Forum Discussion
First impressions from a game development POV
A few notes after an evening of messing around with the Rift. Polygons are really noticeable. Textures look more like wallpaper, normal mapping doesn't help hide polygons, it just makes them look...
Thanks! ;)
A few more impressions, now that I've had the kit a few days -
1. Allowing yourself to be fully immersed requires a leap of faith. I have noise cancelling headphones, but I rarely use them with the headset. For me, adding sound + blocking out outside noise, pretty much allows me to completely disconnect from the outside world. However, I live by myself, and doing this makes me really uncomfortable. What if there is an emergency? What if someone tries to break in? What if there's a fire? What if my phone rings or someone rings the doorbell? For these reasons, I only play for very short periods with headphones on. If there was some way to keep a tab on the outside world, like a webcam view behind me, it would make letting go a lot more comfortable.
2. Yesterday I remember walking up a hill, then looking down into a valley, and seeing a nice patch of grass, and just noticing how nice it looked. This memory is real, however the experience was virtual. I have fond memories of playing video games, but the memories are of a different quality. Although it is quite obvious that I am in fantasy land while I have the headset on, the memories of the experience, are not all that different that memories produced by experiences in the real world. I think that this could be quite positive for training, and for developing good qualities. For instance, a very shy person could go to parties in VR, and receive positive reinforcement in a "safe" environment. Or there could be a "Gandhi" simulator, or a "person with good eating habits" simulator. I think that it is likely that this would influence the person's habits in the real world.
3. My favorite thing to do in Team Fortress 2, is play as the Heavy. Not because he moves slowly enough for me to not get woozy, but because I enjoy the way standing and looking at myself( the avatar ) makes me feel. Just by throwing on a headset, I've transformed my average body, into one with hulking muscles, that can haul an impossibley large minigun around like it was nothing. And it feels really cool. I think that the player's in-game avatar, has tremendous psychological power.
A few more impressions, now that I've had the kit a few days -
1. Allowing yourself to be fully immersed requires a leap of faith. I have noise cancelling headphones, but I rarely use them with the headset. For me, adding sound + blocking out outside noise, pretty much allows me to completely disconnect from the outside world. However, I live by myself, and doing this makes me really uncomfortable. What if there is an emergency? What if someone tries to break in? What if there's a fire? What if my phone rings or someone rings the doorbell? For these reasons, I only play for very short periods with headphones on. If there was some way to keep a tab on the outside world, like a webcam view behind me, it would make letting go a lot more comfortable.
2. Yesterday I remember walking up a hill, then looking down into a valley, and seeing a nice patch of grass, and just noticing how nice it looked. This memory is real, however the experience was virtual. I have fond memories of playing video games, but the memories are of a different quality. Although it is quite obvious that I am in fantasy land while I have the headset on, the memories of the experience, are not all that different that memories produced by experiences in the real world. I think that this could be quite positive for training, and for developing good qualities. For instance, a very shy person could go to parties in VR, and receive positive reinforcement in a "safe" environment. Or there could be a "Gandhi" simulator, or a "person with good eating habits" simulator. I think that it is likely that this would influence the person's habits in the real world.
3. My favorite thing to do in Team Fortress 2, is play as the Heavy. Not because he moves slowly enough for me to not get woozy, but because I enjoy the way standing and looking at myself( the avatar ) makes me feel. Just by throwing on a headset, I've transformed my average body, into one with hulking muscles, that can haul an impossibley large minigun around like it was nothing. And it feels really cool. I think that the player's in-game avatar, has tremendous psychological power.