VR
blog.ycombinator.com
VR
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Re: VR
#2> I think we are no more than two years away from an explosion of new consumer startups
I remember reading similar sentiment two years ago, back when the Oculus started getting massive attention after their successful Kickstarter.
There are counter arguments to the rise of VR. As mentioned, price and hardware are too high for casual use, but that will be fixed in time.
What can't easily be fixed is that fact that it is not conveient. VR tethers you one spot, and using VR in public looks ridiculous/antisocial to outside observers. In contrast, an AR approach can avoids both issues by embedding an immersive context with subtlety. (in theory anyways; Google Glass looked ridiculous too.)
Re: VR
#3One of my favorite things to do is to pack up my PC and Vive and take it to a friend or relative to try out. A lot of people view VR as a gimmick akin to 3D movies, which fairly predictably has died out, but once they have a chance to try VR they often understand the potential.
I think VR has a real future - which certainly will depend largely on falling hardware costs and increased software funding - and while I'm sure the next consumer device version will be significantly improved and appreciably cheaper I'm glad I was able to make a small contribution to the bootstrapping efforts.
Re: VR
#4Having both an Oculus Rift (pre-touch controls) and a Vive to play around with I have a couple thoughts on this.
The first impression/experience is powerful and most people are impressed by it. The Rift prior to touch controls was unusable in comparison to the room scale, touch control Vive (to the point that I sold it). Maybe it's better now with the new touch controls, but I think they still lack room scale and the ability to walk around is a big deal. The Vive headset also fully blocks external light which is nicer (but these are relatively minor things that can be fixed).
VR in its current early adopter state is a lonely experience - more so than playing a one player game on the couch, you're completely isolated. While this makes for strong immersion - I think it increases the barrier to entry for most people. I suspect FB is right about the importance of social interaction getting people to actually use VR for longer than just showing it off to people.
I suspect finding the "Doom for VR" - the application that really takes advantage of the medium hasn't happened yet, maybe when it does it'll be obvious in hindsight. As for the comparisons to AR - I think Michael Abrash's points still stand: http://blogs.valvesoftware.com/abrash/why-you-wont-see-hard-...
Re: VR
#5Are we sure that VR in its current form (headset ala Oculus) is the form of VR that will become ubiquitous? I find it hard to believe that the average consumer will be interested in buying that clunky, expensive piece of hardware just for the "coolness" of it.
If VR is to become popularized i feel like it needs to be more seamlessly integrated into our daily lives.
Re: VR
#6> I think we are no more than two years away from an explosion of new consumer startups I remember reading similar sentiment two years ago, back when the Oculus started getting massive attention after their successful Kickstarter. There are counter arguments to the rise of VR. As mentioned, price and hardware are too high for casual use, but that will be fixed in time. What can't easily be fixed is that fact that it…
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Re: VR
#7Having both an Oculus Rift (pre-touch controls) and a Vive to play around with I have a couple thoughts on this. The first impression/experience is powerful and most people are impressed by it. The Rift prior to touch controls was unusable in comparison to the room scale, touch control Vive (to the point that I sold it). Maybe it's better now with the new touch controls, but I think they still lack room scale and the…
> VR in its current early adopter state is a lonely experience
Some solutions to this have been asymmetric games/experiences where there are people in VR and on normal PC interfaces interacting with each other. The most popular example by far is Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes[1], whereby the VR player is a bomb defuser and the other player is the one with the bomb defusing instruction manual.
Another example is Mass Exodus[2], where a VR player must try to "catch" a PC player trying to blend in to a crowd of lookalike robots.
Re: VR
#8> Because VR games are so physical, gaming will no longer be perceived as an unhealthy activity. I could have used this growing up.
In my experience, the best VR experiences are sit down. Sony's approach fully embraces this. Room scale is great, but I've had much more enjoyable experiences with the likes of Euro Truck and Elite than Showdown.
VR demos amazingly well, you're excited to try it out and it is genuinely breath taking the first time you look around your cockpit in outer space. But the isolation and cumbersome nature of it kills everyday use.
Re: VR
#9One thing I can't stand is the resolution, it really needs to be 2x-10x increased for me not to feel like I'm staring really closely at a screen. And when you increase the resolution by an order of magnitude, you need more processing power, which makes it harder to solve the giant problem of the size, cost, and awkwardness of the hardware. I can't wait until contact lenses are VR enabled.
Re: VR
#10Blown away? Hyperbole of the century. At CES this year, I tried all the VR/AR tech I could get my hands on. Microsoft HoloLens, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Sony VR, Galaxy Gear, and everything in between.
I wasn't expecting much and yet I was still underwhelmed. There is zero immersion, primarily due to the poor resolution, the screen door effect, and the crippled field of view. It felt like watching a scene through a pair of binoculars, but that's not a fair comparison either, as physical binoculars are more immersive than any of these devices.
I feel like I the only one that feels such disappointment!