About this project
- Oculus Rift (PC, OSX, Linux)
- Project Morpheus for the PlayStation 4
- Mobile VR (Android, iOS)
Don't have VR yet? Thats okay. The VR demo has something for you too if you run it without a headset! Also, there is a 2D dedicated demo here. Make sure to try both demos!
Vanguard V
is a fast action VR experience that takes you on a journey from the low orbit of our planet, down to the very core. Designed for VR from day one, Vanguard V is a celebration of control, design, and amazing music.
Production of this title is a collaboration of eight team members. Much of the talent was sourced from dedicated people in the reddit community. From voice acting to chip tune music, reddit has been instrumental in making this VR experience a reality. The power of the internet is truly amazing.
Every backer gets access to the playable demo the same day they kick in. You can try it out for yourself today!
- Oculus DK1 Version for Windows / Mac
- Oculus DK2 Verion for Windows (Mac version coming)
- No VR? There is something in the demo for you too ;)
You will also get access to a new Proton Pulse demo. How cool is that?
You can also follow us on Twitter
CymaticBruce - "its so fun and simple to play"
RoadToVR - "Zero Transform Brings High Impact Arcade Action to Virtual Reality"
- Vanguard V is an all-new Virtual Reality action game that takes the best aspects of flight and adventure. Driven by music, story, and innovative VR design, Vanguard V is a celebration of gameplay to welcome Virtual Reality to the world.
- You play as Qu, who has tracked the parasite menace from worlds afar and with the help of her A.I. companion, BiT, is fighting to save the planet's inhabitants from utter annihilation. Fly in low orbit while re-entering the atmosphere, skim the waters of the ocean, dive into the tunnel from the initial impact and make your way to the center of the planet to exterminate the source of the parasite infestation. Lock on with your VR targeting system and blast through the alien threat!
Vanguard V In-Depth
Virtual Reality
is a new frontier. I believe in VR so much that I'm risking everything, leaving a safe industry job and bringing together a small group of experienced game devs I've worked with in the past to create something that we're all passionate and excited to make.
Going indie takes a lot of hard work. You have to handle hardware, licensing, software, coding, everything. With that responsibility comes the freedom to make a pure gaming experience that is only bound by your imagination and dedication.
This is a game studio in the making. A studio not only supportive, but dedicated to titles designed for VR from the very beginning of production. We are comprised of a small group of industry veterans and a collection of talented individuals discovered through the wonders of the internet, that are all excited to bring you this fun and immersive title.
It is a joy and honor to create games for everyone to play. With Virtual Reality soon to hit the masses, game developers have an opportunity to connect to the players in ways previously impossible. I couldn't be more excited than I am right now to make games.
Beyond the foundation of the game's development - 3D art, design, and code, which is developed locally - the extra talent contributions have been made possible by reddit. The voice work, script writing, cover art, and much of the music have been produced by individuals I recruited through reddit. With reddit, I've found some fantastic talent who will help really bring this title to life.
The contributions you provide will fund the developers and the talent who, up until now, have all donated their time and energy without any financial gain. While this is a great testament to how much we love and believe in this title, it's still a strong limiting factor on how far we can take the game's production.
But it's not just the cast and crew that believe in this project. Sony and Oculus have been fantastic at ensuring that we have the tools and hardware that we need to bring great VR to the masses.
It is our goal to have Vanguard V finished by the launch of the Sony Morpheus and Oculus Rift.
As much as we are lovers of games, we are also lovers of game MUSIC, new and old. We've assembled a team of considerable musical talent to produce a soundtrack that mixes the very best of new and old.
Turn Around - Composed by Jake Kaufman / Vocals by Jessie Seely
Jake Kaufman
A.K.A. Virt. You may already be familiar with Jake's music work on countless video game soundtracks, but did you also know he's got just as much experience as a sound effects designer? He has made thousands upon thousands of original sound effects for almost every project he's worked on, and will help craft VV's sonic landscape to fit perfectly with the music and visuals.
Dan Behrens
AKA Danimal Cannon, brings his lightning fast guitar work and metal-enhanced electronica to pump up the soundtrack. An expert composer, performer, and all around sound man, Danimal loves to get in there, make great music, and leave the crowds begging for more! He's also a master at mastering audio, bringing the love to our whole sound system. Learn more at his site
Meganeko
is a newcomer to the game music scene, but he's got considerable talent and we are so happy to have him on the team! His music is featured for the in-game music of our demo. Check it out! We are sure you'll be as impressed as we were! You can find more information about MegaNeko on his bandcamp page located at
We are so into the soundtrack that while the music is inspired and directed by the high level design of the game, the design of the levels themselves is inspired and directed by the music! Every level in Vanguard V is a set duration and every action moves to the music.
