Terra Swarm R&D

In the first few months of 2021, I spent some time doing R&D on a Frame Labs internal concept called Terra Swarm. It started as an older VR idea we wanted to push further, with the goal of exploring a sci-fi horror experience built around a set of core human fears as gameplay themes and puzzle hooks.

The premise puts you in the role of a technician stationed at a Martian research facility in the not-too-distant future. A military unit arrives with a newly discovered alien artifact, and you are pulled into the lab to scan it. During the scan the artifact activates, and the situation escalates fast. You are transported to a distant alien world and thrown into an unfamiliar environment filled with large, bug-like creatures. Survival becomes a mix of problem solving, improvisation, and keeping your nerve, with puzzles and encounters designed to tap into specific fears like the unknown, heights, disease, and physical harm.

A big focus of this phase was technical exploration and “does it feel right in VR?” experimentation. I prototyped and tested a range of systems to establish what Terra Swarm could be, and what would be feasible on mobile VR hardware.

My R&D work included:

• Prototyping a physics-based rig for the alien bugs

• Building weapon and object handling mechanics for VR interaction

• Running mobile VR performance tests to set realistic constraints early

• Atmosphere experiments, including lighting and mood tests

• Developing an audio zone blending system for spatial tension and transitions

• Creating a VR locomotion rig suitable for high-comfort horror gameplay

Alongside the technical work, I also produced early concept art and wrote a complete Game Design Document (GDD) to lock in the vision, structure, and gameplay pillars for the project.