Virtual reality (VR) is the new big thing in gaming, offering a totally immersive experience, along with high definition that gamers are not accustomed to. The saturation and functionality of VR have increased by leaps and bounds in the recent years. The introduction of virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and the PlayStation VR has created a huge interest in virtual reality’s potential.
VR applications are evolving at a fast pace. They’re moving from education to healthcare to pure entertainment. Prior to what was previously believed, gaming is directly related to the social behaviours of a society and technological advancements. When all three come together to connect, we’re more capable of analysing, then transforming the way we behave and interact. Our minds are broadened and constantly challenged by the new techniques, allowing game developers to construct games with a better understanding of the gaming experience.
Virtual reality is going to open new horizons for both the gaming industry and for individual games. It is building upon existing phenomena and moving forward at a fast pace, creating amazing technological advancements along the way. VR and VR gaming have been around since the 90’s. Where before it had an ambiguous, uncertain future, we can now say for sure that VR is here to stay.
From a developer’s standpoint, it’s like being a kid again. It’s monumental what the game development community is achieving. VR gives a more exciting and interesting perspective into gaming. The opportunities are huge. We’re learning and developing new techniques every day. It’s a paradigm shift which comes only about once every decade. There’s nothing like the immersive experience that you go through with VR games.
It wasn’t supposed to touch emotions and feelings, but it’s revolutionising the way we look at things. There’s a massive change in what we at first imagined VR would be. And Australia is at the forefront of bringing this exciting technology to the world.
Opaque Space is a Melbourne-based company that has been building simulations and training technologies with the help of various private and public sector industries such as NASA and Boeing. The company, run by Emre Deniz, recently developed the award-winning Earthlight Spacewalk VR game for the HTC Vive. The idea behind the game was to give players a chance at actually experiencing life on the International Space Station.
We moved onto an International Space Station spacewalk, and as a result were invited to tour NASA in the US, sit in mission control, view the space-station mock-up, and even interview astronauts, Mr Deniz said.
I think one of the biggest challenges for VR is to grow with the market viability for independent developers and small developers to commercialise the platform sustainably, he said. Mr Deniz also said that there is still a lot of work to be done in making this available and adaptable for home entertainment, no matter how fast VR is advancing from an enterprise or technological standpoint.
Zero Latency is another Melbourne-based virtual reality gaming company that’s in the process of helping launch 2,000- to 4,000-square-foot gaming arenas around the world, making it possible for gamers to enjoy the experience of having a multiplayer social environment.
A project was released as a kickstart by Oculus VR, a start-up company based in California, for their Oculus Rift virtual reality goggles. The Oculus Rift began a relationship with virtual reality unperceived by its creators. The Oculus Rift looks like a matte-black box, roughly the size of a brick, which hangs from the face like giant ski goggles, with a bunch of cords running from the back of your head to the back of a small desktop computer. It actually looks like a futuristic device straight out of sci-fi flick, closer to a cool gadget created in the garage of a brilliantly focused and experimental teenager who dreamed of seeing into the future. A little strange and too good to be true, but it is how this very device was born. A 17-year-old sci-fi enthusiast, Palmer Luckey, built the first prototype in his parent’s garage in Long Beach, California.
In addition to the Oculus Rift, we are now lucky enough to be able to choose from a series of other gadgets, like the HTC Vive, Google Cardboard, PlayStation VR, and many more. The users of PC VR will be ecstatic to learn Microsoft‘s plans for Windows 10 virtual reality, mainly because HP, Dell, Lenovo, and Acer are going to reduce the prices of VR headsets for PC owners.
Another major application of VR lies within the horror genre of the gaming industry. Game developers are trying to connect with famous horror filmmakers like Guillermo Del Toro for the creation of new and improved horror games which would let gamers immerse themselves in not just the story of the game, but in the actual setting of the scene, where they can experience much more. The prospect sounds scary and exciting all at once. With further advancements being continuously carried out, it is just a matter of time before more movie and game producers start collaborating to provide unique and intense experiences.
What the gaming industry needs to communicate are the physical and mental health benefits and losses related to VR technology. There are certain minor health issues reported by seasoned players that most commonly included motion sickness and headaches. VR delivers not only a totally immersive experience that is now being utilised by the movie industry at a few theatres in the United States, but it also gives an all-encompassing feeling of being one with the character. It is fun and exciting to emotionally relate to the whole atmosphere while personally experiencing everything in detail. Virtual Reality’s comprehensive experience is now the future of gaming.