Joey Groeneweg
is the voice actor of BiT and screenwriter for Vanguard V.
Joey picked up writing eight years ago while staying in Flagstaff, Arizona, home of the Northern Arizona University. Writing mainly, but not exclusively, stand-up comedy, he has performed in different venues all over The Netherlands and parts of the USA.
As impressionism is one of the main parts of his comedic repertoire, voice acting was a natural next step. He has been doing voice acting for about a year now, and has had several roles in games, animations and radio plays.
Joey has been a gamer since twelve and would love to be able to combine his passion for games, writing and comedy and continue his career in this field.
Callyn Dorval
Is the voice actor of Qu for Vanguard V
Callyn has been involved with theatre from a young age, getting her start in stage work and community theatre. Her interest in voice acting began nearly two years ago, when she was inspired after attending a panel of voice actors for video games.
Since then, Callyn has been developing her craft with a focus in video game and animation character work. She has lent her voice to a number of animated projects and radio plays. As an avid video gamer, Callyn's dream is to help contribute her voice to this wonderful medium of storytelling."
Qu
is a mysterious flight suit pilot from a distant star system. She has tracked the Parasites to our world after suffering their devastation first hand. She is our last, best, hope for survival.
BiT - [Binocular interface Transmitter]
is Qu’s robotic companion. Non-biological, but highly intelligent, BiT also knows much of humanity. While more cynical than Qu, BiT is thankful that humanity has lived in peace, as he feels he has little in common with them and would rather avoid contact if possible. He oversees Qu and is her best friend and companion. He also is a part of her arsenal; he functions as a remote camera, giving Qu a tactical overview of her own situation from 3rd person while also providing information on Qu’s surroundings.
Parasites
Little is known about this threat to humanity. Initially thought to be a meteor on a near-collision course for Earth, it was classified as an unidentified space craft after it made minute course corrections to impact Earth directly. The orb buried itself inside the planet, hatching to release a vast colony of creatures that consume organic matter and replicate rapidly. The Parasites evolve and change constantly; they have many specialized adaptations, including the ability to escape Earth’s gravity and fly through space! While seemingly unintelligent, they are highly reactive to situations and detect Qu as a threat even before she makes it to Earth.
Every level in the game is geographically and thematically different, and some even have variations in the control style, with BIT changing his angle on the action as appropriate.
The game starts in space as Qu makes the journey into the atmosphere while dodging debris and fighting against a swarm of alien parasites, but don't be mislead into believing that the entire game is space flight! Vanguard V will take you on a trip through space, the lower atmosphere, skimming across the sea, and then diving into a huge chasm left by the alien 'meteor' that brought the parasite menace to our world.
Flying through underground caves and lavatubes will add a stark contrast to the earlier levels, and with every new environment the gameplay will be switched up, providing the player with a diverse set of challenges and mechanics.
Vanguard V eschews traditional controllers. No longer do you have to know your controller or keyboard by feel as you attempt to navigate Virtual Reality. Simply look in a direction, and Qu will move there! Your view direction also controls the aiming cursor, which allows you to lock onto enemies, destroying them with your powerful homing lasers.
That isn't to say that there's not variety to what happens in the game. Depending on circumstance, your weapon systems and control capabilities change. In some levels, you'll be skating across the ocean, in others, you'll be on the inside of a lava tube, rotating as you fly. Your weapons even change to fit the circumstances. However, the base control scheme always remains intuitive.
- $1 - You get the demo, now! Your link to the demo will be messaged to you directly to your kickstarter inbox.
- $8 - You get the Demo, Access to our 'Behind the Scenes' forum, and your name will be added to the end credits.
- $16 - Early Backer Price - Voucher for Downloadable Copy of Vanguard V upon release, access to the forum and name in the credits.
- $20 - Voucher for Downloadable Copy of Vanguard V upon release. Access to the forum, and name in the credits!
- $24 - Digital copy of the Soundtrack plus Full Game, forum access and name in credits!
- $32 - Twice the Fun! Get the digital copy of the game for you and a friend and you both get in the credits and two forum invites.
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$80 - Green Metal Card - You get a thick anodized aluminum green collectors card thats signed by the team, and a custom green flare icon next to your online score submissions for anyone to see. These icons are stackable if you own more than one. You also get the digital copy of the game, soundtrack, credits, and forum access.
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$80 - Blue Metal Card - You get a thick anodized aluminum blue collectors card thats signed by the team, and a custom blue flare icon next to your online score submissions for anyone to see. These icons are stackable if you own more than one. You also get the digital copy of the game, soundtrack, credits, and forum access.
