<s>
Boneworks	B-Application
(	O
stylized	O
as	O
BONEWORKS	B-Application
)	O
is	O
a	O
2019	O
first-person	O
shooter	O
VR	B-Application
game	O
developed	O
and	O
published	O
by	O
Stress	O
Level	O
Zero	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
Boneworks	B-Application
,	O
players	O
take	O
on	O
the	O
role	O
of	O
Arthur	O
Ford	O
,	O
a	O
rogue	O
cybersecurity	O
director	O
who	O
escapes	O
into	O
an	O
unfinished	O
simulated	O
universe	O
,	O
battling	O
through	O
surreal	O
architecture	O
and	O
mysterious	O
scenes	O
with	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
experimental	O
physics-based	O
weaponry	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Boneworks	B-Application
uses	O
physics	O
on	O
almost	O
every	O
aspect	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
most	O
VR	B-Application
titles	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
moves	O
through	O
the	O
world	O
via	O
teleportation	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
represented	O
by	O
two	O
non-corporeal	O
hands	O
which	O
respond	O
to	O
the	O
motion	O
controllers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Boneworks	B-Application
instead	O
uses	O
a	O
fully	O
simulated	O
body	O
,	O
which	O
uses	O
inverse	B-General_Concept
kinematics	I-General_Concept
based	O
on	O
the	O
location	O
of	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
head	O
and	O
hands	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Analog	O
sticks	O
on	O
the	O
motion	O
controllers	O
moves	O
the	O
player	O
similar	O
to	O
a	O
non-VR	O
game	O
,	O
with	O
sprinting	O
,	O
jumping	O
and	O
crouching	O
all	O
performed	O
either	O
on	O
controllers	O
or	O
in	O
real	O
life	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Boneworks	B-Application
is	O
set	O
in	O
Stress	O
Level	O
Zero	O
's	O
shared	O
alternate	O
universe	O
,	O
which	O
incorporates	O
other	O
titles	O
like	O
Duck	O
Season	O
and	O
Bonelab	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Using	O
void	O
particles	O
,	O
Monogon	O
is	O
able	O
to	O
create	O
the	O
BONEWORKS	B-Application
engine	O
,	O
which	O
uses	O
artificial	B-Application
intelligence	I-Application
and	O
void	O
particles	O
to	O
create	O
infinite	O
instances	O
of	O
virtual	B-Application
space	I-Application
,	O
accessible	O
via	O
VR	B-Application
headsets	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Monogon	O
uses	O
the	O
BONEWORKS	B-Application
engine	O
to	O
begin	O
work	O
on	O
MythOS	O
City	O
,	O
an	O
infinite	O
cityscape	O
simulation	O
designed	O
as	O
an	O
endless	O
source	O
of	O
virtual	O
living	O
space	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Ford	O
theorizes	O
that	O
the	O
BONEWORKS	B-Application
engine	O
could	O
function	O
as	O
a	O
entry	O
point	O
to	O
the	O
Voidway	O
,	O
which	O
would	O
allow	O
for	O
immortality	O
by	O
severing	O
the	O
connection	O
between	O
mind	O
and	O
body	O
,	O
leaving	O
him	O
to	O
exist	O
outside	O
of	O
space	O
and	O
time	O
forever	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
begins	O
with	O
a	O
real-world	O
cutscene	O
showing	O
an	O
armed	O
Arthur	O
Ford	O
retreating	O
into	O
a	O
panic	O
room	O
and	O
entering	O
MythOS	O
City	O
with	O
a	O
virtual	B-Application
reality	I-Application
headset	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
discovers	O
that	O
the	O
null	O
bodies	O
,	O
non-sentient	O
AI	B-Application
workers	O
,	O
have	O
become	O
sentient	O
and	O
violent	O
,	O
and	O
attack	O
him	O
on	O
sight	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
is	O
later	O
contacted	O
by	O
a	O
BONEWORKS	B-Application
developer	O
,	O
Alora	O
,	O
who	O
has	O
realized	O
his	O
true	O
goal	O
of	O
entering	O
the	O
