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Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

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Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#81

Post by two_handfuls »

roninorder wrote: post #16

I am not a gamer but was absolutely fascinated by a VR game on Oculus GO that I can't even find anymore. In the game, I was essentially a metal sphere that could "jump" and float through a huge maze. It was a puzzle game. Tried a ton of games on more modern headsets and never got into them. Zombie games, shooters, sims, etc - nothing came even close to the fascinating experience of that colossal maze. So in my view,…

Daedalus - excellent game! The devs have since made Red Matter (and Red Matter 2), just as beautiful but otherwise more conventional.

There is still a lot of indie energy exploring the possibilities of VR. For cool environment you can find a lot in VRChat. For mechanics there are things like Monkey Tag (new motion mechanic) or Silent Slayer on Quest (experimenting with MR).

Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#82

Post by two_handfuls »

tyhali wrote: post #65

Background: I spent a few years commercially designing and building VR and AR headsets. Biggest challenge with VR is the design philosophy for headsets. No matter how much I and others pushed against it - many VR folk are intent on sticking all the hardware on people's heads and faces. Instead, we need more walkman like designs, where the compute and batteries sit on a user's hip, and the tethered headset is as light…

Isn't Apple a bit like that, with their wired battery? And I think Meta is experimenting in that direction too.

Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#83

Post by two_handfuls »

throwawa14223 wrote: post #53

Until they solve the vertigo issue it's a non-starter for me and several of my friends who would otherwise be the target market.

There has been a lot of progress in that front over time.

Unironically the standaline headsets also help because the most vertigo-inducing thing is to run PCVR with an underpowered PC. It makes you nauseous before you consciously notice the skipped frames etc.

Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#84

Post by croes »

JKCalhoun wrote: post #2

I don't know. Author complains devs are targeting "hard core" game culture with violent games. But my instinct is that only "hard core" gamers are going to want to stick a thing on their head (that they had to pony up large amounts of dosh for, BTW). I also believe in The Market. With the number of years VR headsets have been one the market I am quite confident no one somehow missed a lucrative genre. I see a lot of…

Beat Saber doesn't contradict the hyper violent games given how many VR games are shooters.

Beat Saber just happens to have a intuitive controls and no motion sickness because of the stationary game play.

But it's mainly considered as an introduction to VR gaming not it's final form.

Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#85

Post by jajko »

jdashg wrote: post #41
kemiller wrote: post #3

I don't think it's a content issue as much as a comfort issue. Literally everyone I know who bought a VR headset, high-end or low-end, has said more or less the same thing: It's impressive, but it starts to hurt after an hour or so. Hard to get and stay immersed when you're in physical discomfort.

There are comfort solutions but if there's nothing compelling enough for you to do so, you probably won't seek them out. (fwiw Globular Cluster is the general solution for Quests!) I just got a new different headset (Quest Pro, coming from an Index) and I had to figure out how to make it comfortable enough, because you're right that out of the box, they rarely are. (Except Index, which is still one of the best all-ar…

That sounds like a great tool for quality of life improvement for lets say disabled people or very old. A thousand times better than sad empty look down the street, if they are even capable of looking out of window.

For regular folks, you must have messed something up in your real life pretty badly to waste it in VR in such ways. Real life can have amazing experiences, adventures, passions, extreme sports, experiencing different cultures through real social interaction. But it requires actual effort to get there, not just throwing some money at the problem. Efforts build character, lack of them shows.

If all that sounds old school, boy am I glad to belong there.

Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#86

Post by jajko »

vundercind wrote: post #31

It’s because the sets are expensive for something you can only use solo at home, mostly for video games. Compare to the price of a Switch, which is portable (or the smartphone you already have…) or to a TV, which is usable by multiple people at once. And then if you still get one, gaming alone at home in a way that’s more isolating than the stereotypical nerd basement gaming dungeon, while also forcing you to worry a…

Its basically geeks trying to get their wet dream come true (pun intended, I may have been one of them), and then realizing that its hardly what they dreamed about, just a mediocre experience (or excellent for some for half an hour, which makes it still overpriced crap nobody cares about after initial wow period).

I keep hearing about 'its just behind the corner, just lighter / better resolution / just resolve XYZ problem' literally from 90s (VFX1 for example), but the 'almost there' mantra never changed, just the details. When Apple's solution has fallen hard on the market, it was pretty clear how far from success we are and Apple adjusted plans accordingly.

