AstroBeam has today launched its debut title, Stellar Cafe, for Meta Quest 2, Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest 3S. Stellar Cafe is the first VR game built around authentic, unscripted conversations using large language models (LLMs) to interpret your voice and generate real-time responses from human-crafted NPCs.
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What is Stellar Cafe?
Created by Devin Reimer, founder of AstroBeam and co-creator of viral hit Job Simulator, Stellar Cafe invites you into an intergalactic cafe where you’ll meet plenty of quirky robot characters. Using only your voice and hands, you can chat with the cafe’s patrons and help solve their problems. What kind of problems? How about writing a resignation email or becoming the first human guest on a robot podcast.
The cafe’s quirky clientele uses AstroBeam’s uniquely implemented large language model (LLM) to understand context. Each character processes what you say in real time and can carry conversations that are unique to your responses. Stellar Cafe is fully powered by voice input and features Owlchemy Labs’ signature hand-tracking technology, enabling you to focus on talking to the robots and allowing you to navigate the world without menus or controllers.
“Stellar Cafe is just the beginning for voice-first VR and video games,” said Devin Reimer, CEO and founder of AstroBeam. “For the first time in VR, players can talk and gesture freely to see what emerges when characters truly listen and respond. We see it as the ultimate tool for player expression through voice and hope to push the boundaries of VR and video games beyond responsive NPCs.”
Gameplay
In Stellar Cafe, you’ll speak to robots and hear them talk back. No dialogue trees, just direct understanding and interaction, all in real-time. Conversations are fully dynamic and driven by your voice.
The game also features hand tracking to allow you to grab objects. From simple actions such as adding creamer to your coffee or more aggressive interactions, like flinging a bottle of hot sauce at a robot, it’s your hands and your voice that drive the game. Every robot has a unique personality, goals, and quirks. Your interactions with them will determine the flow of the game, and whether or not they achieve their goals.
Stellar Cafe Launch
Stellar Cafe launches today exclusively for Meta Quest headsets. The game is priced at $14.99 USD.
There’s currently no word on the game launching on other VR formats. However, if we were to guess we’d suggest its entirely possible. given the prolific VR format support seen by Job Simulator.
Are you excited for the emergence of LLMs as interactions in VR games? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
