Dark Arts Software / Media resources

Press Kit

Step into the rhythm.
Meet Trip the Light, a dance and rhythm game for virtual and augmented reality.

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Image credit Dark Arts Software/Trip the Light.

Developer: Dark Arts Software
Genre: VR / AR dance & rhythm
Early access: November 2025 · Meta Store
Based in: Seattle, Washington

Press contact

We welcome interest from the media! For press and influencer inquiries, please email pressinquiry@darkartssoftware.com.

01 / The game

Description

Trip the Light is a dance and rhythm game for virtual and augmented reality. The game was released in early access on the Meta Store in November 2025. Trip the Light is the inaugural title for Dark Arts Software, a team of game and virtual reality industry veterans and young talents with a passion for dance, movement, rhythm, and games of all kinds.

Trip the Light features several modes:

Partner Dance

Take the lead and dance freeform with a responsive virtual partner who encourages creative moves and combinations.

Salsa 101

The first of our 101 modes, with more to come, guides you through the basic steps and moves of partner dancing.

Rhythm Challenge

Starts easy but ramps up the speed to test the solo skills of any dancer, offering a fast-paced “follow the leader” game directed by one of our in-game partners.

Trip the Light will get your heart rate up and show you moves and steps meant for the real dance floor, captured by professional dancers and directed by experienced choreographers. Most of all, Trip the Light is about the joy of the movement, the tempo of the music, and the rush of the game.

Trip the Light is available on Meta Quest 2, 3, and 3S headsets. The game’s development is supported by a successful Kickstarter campaign as well as self-funding from Dark Arts Software Founder Patrick Ascolese.

02 / The studio

About Dark Arts Software

Dark Arts Software is an independent virtual reality, gaming and technology studio headquartered in Seattle. The company brings together a small but growing international team of gamers, dancers and creators. The studio is founded and led by Patrick Ascolese, a musician and veteran developer with more than 20 years of experience working with extended reality hardware and software, including work with Meta, Microsoft, and Vulcan. He was a co-founder of Camouflaj.

In an industry where automation and corporatization is increasingly the norm, Dark Arts Software centers people in its games. The studio celebrates the individual contributions and successes of each of their team members. Trip the Light was developed based on real-life professional dancers, whose performances in motion-capture suits inspired the characters in the game.

Trip the Light dance partners, based on real professional dancers

Image credit Dark Arts Software/Trip the Light.

Visit Dark Arts Software ↗

03 / Founder

Patrick Ascolese

Patrick Ascolese is a technical and creative entrepreneur with more than two decades of design, development and business experience. He is the founder of Dark Arts Software, an independent virtual reality, gaming, and technology company based in Seattle, Wash.

Patrick began his career at Microsoft in the early 2000s, contributing as an engineer and technical designer on projects such as Xbox 360, Kinect and numerous console and PC games. In 2011, Patrick co-founded Camouflaj game studio where he built and led both the team and the company’s first product, Republique. Camouflaj went on to develop Iron Man VR and was acquired by Meta.

Patrick also served as an AR/VR Design Consultant at Meta, where he contributed to the design of future AR headsets. He also spent time at Vulcan Inc, founded by Paul Allen, developing future XR experiences for fans attending Seahawks games. At Vulcan, Patrick led all interactive technologies and content for an immersive, headset-free “Holodeck” that was deployed commercially at the MoPop museum in Seattle and several facilities in Canada.

04 / Downloads