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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

#41

Post by jdashg »

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-around headsets, even years on)

But I figured out a comfort fix because I'm hooked: I'm in VR 10-20 hours a week these days, because I use it to transcend my physical body and hang out with friends around the world. There are even sleep worlds in VRChat where people literally sleep in VR! Also, less intentionally, sometimes you're hanging out and someone passes out on the couch and starts lightly snoring. As above, so below. :)

In some ways, sci-fi is here! It's just, like bars, beaches, or boardgames, not for everyone.

Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#42

Post by karurosu »

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 course everybody has different preferences, but to the author's point: not everyone wants (or can) play high intensity action games (which is what AAA focuses on).

As an aside: the other big one are sports games (usually racquet), playing ping pong or tennis feels realistic and its a good exercise.

Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#43

Post by p1esk »

wpietri wrote: post #36

I think there's a much simpler explanation here, one that covers all of the other failed stereoscopic 3D products: It's a cool novelty effect, but people's brains are already pretty good at reconstructing 3D from 2D, so there's little lasting value. Once the novelty wears off, most people stop caring. I believe that explanation also covers the Brewster Stereoscope (500k units sold in the 1850s), the ViewMaster (the U…

people's brains are already pretty good at reconstructing 3D from 2D

But we do prefer stereo over mono in audio domain, right?

Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#45

Post by red-iron-pine »

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…

Put another way, if I want to pretend I'm still in the military, to get all dirty, to get exhausted, etc., I'll go play paintball or airsoft.

Sure, those aren't going to immerse me in a sci-fi or fantasy world the same way, but if recreation is the goal I'll take the in-chair experience.

Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#46

Post by crooked-v »

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.

As somebody who's deep into the VR space, most of that is just bad ergonomic design by the headset makers, as a result of them trying to make headsets look (rather than actually be) lighter in the marketing material.

For the kind of design that's actually comfortable, look at third party suppliers like BOBOVR, which have various designs that have actually learned from what's done in other industries. For example, halo strap designs (like https://www.bobovr.com/products/s3-pro) distribute the weight around the head like a hard hat/welding mask instead of clamping things to your face, making the results immensely more comfortable.

Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#47

Post by grumbel »

jncfhnb wrote: post #33

There is some irony in one of the largest companies in the world changing their name to Meta; and hordes of people preaching about the metaverse and the brilliance of Neal Stephenson and Snowcrash and then all at the end of the day paying basically no attention to the part of the book where he explains the thing that made the meta verse popular in universe (it was high fidelity facial expression copying).

Meta is working on that with their Codec Avatars[1], but since their focus is on affordable self contained VR headsets, and PCVR support is all but abandoned, they'll likely remain R&D experiments for quite a few more years. They just don't have enough compute in their current hardware offering.

Apple with their VisionPro is quite a bit further along and their Persona[2] are available to consumer, though the price tag of the device puts it out of reach for almost everybody.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDxMZ9zjqMs

[2] https://youtu.be/H3PB2zA6Q-c?si=E_OU1WeF4tsqhpTR&t=288

Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#48

Post by jdashg »

dylan604 wrote: post #18
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…

It's interesting to me that you compare VR and Guitar Hero as they are very different. VR is nothing but isolation. Guitar Hero and the other Band game at least made it where more people could participate at the same time in the same location. One pulls you away, while the other attempted to include more people.

Everyone I know who uses VR for more than a year, it's because they started socializing in VR. Like MMOs, it can be as social or asocial as you want it to be!

Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#49

Post by dvngnt_ »

wpietri wrote: post #36

I think there's a much simpler explanation here, one that covers all of the other failed stereoscopic 3D products: It's a cool novelty effect, but people's brains are already pretty good at reconstructing 3D from 2D, so there's little lasting value. Once the novelty wears off, most people stop caring. I believe that explanation also covers the Brewster Stereoscope (500k units sold in the 1850s), the ViewMaster (the U…

> there's little lasting value. Once the novelty wears off, most people stop caring.

i disagree. if we got half-life alyx level games as often as flatscreens people would still be playing. I do think we need lighter cooler headsets (at least compared to valve index) for longer play sessions.

the big trend now on PC is flat2vr. UEVR and luke ross have been carrying pcvr on their back. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q02UCNXLJY8

Re: Why VR Games Still Haven't Taken Off

#50

Post by cjf101 »

Anecdata, with a few exceptions, the VR games I tried were impressive as an experience, but not really all that fun once the novelty passed. The limitations of the format clash with the kinds of games that are being made so I often felt like the games were limited, or toy-like. I think the argument made by the article does hit on something about why VR isn't really getting accepted. The games are wrong: but they might be wrong because of the limitations vs expectations of the developers and audience.

The comfort issue is real too. Even with the fairly svelte PSVR2, it's annoying to wear those things.

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