Mars Kitchen - Beat Hands Expansion

How to play: unwrap your holiday gift to find a Martian Quest 3. Put it on and dive into the Martians’ favorite rhythm game!
Game overview: A hand-tracking rhythm mini-game where you slice cubes to the beat of ‘Space Food’
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Inspiration

We wanted to create a playful holiday surprise inside Mars Kitchen VR while showcasing the potential of hand-tracking technology. The idea of a “VR inside VR” mini-game felt fun, unexpected, and aligned with the whimsical spirit of our world.

What it does

Players find a festive gift box containing the “Mars Quest 3,” a fictional headset they can virtually wear. This unlocks a rhythm mini-game where they use hand-tracking gestures to smash incoming cubes to the beat of the iconic Martian hit “Space Food.”

How we built it

We integrated Meta’s hand-tracking APIs, built a custom-gesture recognition system, designed cube patterns synced to music, and embedded the entire experience seamlessly into the Mars Kitchen control room as an in-world interactive object.

Challenges we ran into

Tuning gesture recognition for speed and accuracy was the hardest part. We also worked on optimizing performance to avoid input lag and ensuring the VR-inside-VR interaction felt intuitive.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We achieved reliable gesture detection, smooth rhythm gameplay, and an immersive presentation that surprises players in a fun and memorable way.

What we learned

We deepened our understanding of hand-tracking constraints, UX best practices, and how to design mechanics that remain readable without controllers.

What's next for the Expansion

We plan to expand the gesture library, add new songs and difficulties, and turn this into a recurring “Mars Quest” series inside the Mars Kitchen universe, as a big easter egg.