Update: Smash Party VR is now available on Steam!
Saturday was the 10th anniversary of Titmouse Animation’s infamous Smash Party, an event dedicated to demolition. Party-goers gathered in Hollywood to take turns entering a cage with a weapon of their choice to destroy TVs, plates, ceramic statues, and pretty much anything else that breaks.
The surrounding stands were filled with crowds cheering wildly as each new participant did their worst: a Yetti throwing TV’s from above his head, a woman crushing a dust devil with a pipe, and Tilt Brush’s own Patrick Hackett who flew his old DK2 down from San Francisco to destroy it with a baseball bat.
What made this year’s party different was the release of the VR version of Smash Party. The free interactive experience on HTC Vive created by Titmouse and Viacom NEXT lets viewers satisfy their innate desire for destruction from anywhere.
“We took the real life experience of smashing things with a baseball bat and made a virtual reality experience where you can smash things with a baseball bat. I’ve created stuff like knife-wielding cats and fire vomiting demons in VR, but I haven’t yet destroyed them in VR. Now I finally can,” said Chris Prynoski, Titmouse President and Founder.
The game is everything a person who loves to break things could ever ask for. You just rack up points by smashing stuff.
Put a Vive controller above your head to give your hit more power – or go full blown karate kid to hit more objects with speed.
You might be surprised at just how good it feels to go on a destructive rampage. I’ve done VR meditation experiences in the past, but nothing has put me in better spirits than taking a baseball bat to a shelf full of ceramic plates. It’s a different kind of zen that leaves you thinking that this VR experience may even be a public service.
Try it when it comes out on Steam at the end of this year or by taking a sledgehammer to your nearest vase.