Why is VR getting so much buzz?

Arnoxthe1

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Dec 25, 2010
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Everyone says VR is like the next thing in gaming but I'm sorry, I really don't believe it. Why? I like to quote Yahtzee here on motion controls.

All these motion sensor concepts have to eventually face the fact that people play games to unwind, and no one "unwinds" by coming home and waving their arms about like an air traffic controller covered in beetles.
Will it sell some? Sure. Is it gonna replace the standard controller/TV or keyboard/mouse/monitor layout? Not a chance. Not only does it require heavy investment, it also, of course, requires games to be specially made for it. And furthermore, you gotta mount a clunky device onto your head. And even FURTHER, most casual people don't even know VR is heavily in development. And to be quite honest, personally, I really don't see current VR as worth the whole investment at all.
 

sXeth

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Even assuming I got through the cost-hoops, and had a hundred quality games for it, there's still the issue for me that as a functioning adult, its rare that I can just effectively have the entire world completely tuned out and wear a giant space mask over my eyes/ears.

Also it seems like it'd start to do a real number on your neck after awhile.
 

WolfThomas

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Dec 21, 2007
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Depends on the game. Shooters are never going to be truly realistic as you won't be standing/running around your lounge room. But flight sims and driving games will be pretty cool. Something like Elite Dangerous in VR will be (and apparently already is) amazing.
 

sanquin

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I see the current form of VR being developed as the current 'ultimate gaming gadget'. Fun and incredible to have as an extra, if you have the money. But only just that, something as an extra. Something only gamers that have the free time to shut off the real world, and the money to buy it will own.

I think that until VR costs under 200 euro, and is reduced to like half it's size, it won't really be a 'mainstream' thing.
 

The Madman

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It's the inevitable future. Might not actually be nearly there quite yet nor will it be for quite some time, but Virtual Reality is pretty much the ultimate end-point for multimedia with Star Trek style Holodecks being the target goal. VR headsets are the next step in getting there.

Worth pointing out however that as VR grows in popularity that doesn't mean what we have now will ever go away, just like movies didn't do away with books. I wouldn't feel threatened by it, in fact I think it's neat even though I have no intentions of buying a VR headset anytime soon.
 

Arnoxthe1

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Dec 25, 2010
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The Madman said:
It's the inevitable future. Might not actually be nearly there quite yet nor will it be for quite some time, but Virtual Reality is pretty much the ultimate end-point for multimedia with Star Trek style Holodecks being the target goal. VR headsets are the next step in getting there.

Worth pointing out however that as VR grows in popularity that doesn't mean what we have now will ever go away, just like movies didn't do away with books. I wouldn't feel threatened by it, in fact I think it's neat even though I have no intentions of buying a VR headset anytime soon.
Well, to be fair, the Construct in the Matrix was pretty much any gamer's wet dream. Or the Holodeck, yeah. Heck, even NerveGear would be something indeed. But definitely got a WHILE to go before that happens. In the meantime though, the Oculus or the Vive may be an important step but it's definitely not deserving of a lot of the popularity they get IMAO.
 

Strazdas

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May 28, 2011
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thats the thing though, unlike kinect, you dont have to go around waving your arms when you use VR. As for current VR itself, i consider it a stepping stone towards actual VR. as in, where you control the character with your brain, the ultimate input method that makes complete freedom in games possible.
 

Pseudonym

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There are various projects in the making in that area and the people behind that also have marketeers on their teams. Besides that, reports from people who have used the new gear are cautiously optimistic. It isn't without it's flaws but the people who've looked at the prototypes have, by the accounts I've heard and read, been impressed by what it does well.

That said, a lot of the games I play wouldn't greatly benefit from VR, I think. What is VR going to add to crusader kings, civilisation, FTL or rogue legacy? VR is probably great for people who like graphics or immersion but neither of those things are that important to me when I game.
 

MysticSlayer

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From a gaming perspective, it's the next big thing for hardware. Ten years ago it was motion control. Five years ago it was 3D. Today it is VR.

From a designer's perspective, it gives a new thing to play around with and try to figure out. VR offers a lot of interesting challenges from a design perspective, but it also opens up a lot of potential for certain play styles that may previously have come across as too boring for the average person with standard controls.

