Lucas Martell, head of developer studio Mighty Coconut and creator of VR hit Walkabout Mini Golf VR, talks about the future of his VR game in an interview with MIXED.

Is simplicity the reason for minigolf’s success in virtual reality?

Lucas Martell: Miniature golf is something that just about everyone has tried. It’s an activity that you can take seriously by working to learn and master it, or you can just go and fool around.

It’s also a very social experience. A big part of the fun is chatting with friends, making fun of their shots, watching the crazy courses, and just escaping to a fantasy land for a while.

As it turns out, virtual reality lends itself particularly well to miniature golf – and vice versa. We entered the market at a time when people were looking for a relaxing, visually appealing and fun way to escape from reality, alone or with others. And we’re grateful that players around the world have embraced the game so well.

Is there another sport you’d like to see brought to virtual reality?

Lucas Martell: Without commenting specifically on future plans, I will say that there are several studios developing great sports-related games. I don’t see the need to duplicate them or compete in those areas. Nevertheless, we would like to offer players something new and entertaining if we see an opportunity.

Walkabout Mini Golf: The killer feature is the multiplayer mode.

Was it difficult to get your team excited about the Mini Golf in VR project?

Lucas Martell: Since I designed and developed most of the game on my own, I didn’t have to ask anyone for permission or approval. Meta was enthusiastic about the idea early on and encouraged me to implement the multiplayer mode, which of course turned out to be a killer feature. After launch, I expanded the team. We’re having a lot of fun planning features and courses for years to come.

How helpful was your experience as an animation studio in developing a VR game?

Lucas Martell: Very helpful. Prior to Walkabout Mini Golf, we were an animation studio for several years, so building immersive worlds around storytelling was as natural as episodic production. This television-like discipline and cadence has proven critical as we’ve continually released new courses since launch, providing ongoing value to players and keeping them engaged with what we’re building.

With courses like Walkabout Mini Golf: Maze, which we designed and developed in partnership with the Jim Henson Company based on the 1986 fantasy classic, we started animating creatures. Players really seemed to like that – both here in our studio and in the community.

Were there any particular hurdles during development?

Lucas Martell: The biggest challenge for us was probably moving from an animation pipeline to a game pipeline. A lot of the individual capabilities are similar. Looking at game design from a different angle helped us do things in a way that really made the game stand out. But I also learned some basic things that could have made development easier in the first place.

Will Walkabout Mini Golf become the Metaverse platform?

In terms of the current Metaverse hype – could you see Walkabout Mini Golf VR becoming a similar platform to Horizon Worlds or Fortnite, hosting virtual events like VR concerts or an open-air virtual cinema?

Lucas Martell: We see players using Walkabout Mini Golf as a place to meet people they know or others who just share their interests. Some meet regularly for discussions, tournaments, to speak another language, or just to connect with people they can relate to.

There are professionals who use the game for business meetings and team outings, and we have used the game for an interview platform that we call Walkabout Talkabouts. I fully expect that the use of the platform will expand, and we hope to be one of the ways people come together and begin their “Metaverse” experiences.

Will there ever be full-body avatars in Walkabout Mini Golf?

Lucas Martell: Maybe? But probably not. The reason is that we don’t want players to have to deal with or think about their bodies in the game, even if body recognition improves. We just fulfilled a common request to increase the number of people in private game rooms to eight people. Can you imagine making your shot with sixteen legs in the way?

Will Walkabout Mini Golf be released on Playstation VR 2?

Lucas Martell: Our goal is to be available on as many headsets as possible. We want our players to be able to invite their friends, regardless of the platform they choose.

Would a 2D version of Walkabout Mini Golf for mobile devices or consoles also be interesting?

Lucas Martell: Since Walkabout Mini Golf started as an AR smartphone game, we always wanted to offer this version as an additional experience for players. I’m happy to say that we’re making steady progress in this regard, and we’re announce something in the coming months want.

Jules Verne DLC comes with new content

Are there any other projects currently in the pipeline besides Walkabout Mini Golf?

Lucas Martell: We have a dozen courses in active development and a list of a hundred more we want to do. We’re also talking to several licensors about possible partnerships, and we have a lot of other ideas around miniature golf. Right now, we’re focused on providing the very best experience for our walkabout minigolf players.

How did the idea to develop a Jules Verne DLC for Walkabout Mini Golf come about?

Lucas Martell: I loved reading Jules Verne novels as a kid, and as a teenager I even tried to develop an adventure game based on Journey to the Center of the Earth. On top of that, Jules Verne’s novels have such a unique tone and sense of place, which is exactly what we’re looking for when we develop courses.

What was the big challenge in implementing a novel world versus implementing a movie world, like that of Labyrinth?

Lucas Martell: Every single course we design holds its own set of surprises and challenges. With Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, there’s a beloved piece of movie history and an enthusiastic fan base that we want to satisfy as much as our partners at The Jim Henson Company.

We had to decide how to bring a linear story to life as a fully explorable place while satisfactorily addressing the narrative aspects. However, we still wanted the mini-golf game to be a lot of fun.

We’re all big fans of the Jules Verne novels and know that these epic adventures offer fantastic worlds to explore. But because they’re so big, the challenge is choosing the right elements and scenes to bring them to life.

When we venture into a classic story like Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, we want the details to feel immersive and surprising. With our low-poly aesthetic, that’s both an artistic and a technical challenge in terms of performance on the different platforms. And, of course, the fun of playing miniature golf must be maintained.

What can we expect from the upcoming Jules Verne DLC? Will there be the Walkabout typical lost balls, the search for the special golf club or even more activities?

Lucas Martell: In each Walkabout miniature golf course, we hide eighteen themed lost balls as well as a scavenger hunt (“fox hunt”) to earn a special putter. And with the Jules Verne trilogy, players can certainly expect at least one new game mechanic!

Will there be animated NPCs like in Labyrinth?

Lucas Martell: We’ll continue to build on things that have worked in other courses, and players can definitely expect to see some creatures along the way.

Are narrative elements like quests possibly coming to the game?

Lucas Martell: In our game, the player is the actual protagonist, so you bring the story itself to life. However, we stage the courses with an implied history to give hints of what might have happened there some time or eons before you arrived.

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