Project Skylines

• 

  Project Skylines

• 

  Hand Pose Control

• 

  Controls

Project Skylines is built entirely around natural, hand-based movement, allowing players to fly, swing, and maneuver through the city using intuitive real-world gestures. Locomotion is controlled directly by hand position, orientation, and pose, creating a strong sense of physical connection to movement.

The game can be controlled without controllers, or with one of either hand, or both! Switch any time!

** NOTE: Controller Only Feature **

• Double-press Grips to toggle CONNECT-MODE
• Weblines now connect objects
• Weblines can also be connected to! Make your own webs!

LOCOMOTION - Hand Gestures

• Slowest flight - Point hand with thumb and index finger aligned toward ground
• Faster flight - Open hand with palm forward

• Fastest flight - Closed fist with palm forward

• Stop - Hold hand out flat

• Bank L/R - Hold hand out front, move sideways L or R while flying or swinging

• Rotate - Make L shape with index pointing up, each hand rotates in that direction

(Note: Left hand Stop and Rotate are not working correctly. Holding the left hand to your side may trigger the pose)

• Aim Web line - Hold hand out Palm Down
• Fire Web line - Make a classic Spider-Man hand gesture (Aim not needed)
• Fist with Web line - Retract Webline (pull for boost)

LOCOMOTION - Controllers

• Trigger - Jets
• Trigger & Grip - Boost Jet
• Grip alone - Aim Webline
• Grip & Trigger - Shoot Webline
• Grip & Trigger w Webline - Retract Webline
• Primary Button - Stop
• Secondary Button - Turn 180

Inspiration

I love VR flying games, but they've left me wanting more, I wanted something more like Superman or Iron Man. Or Spider-Man, the idea of web-swinging through a city has always represented ultimate freedom to me. I tried several other flying and grappling-style games, but none fully captured the experience I had envisioned. I wanted true freedom of movement, seamless switching between flying, swinging, climbing, and building momentum in the air.

What it does

Project Skylines is a physics-driven VR traversal game where players use an armband device called the GrappleJet to move through large vertical environments. Players can fire grappling lines from either hand, retract them, swing from them, zipline between connection points, climb along ropes, and construct temporary web-like structures in the air that they can stand on and use. The device also provides jet-assisted flight, allowing players to fluidly switch between grappling and flying at high speed. The core experience is about freedom, speed, and creative movement.

How we built it

The project was built in Unity with a strong focus on physics-based movement and natural hand-based interaction. The GrappleJet system is driven by real-time physics forces, allowing momentum, swinging arcs, and zipline motion to feel dynamic and responsive. A major design focus was supporting controller-free or single-controller VR, using hand tracking and pose-based input as primary interaction methods.

Challenges we ran into

One of the biggest technical challenges was hand orientation and rotation limits across the correct axes. Getting the direction, angle thresholds, and activation ranges to feel natural took a lot of iteration and testing. Another major challenge was hand pose recognition. Some poses naturally obscure certain fingers, which caused unreliable detection early on. To solve this, different weighting had to be applied to different fingers depending on the pose, allowing the system to stay responsive without false triggers.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

I’m most proud of the feeling of freedom the player experiences using only their hands to move and fly through the world. The ability to swing, climb, build aerial paths, and transition smoothly into jet-assisted flight creates a powerful feeling of control that I think is truly unique.

What we learned

I learned a great deal about VR interaction design, physics-driven movement systems, player comfort during high-speed traversal, and the importance of intuitive input. I also learned how small adjustments to input thresholds, angles, and hand tracking logic can have a massive impact on how natural a VR mechanic feels.

What's next for Project Skylines

Future plans include expanding weapon and shield systems, adding new traversal tools, introducing larger and more complex city environments, and deepening the narrative behind the technology and the world. The goal is to continue refining the GrappleJet movement system while building Project Skylines into a complete action experience with story, progression, and challenge modes.

Built With

• blender
• c#
• photoshop
• unity
• visual-studio