The Connectome Demo At AWE Shows How Connect The Dots Can Be Spatial

Connect the dots takes on a whole new dimension of color, scale, and fluidity in virtual reality with Connectome on Quest.

Who among us didn’t play connect the dots at some point in their childhood? Connectome aims to bring this simple game of creating shapes to VR by drawing lines between points in space using hand tracking on Quest. In this game, though, connecting the dots takes on a new approach since it’s now played out across your room versus drawing on a flat piece of paper.

The game begins with a short tutorial to orient you with using your hands and the proper position to place them in to use the ray-cast beam now shooting from their virtual palms. This is thanks to the Meta Interaction SDK used in creating the game, and playing Connectome is a hands-only experience. Controllers are not supported.

Once you have a sense of how to pinch and drag, the game begins with having you create a few simple shapes. One of these forms is a rectangle that then becomes a doorway to the next area. At the center of that door is an interaction point with no instruction. I intuitively pinched it and pulled myself forward, which felt like the logical thing to do here. When I asked Grant Hinkson, the developer of Connectome, he mentioned that this was somewhat intentional, as he wants players to find their own way through these spaces.

The deeper down this rabbit hole of connecting dots I went, the more interesting it becomes. After clearing the more basic levels, Connectome presents you with rooms that play with the concepts of color, lighting, and scale. The effect of completing a puzzle and then being dragged inside of the form you just made and seeing it at a different size is mesmerizing. Movement fluidity also shines here, as the transitions and hand movements are all very smooth. There is also a nice ambient musical backtrack that changes to fit the tone of each new area you visit. All of this came together to provide some welcome stress relief at the end of a very long day of walking the showfloor at this year’s Augmented World Expo.

Hinkson commented that others had described the experience as meditative. After trying it for myself, I can see how this would be an excellent way to unwind and lose yourself in this world of geometric forms and light that are building upon themselves all around you. He also said the intent is to create a sense of wonder, and the app does this nicely.

Connectome launched on May 27th on the Meta Store and is currently available for Quest 2, 3, 3S, and Pro. Hinkson also has aspirations to bring Connectome to the Apple Vision Pro at a later date, saying he’s excited to see how the headset’s eye tracking might provide a new way for players to interact and connect the dots. He’s floating a few ideas for possible future updates, but nothing is confirmed at the time of this writing, so we will be keeping an eye on this app for future updates.