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When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

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Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#251

Post by seanmcdirmid »

helmholtz wrote: post #227
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think there are probably some narrow applications where it’s clearly better than not having it, but I’m skeptical of VR as a platform. Fitness. It is much easier to grind in a VR game for an hour than it is to grind on a treadmill for the same amount of time. I have a Quest, the games suck, but the fitness experience is paradigm changing. Beat Saber was and still is the Quest's killer app, but there are lot of si…

Do you suffer from disability or live under oppressive weather conditions? Because why not just go outside? I searched for Beat Saber and found that it's basically Fruit Ninja on VR. No disrespect to you, but I can't help but feel sad about the future that that video game points to. Your last sentence, especially, is for me really lamentable, in the literal sense of that word.

I live in a nice climate (well, when it isn't raining) and walk/bike a lot, or play with my kid, etc... There is still something to be said for a focused workout that you can make into a routine that is easy to stick to.

Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#252

Post by nomel »

an_opabinia wrote: post #94
dougmwne wrote: post #89

I very much think that folks on HN are jaded by the long wait and the unfulfilled promises of VR. I recently picked up a Quest 2 as my first VR headset and I am blown away and convinced it is the future. The thing is, I also recognize that while it is already an incredible achievement, it's still probably 5-20 years from hitting its iPhone moment. By then, my initial excitement will have gone away and I'll have tired…

> The thing is, I also recognize that while it is already an incredible achievement, it's still probably 5-20 years from hitting its iPhone moment. Ironically, by getting acquired by a giant company, Quest development was set back by that many years. The real problem isn't technology or even adoption, it's that people who work at giant companies suck at making games.

> it's that people who work at giant companies suck at making games.

I don't understand this statement. The Oculus store is open to developers and is filled with third party games. All of the games I personally play are not Oculus/Facebook games.

Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#253

Post by nicetryguy »

Unfortunatly i just don't ever see myself putting something on my head with headphones and video screens a couple inches from my eyes. Freaks me out. I'm uncomfortable just thinking about the sensory deprivation. At least when i'm watching a screen, i can be somewhat aware of the rest of the world. I don't think i'm alone with these feelings either.

Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#254

Post by Kiro »

dudeinhawaii wrote: post #232
Kiro wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like you haven't tried Superhot. Even Beat Saber is a mechanic unlike anything else. Right now I'm having a great time in Blaston and that's also gameplay that would not be possible in another medium. Mobility was solved with untethered devices. Just put it on and start playing immediately. No dedicated area required.

When I say mobility, I'm referring to mobility within the game. Within a non-VR shooter I can, in one continuous motion, run into and knockdown a guard, shoot his friend, jump through a window, run across a room, leap over a crate, parkour up a wall, grab a rifle, and shoot another flanked enemy. VR gameplay isn't remotely comparable. Perhaps it's due to VR linking us with our real-life limitations. In real-life, I d…

Ah, I see what you mean. Yeah, games that try to mix the mobility of regular games with VR (e.g. Population One) require you to use the joystick to move, which completely breaks the immersion for me. It just feels like a lesser version of the real deal.

Blaston and Superhot on the other hand tie you to the same physical boundaries you're actually in and make me feel like I'm actually in the game. I dodge bullets by stepping aside or crouching. I physically aim to land that headshot.

Even though the graphics are simple it feels more realistic since my maneuvers represent what I can actually do with my body in real life.

I think the key is to accept that you can never be the John Wick you are in regular games and add some unique mechanics utilizing the restrictions. Superhot has the slow motion which makes you feel like you're in the Matrix when pulling off good moves and Blaston has a really cool gun gameplay (having to balance picking up guns, firing, throwing and dodging simultaneously) and the intensity of standing right next to another player trying to shoot you in the face.

Blaston has also managed to capture gestures in a great way and there's a meta game for greeting (waving, bowing), praising (thumbs up, clapping hands), doing GG (bumping fists with the other player) etc so the other person feels really alive. That's something novel I haven't experienced before.

