Liverpool studio creates Christmas virtual reality game based on C4’s hit Taskmaster show

A Liverpool immersive technology studio has created a special Christmas version of its virtual reality game based on C4’s hit Taskmaster series.

Draw & Code first collaborated with the team behind the show to produce and launch Taskmaster VR in June this year.

Researching the game meant they visited the Taskmaster House, working directly with its creator and star Alex Horne.

They even put host, 6ft 8in comedian Greg Davies, in a specially-made motion capture suit for extra authenticity!

Now its popularity among fans since it came out for Meta Quest and Stream has seen the Liverpool specialists give the game a festive twist.

That means gamers can play in Christmas mode, taking on various challenges with new Christmassy objects and obstacles like snowballs and penguins.

Niall Taylor, Head of Games at Draw & Code, explains: “We have always used video game tech to do things, so we’ve always had one foot in that world, and the opportunity came up to work with the Taskmaster team.

“Initially we were just talking about how we could help them and then Andy, one of our co-founders, pitched the idea that the show would be a fantastic video game, and it went from there.

“We did it in under two years compared to the three or four years it would usually take, and we were very fortunate with Taskmaster because it gets renewed quite a long time in advance.

“But there is still a need to move quickly when something is licensed because obviously we need to think, is this popular enough to justify a video game?

“The digital game came out in June and was really eagerly-awaited by fans so we’ve done a few updates already including a big Halloween one.”

With Christmas being such a huge time in the gaming world, it made sense to add another seasonal version.

“The way Taskmaster works is you complete all these tasks using whatever’s in the house so for Christmas we’ve completely transformed the house; it’s decorated for the holidays, it’s snowing, everyone’s in elf and Santa costumes and there are lots of new items in the house. 

“You can play through the entire game and solve the puzzles in Christmas mode.”

For Draw & Code, which has its studio on Hardman Street, gaming is just one element of its creative and tech work.

Set up over 10 years ago by co-founders Andy Cooper and John Keefe, it has become a global name in augmented reality, VR and immersive and interactive technology.

Niall says: “We do everything from VR for video games and theatre installations, to training simulations, and we create light shows using immersive projection mapping.

“A lot of our work is with theatres and museums and probably our most high-profile event to date was with National Museums Liverpool when the Terracotta Warriors exhibition came to the World Museum.

“Our focus has always been bringing the artistic and creative world together with tech to create exciting things because people still want to go out and interact not just look through their phone all the time.

“We’ve been on the cutting edge of this for a long time, John and Andy were making VR products before the first VR headset was on the market, and we like to use tech no one else is using and find the right ways to use it.”

Their reputation in the industry has seen Draw & Code work with huge worldwide businesses like Mercedes and, closer to home, Alder Hey Hospital.

“Mercedes approached us because they were starting to build vans that had built-in drones which delivery drivers could use and they wanted to showcase that and let people experience it in an interesting way,” says Niall.

“We fitted out a lorry with a series of tech experiences, including VR where you could drive one of the new electric vehicles which had a motion seat, so it bumped you around like a fairground ride. We also built a copy of a city and used a mixed reality headset to bring it to life and direct drones around it, like a hologram on the table in front of you.”

With Christmas Taskmaster VR making its way into lots of gamers’ homes, Niall says that’s exactly what Draw & Code aims for with its projects.

“Bringing a bit of joy to people and creating something that is designed from the ground up to make someone have fun is the best part of why we do what we do,” he adds.

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