DNG: David & Goliath Physics

Inspiration

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The inspiration behind Horizon DNG: David & Goliath comes from the timeless story of David, a young shepherd who faced overwhelming odds against Goliath, a mighty giant. We wanted to create an immersive and educational experience that allows players to step into the shoes of David or even take on the role of the adversary, experiencing the story from both perspectives. By combining historical authenticity with interactive gameplay, we aim to bring this legendary tale to life in an exciting and meaningful way.

What it does

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Horizon DNG: David & Goliath is a virtual experience set in an interactive world where players can choose to embody either David or his adversaries, such as the bear or even Goliath. Players are able to explore David's world, practice with his sling, and defend sheep, or play as a predator looking to challenge David. The game focuses on decision-making, skill development, and exploring different perspectives of the classic Biblical story. Players can also customize David's iconic staff, adding a personalized element to their journey.

How we built it

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We built DNG: David & Goliath almost entirely with Amazon Q Developer using AWS Amplify Hosting to deploy a web-based game Amazon S3 for storing game assets, Amazon DynamoDB to store game data and Amazon Bedrock to add generative AI capabilities.

Challenges we ran into

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One of the biggest challenges was ensuring historical accuracy while maintaining an engaging and accessible gameplay experience. Modeling the different versions of David's staff with attention to historical details required extensive research and iteration. Another challenge was optimizing the gameplay especially the interactions involving David's sling and staff, which needed to feel natural and responsive in a virtual environment.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

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We are proud of the level of customization we provided to players, allowing them to choose their version of David's staff and truly make the experience their own. We're also proud of the immersive storytelling aspect, where players can experience the story from David's perspective or even take on the role of his adversary. The seamless integration of historical elements with engaging gameplay has been a major accomplishment for us.

What we learned

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We learned a great deal about balancing historical authenticity with player engagement. Creating a VR experience based on a historical narrative required us to find creative ways to convey the story accurately while ensuring that the gameplay remained fun and interactive. We also gained valuable experience in using the Meta Horizon Worlds editor tools to create a fully interactive environment and learned how to work within the technical constraints to maximize the immersive potential of our world.

What's next for Horizon DNG: David & Goliath

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Next, we plan to expand the experience to include more events from David's life, such as his encounter with Goliath. We also want to introduce multiplayer elements, where players can take on cooperative or competitive roles, and add more customization options for avatars and weapons. Additionally, we aim to enhance the educational aspect by providing more context and background about David's world, making it not only an entertaining experience but also an informative one.

We are also considering submitting our world for mobile compatibility review to ensure that it is playable on mobile devices as well as VR, providing a more accessible experience for players across different platforms.