Voidway	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Upon	O
opening	O
the	O
door	O
,	O
Ford	O
is	O
suddenly	O
pulled	O
out	O
of	O
the	O
Voidway	O
and	O
into	O
a	O
different	O
BONEWORKS	B-Application
simulation	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stress	O
Level	O
Zero	O
,	O
the	O
developers	O
behind	O
Boneworks	B-Application
,	O
had	O
previously	O
created	O
two	O
virtual	B-Application
reality	I-Application
titles	O
–	O
Hover	O
Junkers	O
and	O
Duck	O
Season	O
,	O
both	O
of	O
which	O
used	O
the	O
classic	O
floating	O
hands	O
design	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Duck	O
Season	O
,	O
Brandon	O
Laatsch	O
(	O
lead	O
developer	O
and	O
co-founder	O
)	O
wanted	O
to	O
create	O
a	O
'	O
more	O
mainstream	O
 '	O
game	O
with	O
the	O
goal	O
of	O
pushing	O
the	O
medium	O
of	O
virtual	B-Application
reality	I-Application
forward	O
,	O
while	O
also	O
appealing	O
to	O
mainstream	O
gamers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Half-Life	B-Application
2	I-Application
,	O
a	O
FPS	O
created	O
by	O
Valve	O
in	O
2004	O
,	O
was	O
a	O
source	O
of	O
inspiration	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
physics-based	O
interaction	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Laatsch	O
felt	O
that	O
since	O
then	O
,	O
input	O
had	O
barely	O
changed	O
,	O
with	O
almost	O
all	O
games	O
either	O
using	O
a	O
game	B-Device
controller	I-Device
or	O
keyboard	O
and	O
mouse	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
SLZ	O
decided	O
that	O
virtual	B-Application
reality	I-Application
was	O
the	O
most	O
promising	O
choice	O
to	O
further	O
game	O
innovation	O
,	O
due	O
to	O
its	O
immersive	O
nature	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
concept	O
for	O
Boneworks	B-Application
began	O
in	O
2017	O
,	O
with	O
Laatsch	O
working	O
on	O
the	O
concept	O
of	O
a	O
physics-based	O
virtual	O
body	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
2018	O
,	O
Stress	O
Level	O
Zero	O
was	O
actively	O
developing	O
the	O
title	O
in	O
Unity	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
developer	O
Alex	O
Knoll	O
,	O
the	O
core	O
premise	O
of	O
Boneworks	B-Application
remained	O
strong	O
while	O
the	O
setting	O
,	O
story	O
and	O
progression	O
was	O
fluctuating	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stress	O
Level	O
Zero	O
decided	O
to	O
adapt	O
it	O
into	O
a	O
more	O
simple	O
game	O
designed	O
to	O
introduce	O
players	O
to	O
fully	O
physics-based	O
VR	B-Application
locomotion	O
,	O
which	O
became	O
Boneworks	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
major	O
challenge	O
was	O
designing	O
a	O
long	O
game	O
in	O
VR	B-Application
,	O
since	O
motion	O
sickness	O
and	O
fatigue	O
is	O
common	O
in	O
VR	B-Application
players	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
"	O
We	O
had	O
to	O
figure	O
out	O
what	O
a	O
longer	O
form	O
VR	B-Application
gameplay	O
session	O
looks	O
like	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Due	O
to	O
a	O
lack	O
of	O
game	O
design	O
and	O
research	O
around	O
virtual	B-Application
reality	I-Application
,	O
Stress	O
Level	O
Zero	O
drew	O
from	O
other	O
fields	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
plot	O
was	O
described	O
as	O
"	O
a	O
meta	O
commentary	O
on	O
the	O
VR	B-Application
industry	O
"	O
by	O
Alex	O
Knoll	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Boneworks	B-Application
was	O
shown	O
in	O
a	O
tech	O
demo	O
in	O
2018	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
game	O
reached	O
a	O
playable	O
,	O
completable	O
state	O
in	O
October	O
2019	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
on	O
December	O
10	O
,	O
