Blast from the Past: ‘Dragon Front Rising’ Blends Dieselpunk + Fantasy in a CCG Built for Quest

We’ve come a long way since 2016. VR headsets have evolved beyond the need for a powerful gaming PC, and we’ve ditched the wires and external sensors in favor of an all-in-one design. We still have a soft spot for the good ol’ Rift days, and today, our nostalgia is at an all-time high with the launch of Dragon Front Rising from VR pioneers High Voltage Software.

Initially a Rift exclusive before broadening to allow for cross-platform play, the original Dragon Front brought the collectible card battler genre into VR, mixing high fantasy and a dieselpunk aesthetic for a one-of-a-kind immersive experience. And now, players can play solo or challenge friends in Dragon Front Rising on Meta Quest 2, 3, and Pro.

Players are pitted against each other based on skill level and watch their units come to life on the battlefield as they command the action. There’s also a champion system where each team can summon legendary boss units to the fight and turn the battle in their favor. With competitive leaderboards, the stakes are high as players try to dominate their friends and others worldwide in virtual face-offs. Players can choose a faction with unique card attributes, gameplay mechanics, and strategies. With 280 characters, 80 different encampments, and more than 100 spells, the game offers both depth and replayability in spades.

Players on Quest 3 and Pro are in luck: They’ll be able to blend the virtual battlefield with their physical environment thanks to full-color stereoscopic Passthrough.

And as an added bonus, anyone who spent at least $1 USD on the free-to-play Rift version of the game will get a complimentary copy of Dragon Front Rising to add to their VR library.

To celebrate today’s launch, we sat down with High Voltage Software Design Director Micah Skaritka for the inside scoop.

Micah Skaritka: I started making pen-and-paper roleplaying games in the ’90s. I did that for eight years before moving into the digital game medium. As a video game designer for the last 18 years, I continue to take inspiration from a lot of non-digital games, including RPGs, board games, card games, and even sports.

MS: Strangely enough, I came to High Voltage looking to join the audio team due to my passion for writing music. I brought the books I had written, and my audio interview was quickly turned into a design interview to fill a slot on the Family Guy Video Game! design team. The rest is 18 years of game dev history.

MS: I started on the original Dragon Front in 2015. We began with a physical, paper card game complete with boards and tokens, and once we felt comfortable with the mechanics, we moved it over to Unreal. I was on the project throughout launch and for a couple months into live operations before turning it over to Kevin Tyska to continue with content updates. When we had the opportunity to bring the title back for Quest 3, we put the team back together!

MS: Dragon Front was in development for about 18 months the first time around, and the Rising update took us about six months. With stars in our eyes, we really wanted to add more to the experience and make the mixed reality updates a spectacle. If this does well enough, we have another faction planned out, as well as more options for customization and some fun updates for living room battle damage in mixed reality.

MS: We see this as a refresh, with full focus on mixed reality and control updates. The original title shipped on Rift and Gear VR. The concessions we had to make for Gear VR left something to be desired, and that was our largest player base.

A lot of what we did with Rising was to make sure we upheld a high quality bar that will ensure some jaw-dropping moments for those that played it the first time around. In addition, we wanted the mixed reality to impress players that recently picked up Quest 3. This caused us to change the size of the board and strongholds so players could place it on a coffee table, while still allowing them to engage with family and friends in the physical world. We also added a gauntlet to contain the UI, and when the player opens their hand of cards, they appear above the gauntlet, as if you were holding them out.

MS: Mixed reality is the reason for a remixed version. We always wanted the player to feel like they were playing a board game in their living room. Our early inspiration was Dejarik, the holo-chess game C-3PO and Chewbacca played on the Millenium Falcon. We wanted the controllable pawns to animate and fight each other. For the first release, we had to be content with full VR, but this time we get to see the battle unfold wherever we want!

MS: Bringing the virtual game into your living room allows players to remain engaged with friends and family, and it also adds a toy-like aspect to the game when seen in your actual physical space. Combine that with spell effects that manifest around the room, and it puts traditional physical board games to shame!

MS: We had a very loyal fanbase and wanted to make sure to honor their return to Dragon Front. It’s been seven years since the first release, and the hardware is massively improved, so we know there’s already a cost to coming back. Hopefully, gifting the game to those early VR adopters will welcome them back to see how things have evolved.

MS: Video games help people visualize traditional non-digital games. When you play your Magic the Gathering or Pokémon card, you imagine the creature screaming out of the card and into the battle space. Bringing this to MR/VR allows the unit you hold in your hand to actually break from the card and emerge onto the table right in front of you. When you send your unit into battle, you can hear their war cries and see the miniature battle unfold. When catapults are launched, projectiles sizzle across the sky and impact the opponent’s stronghold. Debris rains from the ceiling of your living room.

MS: The obvious answer is bringing the action to your living space—walking through your house to hunt dangerous prey, create a Rube Goldberg machine, or solve a murder. I think the biggest win will come with feeling connected to the place you are most comfortable: your home. Being able to see and talk to your family while gaming, check your phone without needing to remove the headset, and overall feel less detached will allow for longer virtual experiences. I think experiences that cause players to go between VR and MR could also be super compelling, using your living room as the hub for interdimensional adventures!

MS: I enjoy both, honestly. I think I can spend more time with a headset on when I’m in MR. VR allows me to get fully immersed, which is also fun on occasion.

MS: Hopefully more work with Quest 3. Not only is Meta an amazing partner that shares our vision, but the new hardware just keeps getting better and better. High Voltage is at the forefront of developing games using the Unreal game engine, leading the way for other studios and developers. With new hand tracking SDKs, and spatial tracking, there are so many more experiences waiting to be made.

MS: In my 26 years of professional game development, I really am most proud of Dragon Front Rising and being able to bring the CCG experience to mixed reality and VR. I don’t think I have seen another game with as many cards to collect. We have 550+ unique cards, each with unique models, animations, dialog, and visual effects. Aside from the spectacle of mixed reality, the 4x4 grid gameplay is engaging and thoughtful, with combinations and strategies that will take a while to master.