How my description of VR went from gimmick to great after experiencing it.
There is a war raging among us. I am not speaking of the war which rages in Syria, but one of an infinitely less important nature which rages in the comment sections of IGN and on Reddit. Both sides fight valiantly for their cause, yet like most wars, there is the right side and the wrong side. I am on the right side (naturally).
What is this war about, you ask? Well, most inquisitive reader, it is about whether VR is the next step of gaming or a gimmick. And, having tried numerous different virtual reality headsets (Excluding the infamous Virtual Boy, sadly), I have come to the conclusion that it is without a doubt the future of gaming, or at the very least, a new form of entertainment which melds the best parts of film with interactive media.
You probably want to know my VR credentials; I have used both Oculus’s DK1 and DK2 versions of the Rift headset, the HTC Vive, and have messed around with Google Cardboard extensively. Only last weekend, I went to a Sony event in Glasgow to use PlayStation VR, which I believe to be the most complete of the VR headsets.
By the time you read this, PS VR will have been released and there is no doubt in my mind that it will be a relatively roaring success, blowing both the Rift and the Vive out of the water in terms of sales and consumer awareness. After all, with the Playstation branding and comparatively affordable price point, it has a part in the future of interactive entertainment, while I believe the other two headsets are too niche due to high headset cost and the processing and graphical capabilities needed to power them.
I was originally quite shocked to find out that the headset would sell for more than a launch ps4, as I was expecting a price reveal of around £249, but lining up outside the PS VR demo in Buchannan Galleries watching gamers of all ages leave their booths with ear-to-ear grins on their faces, I realised that the price was justified.
As I sat in the waiting area with my friend seeing all these happy grins, we grew more and more excited. Finally, after an eternity and a half, I heard a “Rigs, anyone have Rigs?” and I shot up with the card in my hand – I had found out upon arrival that I’d only booked a session with one game and, after careful consideration, I had chosen Rigs as I believed it to be the most fully-formed of the launch titles. As a carsick-prone person, I was also curious to test the VR motion sickness I kept hearing about and had never felt.
The first thought I had as I slipped the headset on was that it was so comfortable. Of course, I have never tried the consumer version of the Rift, but PS VR was much more comfortable than both of Oculus’s Rift Dk’s and even the consumer-ready HTC Vive, which was of course selling for a much higher price.
I barely even felt the headset press on my nose, as the weight was so well distributed around the band above it. My second thought was regarding how clear everything looked. It was slightly less clear than the Vive, and I noticed a bit more of a screen-door effect, but a budget device it was not.
The next 20 minutes was a blur of nausea-free gameplay and it felt incredibly natural to interact with. I would have felt completely immersed, if not for the attendant who kept trying to talk to me, seemingly oblivious to the fact that I was wearing headphones he had put on me. Each word of speech was just a fuzzy distraction from my VR experience.
I could go on for pages about how good of an experience it was, but the most telling sign was that as soon as I finished, I queued up again instantly to try PS VR again. I wondered where my friend, who had entered before me, had gone, but I later found out he had had the exact same reaction as me and had raced back to the queue after his VR Worlds session.
I came again to the booking desk and quickly noticed Arkham VR was now available. Having only played Asylum, I will say that I am not an Arkham mega-fan, but who doesn’t love Batman? Anyway, after a much shorter wait than previously, I was this time shepparded to a lift that brought me into a darkened room with the less “PG” VR game booths. After a quick recalibration by the attendant (I learned that at least some VR games have to be recalibrated due to height), I slipped it on and, Move controller in each hand, I became the Batman.
I had a hilariously clichéd reaction of being so shocked at the realism that I took a step back and almost fell. After a quick chat with an impressively-realised Alfred, I played a rendition of Fur Elise by Beethoven. Unfortunately, I was cut off before I could continue as I(Batman) was lowered into the Batcave.
Reading previews and impressions of the game, many commentators felt amazed at the changing into the Batsuit process, but I found it quite unimpressive. However, immediately after donning the suit, I was lowered into the cavern that is the Batcave and I can say as an atheist that it was the closest thing I’ve ever had to a religious experience.
The sense of scale was so massive and realised that for a second my brain forgot I was in the centre of Glasgow. I have a healthy fear of heights and so, leaning over and looking down, the sense of presence was so great that I felt vertigo and had to take a step back to centre myself.
Unfortunately, the demo ended there and I was not allowed to play the other Arkham VR demo. I was slightly bummed about that, but still as I left that booth, I was almost irrationally excited for the future of gaming. I felt so lucky to have a potential future in the industry (as a Game Dev student), and upon meeting my friend, we proceeded to gush about PS VR for what must have been an hour.
I will not lie to you and say I was at any stage over the past few years unexcited for VR, but I have had my doubts on the viability of it after the initial buzz fades. Like many, I had originally believed that it was a gimmick and wouldn’t last. I can still understand the insistence of some saying it is a gimmick, even if now in my mind they are completely and entirely wrong. I truly believe most of those who preach of its status as gimmick either haven’t tried VR or haven’t had the right experience.
Luckily for Sony, HTC/Valve, Oculus and the gaming community as a whole, it is only a matter of time until everyone has an experience like mine. It is only then that gaming will exit its period of stagnation and march on towards the virtual-reality aided future of interactive entertainment.
Featured image – dailynebraskan.com
