Conversations With Clique: “How Clonk Came to Be” (feat. BearHammer Games)
Imagine a game where you can launch your friends off platforms, race through impossible courses, and invent new ways to win (or sabotage your squad) using your creativity and an arsenal of variable throwable objects.
Oh, and you’re all made of clay.
This is the premise of Clonk, the upcoming title from BearHammer Games that combines creative movement, hilarious obstacles, and wild multiplayer gameplay into a chaotic and fun experience that taps into the best parts of VR gaming.
We sat down with the team behind BearHammer Games to talk about the journey of their small but ambitious studio, as well as the conception and evolution of Clonk.
Small Studio, Big Idea
Though BearHammer Games is a fairly young establishment, the scrappy devs that run it are no strangers to making games, as well as turning their passions into unique projects.
For studio director Brian Allen, the journey of BearHammer Games was one of self-exploration and self-discovery:
“I worked in the industry for about ten years before this. I spent two years as a solo developer making a VR action RPG called Bear Hammer. Then, I spent another year doing contract programming to raise money to build a team.
[...]Initially, we were working on a VR fitness product, but as we built it, we had so much fun making the obstacle course component that we shifted our focus to making the craziest VR obstacle course possible.”
It was this pursuit of passion while pushing boundaries that caught our attention at Clique Games. The team’s creative energy, love of ridiculous yet fun games, and dedication to making multiplayer VR experiences more accessible made it clear they were a perfect partner for us.
According to Brian, the mission at BearHammer Games is simple: “We just want to make really cool multiplayer games[...]The concept of chaotic, high-stakes obstacle courses [in VR] is something we love, and that’s what we’re bringing to gaming.”
As a publisher, we know a clear mission drives great games, and BearHammer’s vision aligns perfectly with what excites us most: games that don’t take themselves too seriously but are still built with deep care.
This vision was integral in Clonk’s development and eventual evolution into the “chaotic fun” experience it is today.
From left to right: Brian Allen (Studio Director), Connor Shine (Creative Lead), and Sandy Fisher (Lead UI Programmer).
The Birth of Clonk
Clonk has all the qualities of being the next standout hit in VR because it’s built by a team that loves games as much as the players do.
Citing their love of titles such as Fall Guys, Gorilla Tag, and Animal Company, BearHammer Games looks to capture the “unique magic” of VR and impart the spirit of “fun [and] silliness” that they experienced as a team to their players.
With Clonk, Brian and the team wanted to lean into the social and physical aspects of VR games. “Throwing an object[...]feels real,” he explains. “Smacking your friend with something has an actual, satisfying physicality to it. That’s what makes VR different from playing on a flat screen.”
By uniting the over-the-top elements of competitive game shows like American Gladiators, Ninja Warrior, and Squid Game with innovative movement and physics-based mechanics, Clonk aims to present players with what Brian calls “the world’s craziest obstacle course in VR.”
However, turning Clonk from idea to reality presented its own challenges.
Early Development
Reflecting on the first iteration of Clonk, creative lead Connor Shine recalls the initial issues with bringing their crazy obstacle course to life:
“Oh, it was ugly. It was just a basic block-out map[...]We had these jump pads that would launch you, but they were totally unpredictable.
There was one jump pad at the end that was supposed to help you reach the [goal], but it flung you about six times farther than expected. You’d go flying into the sky, then come crashing down somewhere completely unintended.”
But despite this, the glimmers of something special must have been present, as Connor sums up his reflections fondly: “It was a mess, but it was fun.”
Early version of Clonk map.
Diving deeper into the gameplay, lead UI programmer Sandy Fisher speaks to the difficulties of balancing what felt realistic with what was enjoyable:
“Initially, we were going to have actual motion-based throwing. At first, it felt pretty decent. We were trying to make it as realistic as possible, but we quickly realized something: you can’t actually throw something properly while holding VR controllers. It just didn’t feel great.”
With this in mind, serious changes were needed.
Following the Fun
BearHammer’s willingness to pivot and refine their systems to make sure every jump, throw, and grab felt great was exactly the player-first mindset we look for. With Clonk, players aren’t just surviving a course; they’re playing with the environment and each other in ways that only VR can deliver.
In fact, the particular creative and mechanical choices in Clonk aren’t just meant to flex the team’s creativity; they were made with the player experience in mind and in alignment with BearHammer’s commitment to “follow the fun.”
“The throwing mechanics are a perfect example,” Connor explains. “Originally, throwing was completely physics-based; you had to physically aim and throw like in real life. It was super accurate…but way too hard to use.
