‘Taskmaster VR’ developers had “key to any door” when developing the game

Taskmaster, the hugely popular British television show that pits stand-up comedians and celebrities against each other to impress the ever-unimpressed Greg Davies, has an upcoming VR game. But how was it made?

“The Taskmaster team gave us the keys to any door we asked [for]”, Niall Taylor, head of games at Scallywag Arcade, told NME. “We were introduced to Taskmaster creator Alex Horne and the production company Avalon television as experts in getting weird and wonderful in the world of virtual reality. Alex is a fan of VR, and was really interested in the
opportunities to explore how the world of Taskmaster could be expanded”.

In the TV show (which has been on air since 2015 and is currently awaiting its 18th season) Davies acts as judge and Horne as umpire as a group of comedians compete for Davies’ favour. From meeting a stranger and performing a song about her at a fake festival to making cocktails very quietly, the challenges are absurd and hilarious, perfect for VR.

“VR was the only medium we could use to adapt the show”, said Taylor. “The core of Taskmaster is that – generally speaking – your only goal is to complete the task you are given. How you do that is up to you – so we needed a medium that removed as many barriers of abstraction as we could.

“If your first reaction to a task is to sprint to the shed to try and create a makeshift catapult out of planks of wood and rubber bricks, then we want you to be able to indulge that impulse. You can rummage through that shed with all the feral energy of your favourite comedian, chuck the junk you unearth into a wheelbarrow, and haul it back to your chosen battleground.”

Taskmaster VR puts players into the Taskmaster house itself, and features voice lines from Davies and Horne to give them that authentic feeling of being on the show. As for what tasks will be available within the game…

“I don’t want to spoil it, but [my favourite] involves a watermelon, a dog and a treasure chest – and is my favourite because it showcases some of my favourite ‘genres’ of task from the TV show! Plus, it was the most fun to capture voiceover for.”

Taskmaster VR is out June 13, 2024.

In other news, Valve has trademarked a name associated with its unnanounced hero shooter, Deadlock.