Inspiration

Our inspiration comes from the growing popularity of sorting games and the timeless appeal of Japanese capsule toy machines. Even as technology and entertainment continue to evolve, gachapon machines remain popular, offering a nostalgic yet rewarding experience. We believe this simple concept is something everyone can enjoy, whether they're experienced gamers or simply looking for something fun to play!

What it does

Capsule Tidy Toys is a VR organizing game where players sort capsule toys into their corresponding categories. Each toy appears through a magical portal that spawns a random object from the current level's category. Players must grab each toy and find the matching gachapon shelf.

There are no timers, but that doesn't mean the challenge is gone! If a toy falls off the worktable or is placed in the wrong category, the player loses one star. Lose all three stars, and it's game over!

New toys keep appearing on the worktable, so players must stay organized, manage the growing pile, and find the right shelves before things get out of hand.

How we built it

The game was developed in Unity using the Meta XR SDK and its latest hand-tracking and eye-gaze features. We used Blender for 3D modeling.

Meta Horizon Link streamlined our testing workflow on the Meta Quest 3S, helping us refine the gameplay and improve the overall player experience. We also used the Meta XR Simulator to simulate the experience on the new Meta VR glasses, allowing us to test and validate key functionality for a device that isn't yet available to us physically. Finally, the Device Readiness Check included in the Meta XR SDK helped us verify our project's readiness for the Meta VR Glasses.

Challenges we ran into

Creating a large variety of capsule toys was one of our biggest challenges. Each category contains around 15 unique objects, and with nine playable categories, that adds up to approximately 135 different toys!

Another major challenge was validating the experience for new Meta VR Glasses without having access to the physical device. Thankfully, the Meta XR Simulator allowed us to simulate the device in a virtual environment, helping us test key functionality and gain confidence in our implementation ahead of its availability.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We're proud to have delivered a fully playable experience from start to finish in just a few weeks! We've also built a solid foundation for a commercial release, with plenty of opportunities to expand the content and keep players coming back for more.

Developing a game built entirely around hand tracking was both challenging and rewarding, allowing our team to put our skills to the test and explore new ways of interacting in VR.

What we learned

We learned how to make the most of each team member's strengths and bring an idea from concept to a playable experience within a short development cycle. This experience also helped us strengthen our production pipeline and improve the way we collaborate as a team.

Developing a VR experience built around hand tracking and eye gaze introduced us to new possibilities for player interaction and inspired fresh ideas for creating more intuitive and immersive experiences.

What's next for Capsule Tidy Toys

Capsule Tidy Toys was designed with expansion in mind. We can introduce new content, seasonal updates, and special events after launch to keep the experience fresh and give players more reasons to return.

Thanks to its intuitive interactions and minimal reliance on text, the game is also well suited for localization into multiple languages, making it accessible to a wider audience.

Looking ahead, we'd love to expand the game's background story and give players more opportunities to connect with its world and characters.