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$80 - Red Metal Card - You get a thick anodized aluminum red collectors card thats signed by the team, and a custom red flare icon next to your online score submissions for anyone to see. These icons are stackable if you own more than one. You also get the digital copy of the game, soundtrack, credits, and forum access.
- $100 - Personalized Alpha Access - You get access to the alpha build of the game that includes your name in the title screen. Special access to the Alpha Tester section of the forum, full copy of game, digital soundtrack, credits, etc.
- $150 - Wooden Laser cut and engraved 8GB USB stick includes a copy of the game, digital soundtrack, custom digital art, personalized alpha build, and you'll get a Wooden flare icon next to your online score submissions for everyone to see. Icons are stackable if you own more than one.
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$512 - Gold Standard - You get a thick anodized aluminum golden-colored collectors card thats signed by the team, and a custom gold flare icon next to your online score submissions for anyone to see. You get the wooden engraved USB stick with the game and soundtrack, access to the forum and alpha testers section, name in credits, etc.
- $1,024 - Platinum Edition. You get a very limited transparent red acrylic VR stand modeled after the main character's helmet. This stand holds almost any head mounted display and has a great weight to it to keep your HMD secure. In addition to the VR stand, you get a thick anodized aluminum platinum colored metal collectors card with unique art for the platinum cards that is signed by the team. You will also get your name in the special thanks section of the credits and a conference call over Skype to meet the team. Lastly, your name will be engraved on a metal plaque in our office as an honorary member. You also receive the beautiful laser cut wooden clock, the T-Shirt, the wooden USB flash drive with Vanguard V design, a digital copy of the game, custom digital art, the digital soundtrack, and access to the personalized alpha game and forum. This also includes a custom platinum flare icon next to your online score submissions for everyone to see. These icons are stackable if you own more than one.
With incredible community support we managed to clear out the stretch goals and include them in the base kickstarted goal. Thank you so much to those who kicked in support.
The local team who puts it all together
Meet Justin:
Justin Moravetz is the Lead Developer and Founding Member of Zero Transform and was the primary creator of the previous VR title, Proton Pulse. Proton Pulse was originally a demo from the early days of Oculus Rift showcasing an arcade style game with intuitive headtracking control. Inspired by the initial spark of VR from the early 1990s, Proton Pulse has since then become a full-fledged game and is a love letter to that era.
Justin has recently departed his game production career of nearly 10 years where he worked on titles such as Syphon Filter Logan's Shadow, Resistance Retribution, Uncharted Golden Abyss and more, to pursue his dream of VR development. He believes VR is uncharted territory where new experiences are waiting to be invented. Dreams become reality and reality becomes dreams. He is also an avid chip tune composer, particle effects animator, and voider of warranties. His motto is "Good things come to those who wait. Great things come to those who pursue."
Meet Max:
Max is the host of the popular Youtube series, 'Cooking with Unity' where he helps people learn to make games with the Unity engine. He's an expert in the engine, and has over 10 years of professional game industry experience to draw from across over 10 shipped games worldwide, along with indie experience, having shipped more than 10 apps and games of his own across iOS and Android platforms.
Meet Athey:
Athey has worked professionally as a 3D production artist for more than 8 years, contributing character art for Syphon Filter Logan's Shadow, level art for Syphon Filter Dark Mirror, and Resistance Retribution, and general production art and character rigging for Uncharted Golden Abyss for the PSVita. For Vanguard V she has contributed the character modeling and rigging of Qu, Bit, and other assorted art needs.
Meet Jeffrey:
Jeffrey is a young and talented programmer that doesn't see much point in taking selfies, so here's his dog instead. Jeff is a programmer with experience ranging from games and tools to web application frameworks. He's worked on over 5 shipped projects and had a hand in several other programming related contracts throughout the industry.
The Budget
How are we going to put your contributions to use? Well, we have a nice set of numbers for anyone who likes math. It may not be artsy, but its still important.
Risks and challenges
We've been making games for a while. We have no illusions about where our talents and limitations are, and we've gone out of our way to ensure the scope of our project is completable on time and on budget, even if we get through this Kickstarter by the skin of our teeth. However, there's a few things to consider:
- VR is on its way, but we don't know for CERTAIN when. Our ship dates are based around best estimates for the commercial launch of the Oculus and Sony Morpheus VR systems. We won't let folks down though; we plan to release to early adopters and developers on time, even if the commercial product is not available. Rest assured, when your VR headset is on your head, our game will be ready for you!
- Some folks might be worried about whether or not we'll be able to handle the production of our high-tier items. We actually have partnered up with WarpZone Prints and they are ready to start producing sweet and high quality swag for everyone who chips in for it. We've pre-sourced all the materials for manufacturing and shouldn't run into problems.
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Funding period
- (30 days)