2019	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Following	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
Boneworks	B-Application
,	O
Stress	O
Level	O
Zero	O
put	O
out	O
an	O
announcement	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Laatsch	O
stated	O
in	O
a	O
video	O
update	O
that	O
the	O
goal	O
of	O
1.3	O
was	O
to	O
address	O
those	O
who	O
were	O
unhappy	O
or	O
unable	O
to	O
play	O
Boneworks	B-Application
,	O
while	O
not	O
ignoring	O
those	O
who	O
had	O
a	O
positive	O
experience	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
These	O
were	O
the	O
RedactedChamber	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
levels	O
developed	O
for	O
Boneworks	B-Application
,	O
and	O
Tuscany	O
,	O
which	O
was	O
previously	O
an	O
Oculus	O
exclusive	O
map	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
enemy	O
AI	B-Application
was	O
updated	O
and	O
modified	O
for	O
this	O
update	O
,	O
allowing	O
enemies	O
to	O
climb	O
walls	O
and	O
slide	O
down	O
railings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Laatsch	O
required	O
technical	O
advancement	O
to	O
make	O
the	O
update	O
,	O
so	O
the	O
updated	O
enemy	O
AI	B-Application
was	O
created	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Stress	O
Level	O
Zero	O
stated	O
that	O
the	O
merging	O
of	O
properties	O
was	O
a	O
design	O
exercise	O
for	O
the	O
studio	O
,	O
aiming	O
to	O
add	O
different	O
game	O
styles	O
,	O
both	O
aesthetically	O
and	O
mechanically	O
,	O
to	O
identify	O
whether	O
Boneworks'''	O
physics-based	O
sandbox	O
style	O
was	O
viable	O
across	O
different	O
genres	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Reception	O
Boneworks	B-Application
has	O
been	O
compared	O
to	O
Half-Life	B-Application
in	O
its	O
aesthetics	O
and	O
puzzles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
game	O
was	O
praised	O
for	O
having	O
created	O
an	O
"	O
incredible	O
engine	O
for	O
a	O
captivating	O
VR	B-Application
adventure	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
has	O
been	O
called	O
"	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
best	O
VR	B-Application
gun-adventure	O
games	O
on	O
the	O
market	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Rock	O
Paper	O
Shotgun	O
described	O
it	O
as	O
"	O
an	O
innovative	O
adventure	O
that	O
pushes	O
VR	B-Application
in	O
all	O
sorts	O
of	O
directions	O
,	O
but	O
still	O
suffers	O
from	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
VR-specific	O
issues.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Physics	O
manipulation	O
in	O
Boneworks	B-Application
has	O
been	O
described	O
as	O
entering	O
the	O
"	O
uncanny	O
valley	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
has	O
been	O
described	O
as	O
a	O
"	O
VR	B-Application
physics	O
playground	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
as	O
being	O
"	O
conceived	O
as	O
a	O
combat	O
showcase	O
first	O
and	O
a	O
story-driven	O
epic	O
second	O
–	O
the	O
Narbacular	B-Application
Drop	I-Application
to	O
Valve	O
's	O
Portal	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
day	O
of	O
release	O
,	O
Boneworks	B-Application
reached	O
the	O
top	O
best-sellers	O
ranking	O
and	O
player	O
count	O
lists	O
across	O
Steam	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
currently	O
has	O
over	O
28,000	O
positive	O
user	O
reviews	O
on	O
Steam	B-Application
and	O
a	O
78%	O
five-star	O
rating	O
on	O
the	O
Oculus	O
Store	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Custom	O
items	O
and	O
maps	O
are	O
also	O
available	O
,	O
able	O
to	O
be	O
created	O
with	O
a	O
Unity	B-Application
SDK	O
and	O
installed	O
through	O
mod.ioBonelab	O
''	O
was	O
released	O
on	O
September	O
29	O
,	O
2022	O
.	O
</s>