It's 100% a trade-off though with the core gameplay always being inferior due to the limitations. Game developers really need to work around that fact not to end up just making a bleak copy of a "real" game. It's also probably a different target audience since it should produce different types of games if done right. Kinect is not a bad comparison but I think the potential of VR is much greater.

Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#255

Post by strombofulous »

Cactus2018 wrote: post #234

VR Headsets comparison table: "VR System Guide Summer 2020! Updated with Reverb G2, and all recent info. By Evanlyboy" https://imgur.com/a/QVbyeA1 https://old.reddit.com/r/SteamVR/comments/hzkl36/vr_system_g...

Personally I think this one offers more usable information: https://i.redd.it/r6idh33kitp51.png

Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#256

Post by nomel »

jmiskovic wrote: post #66

On same note, developing VR from inside is incredible and it quickly turned into my #1 hobby. At first you are surrounded with blank space, then you slowly fill it out with whatever reality rules you can think of. I went with code-only approach (no binary assets) and built a primitive development environment that works in VR. Now I have a neat little virtual shed with different experiments and demo projects. Geometri…

> VR is already fun and we're in for a wild ride once AR hits the market.

I, personally, see VR as being much more exciting than AR, from an entertainment and capabilities perspective. I don't want to be limited to my small living room or whatever setting I'm in. When I'm in the real world outside of my house, I can't imagine what AR would bring that wouldn't be completely utilitarian, like replacing my phone/watch with a virtual device, holochat calls, maybe add more trees, etc. But, I'm also not very imaginative.

What do you see in the future with AR?

Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#257

Post by vrthrowaway2020 »

StavrosK wrote: post #190
noir_lord wrote: post #138

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think it might be because I don’t want to be standing and moving around when playing a game and if you’re not doing that, the motion is kind of unpleasant. Project Cars 2 and DCS make it worth the headset alone - throw in Elite Dangerous and No Man Sky and I have enough VR entertainment to keep me busy for the foreseeable.

For some reason, Elite Dangerous throws the graphics into low for me, no matter what settings I have. On the computer it looks great, whenever I put it on the Quest 2 it looks horribly pixelly. Even so, it's incredibly immersive, and if that problem gets fixed it's going to be amazing.

This review of E:D sold me on both the game and VR

https://youtu.be/Fa0b2Kd2xhU

Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#258

Post by mikenew »

binarymax wrote: post #7

Technology is not the problem. Flashback to 1995. I'm a 17 year old PFY invited to beta test a VR headset from a local company. My Uncle was an investor and I was technically savvy and the target market. I had a copy of Descent that supported VR, and while it was a bit of a hassle to get setup, I got it working. The experience was incredible. After the first use I said to myself "this is the future". I had permission…

I've logged over 200 hours in Beat Saber, mostly playing with friends. What you're talking about is definitely a real problem, but the solution is to just have the game rendered to the TV as well as the headset. Everyone sees and hears what the person is doing, even though they're the one in VR.

My wife watched me play the entirety of Half Life Alyx that way, and she enjoyed it a lot. And were were able to talk and share the experience the entire time.

Re: When will virtual reality take off? The $100 bet

#259

Post by mrlala »

nicetryguy wrote: post #253

Unfortunatly i just don't ever see myself putting something on my head with headphones and video screens a couple inches from my eyes. Freaks me out. I'm uncomfortable just thinking about the sensory deprivation. At least when i'm watching a screen, i can be somewhat aware of the rest of the world. I don't think i'm alone with these feelings either.

> I don't think i'm alone with these feelings either.

Hmm.. I think you are in the vast minority for sure. I've been following (and an adopter) of VR since the beginning and I think this is really the first time I've heard someone say something like that.

What I don't get is you say "sensory deprivation" but you are anything but deprived on sensory.. you feel like you are in another place with visual & audio. I guess when there's a loading time or something and it's all black, I can see what you mean a little bit..

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