Deadeye Saloon

Inspiration

We started with a simple question:
“What if we could recreate the tension of simultaneous-action games like a board game Halli Galli in VR, using only hand gestures?”

We wanted a VR party game that anyone could play while seated, without controllers, using expressive, fun movements. Simple gestures such as finger-guns, Rock-On poses, and claps sparked instant laughter and dramatic reactions around the table.

The saloon sits somewhere between the Wild West and the afterlife, a playful world where ghosts settle scores with gestures, not guns. That playful, social energy became the heart of Deadeye Saloon.

What it does

Deadeye Saloon is a fast multiplayer VR party game built entirely on hand gestures.
All players draw and reveal cards simultaneously. When a matching gesture card pair appears, performing the correct gesture activates powerful abilities:

Summon a revolver with a finger-gun
Fire energy balls with a fist
Restore energy with a Rock-On gesture
Switch BGM and lighting with a clap

Players can lean their bodies to dodge incoming shots. When hit, wobbling skull avatars react in exaggerated, comedic ways. The result is a chaotic but friendly saloon shootout driven by physical timing and social presence.

How we built it

We started with the core loop: simultaneous card draw, match detection, gesture activation, aiming and dodging through natural upper-body motion.

Once the loop stabilized, we expanded the system:

Added four distinct gesture-based abilities
Improved aiming by using deeper finger-joint rotation for stability
Synced gesture states across networked players
Enhanced the saloon atmosphere with fog, dust, spotlights, VFX, and SFX
Created exaggerated hit reactions that became a favorite among playtesters

All development was done in Unity, using Horizon SDK features and hand-tracking APIs.

Challenges

We faced aiming instability at first; using only the first finger joint for the finger-gun caused jitter. Changing to a deeper joint rotation brought reliable accuracy.

Fairness was another challenge. With only the gun gesture, players pre-aimed before cards revealed. After adding multiple gesture types, unpredictability and excitement returned.

Gesture threshold tuning and false trigger prevention required many iterations, but each adjustment improved gesture fidelity and immersion.

What we learned

Hand-gesture gameplay in VR can be more expressive and natural than expected. Without controllers, players onboard quickly, move intuitively, and trigger more theatrical reactions.

We learned how to:

stabilize gesture-based aiming,
maintain fairness in simultaneous-action mechanics,
and craft design around social feedback such as laughter, shared tension, and spontaneous reactions.

Social reactions & fun moments

Skull hit reactions triggered huge laughter without any sense of gore or violence.
Matching pairs led to simultaneous gestures, creating tension spikes unique to this game.
Even eliminated players remained engaged by blocking others' cards with ghost hands, cheering during dramatic rounds, and staying part of the social loop.

Accomplishments we're proud of

A controller-free VR party game working reliably in multiplayer
High-precision gesture recognition tuned for Horizon hand-tracking
Strong social feedback validated through multiple playtests
A focused atmospheric saloon environment directing attention to the table
Expressive hit-reaction animations that consistently elevated energy and fun

What's next

We plan to expand Deadeye Saloon with a progression system where players can master their favorite gesture cards. Frequent use of an ability could unlock upgrades such as faster revolver shots, enhanced energy punches, or even dual-wield gesture variants, giving players a deeper sense of growth while keeping the game balanced and readable.

We are also designing a larger social hub with multiple active tables. Players will be able to join different matches, walk around the saloon, cheer for others, or spectate intense gesture duels even when they are not seated at a table.

Our goal is to evolve Deadeye Saloon into a gesture-first VR party space that keeps players returning for timing, tension, and shared laughter.