We eventually realized, ‘What if we made it more like a shooter?’ So we simplified the throwing to a trigger-based system [and it was] easier, faster, more fun.”
Brian also nods to the positive impact of this system change: “If we stuck with the old system, Clonk would have been a game only Tom Brady could enjoy. You had to run, throw, and aim perfectly. That’s fun for one person, but not for everyone.”
Building off the idea of “fun for everyone,” Brian delves into another element that encourages player agency and creativity: throwable loadouts.
“Sandy’s been working on a throwable that acts like a parachute, it lets you float further when you jump. Another one is a tire throwable. If it hits another player, it literally wraps around them like a hula hoop and slows them down.
Then, we have throwables that affect the environment, like ones that create climbable objects. So some players might build paths for teamwork, while others try to trap or slow people down. It’s going to be really fun to see how players combine these in creative ways!”
Early version of Clonk character climbing.
The “Ah-hah!” Moment
Every project has a “lightbulb moment” when you realize you’ve hit on something special. For the BearHammer team, what started as a shot-in-the-dark idea to improve the core gameplay proved to be the lynchpin that changed everything.
Iron Man fans rejoice, because Clonk has propulsion movement!
Sandy marvels on this serendipitous idea, calling it their “game changer”:
“At first, it was just a quick prototype. I built it in two days, just to see if it would work.
Before, the arm-swinging mechanics were too physically demanding for a casual game. So I implemented a new movement system where you push off the air by moving your arms backward[...]It lets you change direction midair, making dodging and navigating way more dynamic.”
According to Sandy and the team, playing with this mechanic for the first time was their lightbulb moment. “Suddenly, the game felt free. You could dodge in midair, pull off crazy jumps, and move with precision. That’s when we knew we had something unique.”
Early versions of Clonk characters jumping.
Playtests & Growth
One of the things we loved most about BearHammer’s approach to Clonk was their mindfulness of the player experience during the initial playtesting sessions. At Clique Games, we’ve seen plenty of VR games struggle with controls that are too complex or mechanics that don’t feel intuitive.
Sandy recounts the first playtests of Clonk, calling the initial version ”exhausting.”
“This was before we had the propulsion system, so movement was still based on swinging your arms to run. We all finished the test completely out of breath. Which was a problem because Clonk is supposed to be casual [and] fun, not a workout game.
That was a big turning point for us. We realized we needed to rethink the movement system.”
However, the BearHammer team didn’t stop with just introducing the propulsion system. They went as far as redesigning everything around the idea of what Connor calls “big, dramatic movement”:
“Once we added triple jumps [and other mechanics], suddenly the game opened up. It wasn’t just about running and climbing anymore[...]We actually had to redesign all the levels because players could now jump over obstacles that used to take minutes to climb. But we knew we had something way more fun.”
At Clique Games, we always ask our partner studios one key question: Are you having fun playing your own game? If the answer isn’t a resounding yes, something’s off.
That’s what makes Clonk special. Every mechanic, from the propulsion system to the throwable loadouts, exists because they made the developers laugh, shout, and jump out of their seats. If the dev team loves it, we know players will too.
Looking to the Future
The launch of Clonk slated for later in 2025, but Brian and the BearHammer team are already planning ahead for how they want to build upon their crazy but ambitious project.
Among their notable ideas are a player-to-player trading system, with Brian explaining that it will reward early players while also ensuring that Clonk has long-term replayability.
“If you play in Season 1, you’ll be able to earn exclusive items that future players can’t get…unless they trade for them. So, a Season 4 player might see a Season 1 player and think, ‘Whoa, they have that rare item. I want that!’”
Meanwhile, Connor looks forward to seeing player-made content and community building, calling them “essential” to the future of Clonk.
“The reason we designed Clonk’s world as modular blocks is because we want players to build their own levels. Some of my favorite games ever were made great by player creativity. Our goal is to let people experiment, create, and share.”
One of the many character variations you can play in Clonk.
At Clique Games, we believe VR gaming should be fun, welcoming, and wildly unpredictable, and Clonk delivers all that and more.
From the moment BearHammer pitched Clonk to us, we knew it wasn’t just another VR game; it was solving a real gap in the VR market. Amidst the deluge of indistinct VR games out in the market now, the ones that stick around and stand out have two main qualities: they are easy to jump into and they offer sustainable fun with friends.
Clonk nails that balance, combining the physical fun of VR with the social chaos of party games. It’s the kind of game that makes you laugh even when you lose, and we couldn’t wait to help bring it to life.