I gave up on the topic for good, actually grew up some time ago and found out real life out there, with some effort offers massively more than any such goggles will ever offer in my lifetime. Most (rather successful and smart) women I ever talked to about this express immediate disgust with this, it downgrades men to weird boys in their eyes. I still see young me dreaming about alternate realities, but when you want powerful experience now or in near future use psychedelics (responsibly).

There is no good enough content, nobody wants to invest into this too much due to all above, there is no 360 porn to speak of to break barrier like it used to with previous digital revolutions. Human's senses are much harder to fool well than few geeks thought it would.

Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#87

Post by two_handfuls »

crooked-v wrote: post #51
JKCalhoun wrote: post #2

I don't know. Author complains devs are targeting "hard core" game culture with violent games. But my instinct is that only "hard core" gamers are going to want to stick a thing on their head (that they had to pony up large amounts of dosh for, BTW). I also believe in The Market. With the number of years VR headsets have been one the market I am quite confident no one somehow missed a lucrative genre. I see a lot of…

I think the overlap between "hard core" flatscreen gamers and "hard core" VR gamers isn't a given. I mean, look at VRChat. People spend thousands of dollars on gear (before even getting into the physical space needed for full immersion) to... wander around talking to each other and play low-quality clones of minigolf and Among Us games.

It's good to have a third place (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Third_place).

Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#88

Post by karurosu »

crooked-v wrote: post #52
karurosu wrote: post #42

I think the main point is not emphasized enough: VR is physically exhausting. Unless you are playing with stick control (which is nice but nauseating) you will be moving a lot, I am a big guy that can barely kneel and you expect me to do super soldier stuff? yeah, no I find the best experiences for me are those that require less "getting your VR legs": puzzling places, zombieland or that kayak infiltration game. Of c…

I feel like the other obvious area that VR games have barely touched on is simulation games. Think of Theme Hospital, Rollercoaster Tycoon, and the like as floating dioramas you can manipulate and zoom in and out of.

yeah! there are a few for the quest, heck, there is even a port of cities skylines!.

But all of them run into the fact that making a good simulation (VR or not) requires time and money, and that's something VR games rarely have in abundance.

Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#89

Post by stillbourne »

I bought the original kickstarter version of the oculus. I was very excited about the whole VR thing taking off. Ultimately though it was a very nauseating experience. It got so bad that the smell of the headset's cushion was enough to trigger nausea without even putting it on my face. I've heard the newer stuff is less nauseating but I don't want to know.

Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#90

Post by AltruisticGapHN »

There's really cool / chill experiences on PCVR like a kayak game, but I can't spend money on a PCVR only headset. I have a Quest 3 and it's such a hassle to set up Oculus Link on top of the PC running - that I end up playing Quest games only.

Which is where I am a bit mystified by the article's claim of "hyper realistic" games. Even on PCVR the quality of PC VR games in general is quite low. We're a far cry from hyper realistic experiences. Typically either the graphics suffer and you have smooth FPS or the graphics are great and you have bad FPS, or you are a rich person that owns an RTX 4090 etc.

For me it's only a matter of a few more years. Most games on Quest atm to me look like cheap mobile games. I hate those low poly / untextured styled games with a passion.

The author perhaps does not understand that to make truly immersive, relaxing experiences in VR you need a LOT more power. There 's nothing very relaxing about being in a forest made of low poly trees, shitty looking water and distant scenery that looks blurry AF.

Even on YouTube at the best quality I can find, there is hardly anything truly relaxing or immersive. Take a random video of the Grand Canyon in VR and everything in the distance is just flat.

Colours is also a huge problem. Watch a VR video of someone walking on the beach : the sky is blue yes but a weird half light blue that is nowhere near anything like the kind of brightness of the real sky. It's all deadened and flat.

The technology just isn't there. So right now, violent, in your face action is where VR shines. Typically anything that moves, and anything that comes close to the camera gives a much better sense of immersion. I find myself often times almost putting my nose to everything because it's when things are up close that you get that sense of 3D the most. Anything taht is even a couple meters away becomes flat and featureless.

Anyway I could just rant on and on. VR is great. The kind of games that currently do well on it do so for a reason. I'd love to just travel in VR, to be immersed on some remote island, basking in the sun, or to listen to the crickets and watch the starry sky.. all those things currently are awful experiences in VR due to the technical limitations.

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