Games

Games / No-Pact / Early VR

Hat Trick Header

A football prototype controlled through headset movement.

The project

Overview

Hat Trick Header began as a VR game idea and playable prototype I developed at No-Pact during the Oculus DK2 period. The player headed incoming balls toward targets, controlling direction and power through the movement of the headset rather than a gamepad or hand controller.

The main question was simple: could you aim a football accurately enough using only your head for this to work as a game?

First-person Hat Trick Header gameplay at a beach, with an incoming football and a set of circular targets.
Final release screenshot showing the head-controlled target mechanic. Release material © No-Pact.
Studio
No-Pact
My work
Original idea, head-control mechanic, and early playable VR prototype
Release
Steam VR, 4 October 2016
Status
Removed from sale by No-Pact in January 2020

My contribution

Prototype

Game idea

A football-heading game built around the tracked movement of the player's head as the primary input.

Head-only control

The prototype tested how the position and movement of the headset could determine the direction and force of a header without relying on handheld controls.

Interaction tuning

Ball approach, contact, direction, and response were adjusted until the player could deliberately aim rather than simply trigger a collision.

Playable test

The prototype made it quick to receive a ball, aim with the head, see where it went, and adjust the next attempt.

Later No-Pact production

Release

After I left No-Pact, the studio continued the project and developed it into the fuller game released on Steam in 2016. That later production added the environments, interface, level content, multiplayer, achievements, and release material.

The released game retained the central head-controlled premise and expanded it into target-based levels across three locations, scoring and streak systems, and local hot-seat multiplayer. A 2017 update increased the level count from 18 to 45.

Gameplay and screenshots

Material

Video / 2016 Thumbnail from a 2016 Hat Trick Header gameplay video recorded with an Oculus Rift. Oculus Rift gameplay by Hoopermation VR Video / 2018 Thumbnail from a Hat Trick Header gameplay recording on HTC Vive. HTC Vive gameplay by 30minVR
Release screenshot Hat Trick Header stadium gameplay with several targets and score feedback.
Stadium target set. © No-Pact.
Release screenshot Hat Trick Header training-ground gameplay with an incoming football and targets in front of a goal.
Training-ground target set. © No-Pact.

Public record

Cotex / Kalbim Duracak