u/pokodzima_games

We're making BOMB THE HILL, a VR downhill skateboarding game.

A few weeks ago, we tested it with real downhill world championship riders on a dedicated challenge track. Now we're opening that same track for our first public Meta Quest playtest (July 1-5).

If you're a VR developer, we'd really appreciate your feedback, especially on locomotion, comfort, and the overall feel of the game.

If you'd like to join, here's our Discord:

https://discord.com/invite/tpCGpqC6Ne

The BOMB THE HILL Open Community Playtest is almost here! From July 1-5, Meta Quest players will be able to try our downhill skateboarding game for the first time.

For this event, we've created a special challenge track that will only be available during this playtest.

To make things even more interesting, we recently took this very track to a World Downhill Skateboarding Championship (WDSC) event, where professional downhill riders competed in our VR challenge before racing on the real course (see the video!).

Now it's your turn.

The Top 10 players (based on their best time) will also have their names permanently featured in the full release of BOMB THE HILL on an in-game leaderboard.

The playtest is available on Meta Quest.

Join our Discord to participate:

https://discord.com/invite/tpCGpqC6Ne

The BOMB THE HILL Open Playtest is almost here! Join us July 1-5 and be among the first players to try our VR downhill skateboarding game. For now, the playtest is available only on Meta Quest.

For this event, we've created a special challenge track that will only be available during this playtest.

This same track was recently used for a VR competition with real-world downhill skateboarding champions during a WDSC event. Now it's your turn to take it on.

And here's the fun part:

The Top 10 participants (based on their best time) will be permanently featured in the full release of BOMB THE HILL. We'll place an in-game leaderboard featuring your name or nickname in a prominent location.

Think you can make the cut?

Join the playtest in our Discord:

https://discord.com/invite/tpCGpqC6Ne

We’re an indie studio founded by amateur riders, and we’re trying to bring downhill skateboarding mechanics into Bomb the Hill in a way that feels close to real riding.

The game has a story-driven career mode that leans into the 70s, the days of skateboarding pioneers. It also features long tracks set in pretty expansive locations (each around 10 square miles).

Just to say upfront, we’ve spent a lot of time on comfort: tons of playtesting and tuning. At this point even people who’ve never tried VR before handle it really well, despite the high speeds.

One of the most common requests we received in our previous posts was a Steam version. We're happy to finally announce that BOMB THE HILL is coming to SteamVR, and wishlists are now live:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/4787310/Bomb_The_Hill/

We released our biggest BOMB THE HILL trailer yet during the UploadVR Showcase.

This time we wanted to show more than just downhill racing action. The game is heavily inspired by the early days of skateboarding, when people were riding roads that were never meant for it, pushing boundaries, and discovering a completely new way to experience freedom. So this trailer focuses much more on the atmosphere and spirit behind the game.

Hope you enjoy it! Any questions are welcome!

Wishlist links if you'd like to follow the project:

Meta Quest:
https://www.meta.com/experiences/bomb-the-hill/26974030992211215/

Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/4787310/Bomb_The_Hill/

Bomb the Hill is a VR skateboarding game focused on high-speed downhill rides, slides, weaving through live traffic, and old-school skate culture. The game is coming soon to Meta Quest (other platforms later) and wishlists are already open:

https://www.meta.com/experiences/bomb-the-hill-downhill-skate-racing/26974030992211215/

Some people in the showcase comments still didn’t believe our game could actually feel smooth and comfortable in VR😅 So we’re inviting everyone to join our Discord – we’re planning to host an open BTH playtest soon so you can try it yourself:

https://discord.com/invite/tpCGpqC6Ne

Some time ago I shared our trailer for Bomb the Hill VR, and people in the comments were asking about realism and how the mechanics work.

I’m an amateur rider myself, so the prototype was built around my input and we tested it with VR players. But I wanted some more authoritative and broader feedback. One day I randomly learned that a stage of the World Downhill Skateboarding Championship was happening a few hundred kilometers away from me, in Turkey. So I grabbed the headset, jumped in the car and drove there without thinking.

It wasn’t a planned part of the event, but I was welcomed very warmly by the organizers and the riders, and they immediately came up with how to really integrate the playtesting into the weekend to get the most value and fun out of it for everyone. World champions and spectators tried our prototype, around 50 people total. It became a bit of a hit during the event. After spectators tried the game they started watching the real races more engaged, understanding what riders are doing and feeling. That's why I really love VR!

The riders themselves had a lot of fun with it too. We got tons of useful feedback that we carried forward.

If anyone here has a Meta Quest – the game is still in final development, but wishlists are already open on the Meta Store:

https://www.meta.com/en-gb/experiences/bomb-the-hill-downhill-skate-racing/26974030992211215/

And if you want to follow the development, there’s a Discord link in my profile.

This year I’ll definitely try to come back to WDSC with a finished version of Bomb the Hill.