Whether or not it succeeds, though, is another matter. There's clearly going to be a lot of hype around it because that's what marketers want there to be. My guess is it won't do much better than motion controls and 3D, but we'll have to wait and see.
 

Gigano

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Tying it down with motion controls would be a big mistake.

It should be to imagery what headphones are to sound. I.e. be able to be used with an ordinary controller, as a compact replacement for a large TV/projector. Then it could work. And you could work on it from there.
 

Neurotic Void Melody

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If Gabe Newell thinks it's the next big thing, then i have no choice but to agree, in the vain hope that this will be part of Half-life 3's innovation and of course confirmation.
 

iller3

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I don't think any PRACTICAL game designer would ever insist that VR will HAVE to be controlled by motion controls only. A single One that doubles as a mouse while you use your left hand on your keyboard like a normal person will probably be more than a enough.... and eventually even that control will be made redundant by better Tracking technology in the helmets themselves until one day that clunky interface itself is then made obsolete by direct Synaptic (nerve) Sensory input like they've already started doing for some Amputees. ...No, the real hype around VR is the enveloping screen space & improvements to depth perception. It won't be immediately applicable to fast action 3D hardcore gamers BUT that improved interfacing will give an immediate boost to Asset creators which will in turn benefit lots of core gamers in a similar way that those expensive ass Wacom Cintiq tablets improved the productivity for a lot of digital Artists. As a modeling/rigging student myself, the proposition of practical V.R. is more revolutionary to me than the discovery of Normal Mapping

And if the technology gets adapted into all the Source Engine, Unity, & Unreal SDK's .... then you're really going to see huge leaps forward in the Modder scene & indy alke (and some pretty nifty porn games of course too)
 

kilenem

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Once VR is available to the average consumer it will become the next thing but will probably see it first in Arcades just like when gaming first came came out. I haven't played gaming but VR is video is most definitely better then regular video and comparable to Imax. If VR gaming is able to be on par with video its going to be amazing.
 

fix-the-spade

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Arnoxthe1 said:
Will it sell some? Sure. Is it gonna replace the standard controller/TV or keyboard/mouse/monitor layout?
It will sell to the hardcore gamers and movies crowd, plus industrial application. There is a lot of money in those people.

I recently got to have a go with a DK2 program that took HD video and simulated a movie theatre size screen. Tiny headset, like looking at a 300inch cinema screen and no motion sickness thanks to some very simple visual cues. I can see that taking big TV sales away from Samsung and co.

On a work related note VR's great for showing prototype parts to people, although Hololens is looking like being even better since it allows objects within the viewable real world.

As a mainstream device it's probably not going to hit smartphone levels of ubiquity, but there's plenty of sales for VR as when it comes out working properly.
 

Remus

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VR is at a point where it's almost viable with current graphic tech. I look at it much like Avatar - sure the film could've been made in the 80s but the prosthetics and RL environments would have been a poor substitute for what was the final product today. When VR first emerged, character models were blocky and very much in the vein of the original Star Fox with its FX chip. 3D graphics with polygon graphics that had only recently emerged. Now the technology is almost past the uncanny valley boundary. Game companies have been capturing live performances from Hollywood actors for years, and without the "OMG Airport scanner" bodysuits and their bulging in all the wrong places - the software can read actual expression and apply it to a character model. People have hacked the old X-Box Kinect cams to appear as themselves in virtual environments, with old tech.

As technology progresses, and we are expecting a particularly large leap in tech in 2016, VR will become even more appealing. The pixel count will get there if given enough time. I welcome this second coming of VR and if I find myself with a few benjamins, will happily be seeing you in Elite VR, or maybe the new game by CCP - EVE: Valkyrie. What I would really like to see is some apps outside gaming - maybe an exercise program by Google, letting you jog the sidewalks of your favorite vacation spots in VR. But this can only happen if the tech really takes off this time. 3D movies may not be the thing to have at home anymore, but all the major theater releases have a 3D option so while it wasn't the must-have, it will likely never completely disappear. I would hope that VR could do a little better than that this turn.