Owlchemy Labs has been well known for their chaotic interpretations of everyday occupations, and their upcoming Dimensional Double Shift is no exception. However, the studio has included a new feature in their comedic multiplayer experience.
Announced via press release, the cooperative VR game Dimensional Double Shift (DDS), will be receiving a Single Player mode in the first-half of 2027. According to Owlchemy Labs, this new “premium feature lets solo players have the full DDS experience with a crew of T.E.M.P. coworkers when friends aren’t around.” Since DDS is a multiplayer focused game, it will use AI-powered “colleagues” to assist players in their myriad tasks within each of the game’s four dimensions.
The AI T.E.M.P.s, or Totally Expendable Multi-dimensional Personnel, are non-playable robotic coworkers that can fetch supplies, pass ingredients, and help with jobs, while players tackle each shift at their own pace. However, Owlchemy made sure to specify that Dimensional Double Shift uses “non-generative AI” to help T.E.M.P.s understand player requests, while all dialogue is written and created by Owlchemy’s team. This allows players to use vocal commands to coordinate with the T.E.M.P.s in a natural way similar to the multiplayer experience.
“We wanted to make a version of Single Player that was uncompromising,” said Owlchemy Labs “CEOwl,” adding, “Parity with Multiplayer is our North Star when developing the new mode. We could (and have) made a mode that is different from the Multiplayer, and called it a day. The fun of DDS happens when we throw a bunch of players together.” He went on to say, “”This mode would not exist without AI. We are using it to interpret human language, the second L of LLM. Older systems would work like Connect or Alexa where players would need to learn specific phrases. We wanted players to speak as they normally would and not worry about if they were saying the right thing.”
This sentiment was shared by Co-founder and Head of Agents at Artificial Agency, Alex Kearney who said, “In DDS, our AI isn’t making the game. It’s helping the characters play it with you. Owlchemy creates the characters, art, voices and animations. Our Behavior Engine lets the T.E.M.P.s understand what you’re asking, coordinate with you and each other, and decide how to help, all within the roles and boundaries Owlchemy defines.”
Dimensional Double Shift is a cooperative social game where up to four friends work at an omnidimensional diner and service station owned by Conglomni Corp aptly named the Gas N’ Grill. Developed for the Meta Quest, the game was specifically designed around hand-tracking—allowing anyone to pick up the game without the need for a controller. Similar to Owlchemy Labs’ other games such as Job Simulator and Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality the game pairs the mundanity of everyday work, with the hilarity of chaos.
Launching its Open-Beta on September 26th, 2024 the game has surpassed one million downloads just over a year after its open beta launch.
