13th July marks a decade since the London Vive VR Jam – an event that quietly changed the course of our studio’s history. Hosted in July 2015 at Somerset House, the jam was one of the first developer events in the UK where creators got hands-on with pre-release HTC Vive headsets. At the time, most people hadn’t even seen room-scale VR in action. For us at Triangular Pixels, it was a spark.
Now, 10 years later, we’re deep into the development of Unseen Diplomacy 2 – our next VR spy adventure – and we can trace its origins all the way back to that one weekend of experimentation, walls, and laser tripwires.
A Heist in Hatton Garden
Back in 2015, room-scale VR was completely new. There was no Unity XR plugin, no OpenXR, no best practices. It was raw, experimental, and hugely exciting. We (Katie and John) were invited to join a small group of UK devs to create something in 48 hours with the Vive dev kits – which were still very 3D printed.
We built a prototype called The Hatton Garden Heist, inspired by real-world spy gadgets, Hollywood action scenes, and a love of immersive play. The game had players physically ducking under lasers, crawling through vents, and disabling alarms with their real bodies. There were no buttons to press – your body was the controller.
The reaction from others at the jam – and later the public – showed us we were onto something special.
You can read more from our original post here.
From Prototype to Production
That jam wasn’t just a fun weekend. It laid the groundwork for what would become Unseen Diplomacy – our first VR game, released in 2016 for the HTC Vive’s launch. We decided to return to The Hatton Garden Heist gameplay for a longer jam to create an installation game – and renamed it so you were on the good guys side!
It was a critical hit and one of the earliest examples of physical VR gameplay, using room-scale to the fullest. We designed real spaces, not teleportation. We made players feel like action heroes using only their own movement and wits.
But we never stopped thinking about the potential.
Over the years, we listened to players, experimented with more tech, and dreamed bigger. We pitched and pitched again for funding until we finally succeeded. That’s why Unseen Diplomacy 2 exists today – to expand on everything we started a decade ago in that jam room. A full campaign, new gadgets, more interactions, improved accessibility, and support for a wider range of setups. It’s a celebration of what VR can be when it’s physical, personal, and playfully spy-like.
Why Jams Matter
Game jams are where innovation is born – especially in emerging tech like VR. There’s something magical about having no rules, no publishers breathing down your neck, and a pile of experimental hardware on the table. It’s pure design.
The London Vive VR Jam wasn’t just a weekend of fun. It was the moment we realised the unique power of VR to immerse people through movement, not menus. We’re incredibly grateful to the organisers, the other devs we shared the space with, and the community that supported what we built.
Looking Ahead
10 years on from that Jam, and 11 years from starting Triangular Pixels formally, we’re still chasing the thrill of that weekend – pushing VR to new places and making experiences that make people move, laugh, and go “WOW.”
If you played Unseen Diplomacy, know that its roots go back to a folding table in London with two devs crawling under fake lasers. If you’re looking forward to Unseen Diplomacy 2 – you’re about to experience how far we’ve come.
Here’s to 10 years of crawling, ducking, and being a spy in your own living room.
