Kingspray Graffiti Simulator in VR is magical (with SG Mixed Reality)

Kingspray Graffiti Simulator is the sort of app that will make people buy a VR headset. With the HTC Vive, a user is able to step into a very real-looking virtual space. The user is given a can of spray paint and an open canvas. Not a traditional canvas, mind you – a wall on a rooftop. Or a train car. Or a billboard. You, the user, play the part of a street artist, and you’ve got free reign over your virtual – real – world. You’re gonna be a belieVR.

The first time I tried this app, I was blown away. I’d seen a video demo of Kingspray on Reddit and immediately contacted the developers behind it. They decided to open their doors to SlashGear to do this demo – and oh MAN am I glad they did.

NOTE: What you’re going to see above and below is a demo we’ve done with the HTC Vive using a green screen room. We’ve keyed out the backdrop and kept my arms and the Vive controllers.

You’ll notice that my left controller is a bit transparent – I’ve covered it with painter’s tape so that it’s no longer black (save the areas where the sensors at the head of the controller need to peek out). The right controller is left without tape so you can see the difference between the two.

I can’t stop painting. I get the same feeling here that I used to get when I actually did paintings like these in the real world.*

*In completely legal locations at all times, of course.

Cans of paint are available in your left hand, while your right hand holds the can you’re using when you’re painting. Once the app has been started, you can switch hands.

You get a massive collection of pre-set color cans of paint with names for each color – or you can select your own. That’s just one of the many benefits of using this app in place of actually going out and painting in the real world.

Cans are designed after some of the higher-end graffiti-aimed paint available in the real world, thereby looking absolutely amazing.

You’ve got the option of selecting one of three standard caps for your paint, and of undoing and re-doing spray as you see fit – up to 10 steps.

The closed beta has three fleshed-out locations to paint, as well as a variety of flatter spaces that we expect will become more real once the app is out for the public.

Below you’ll see a shorter clip without any green-screen additions from SlashGear – this is basically what I’m seeing from inside the headset, flattened out and cropped to fit YouTube.

Early Verdict

I can’t stop.

I can’t stop using this awesome tool for artwork.

I’ve lost hours.

Even as a Closed Beta release, Kingspray Graffiti Simulator feels like an open window to a new, exciting future. For artists, at least – and for those that wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to have the experience this app provides.

We look forward to the first public release – and can’t WAIT to see what it’ll look like since it already looks and feels so fantastic. You can access Kingspray VIA the Kingspray homepage where they’ll link you up to the Steam page once it’s out of Beta.