It would be really cool if someone who worked at Oculus wanted to be on a panel we're possibly moderating at PAX Prime called "The Far Future of Gaming" about 10-30 year predictions and trends in games. ;^)
I got Luke confirmed so far, and a few other pretty cool maybes.
It would be really cool if someone who worked at Oculus wanted to be on a panel we're possibly moderating at PAX Prime called "The Far Future of Gaming" about 10-30 year predictions and trends in games. ;^)
I got Luke confirmed so far, and a few other pretty cool maybes.
Good luck finding anyone near as qualified and worthy to speak at that panel.
Heh, ask him. ;^) Imagine a panel with him and Luke Crane next to eachother debating what VR RPGs will look like 30 years from now.
Remember that this panel isn't about current tech or even the next 5 years. It's a futurist discussion entirely about the horizon beyond reasonable speculation. All panelists will be able to review the slides and prompts long in advance, and everyone can submit a private "do not bring up X" list (that only the moderator will see, covered by a mutual NDA if do desired). ;^)
(I do this sort of thing a lot in my other industry...)
I've had an S6 for a couple of weeks so this week I bought the GearVR for it. I've only had it a couple of days and I am simultaneously thrilled and underwhelmed. I am thrilled that it works as well as it does and what it suggests the near and medium future could be for VR - this is all being driven off a mobile phone for crying out loud! However I am underwhelmed because it is still rather obtrusive and not exactly what I wish it was already. I don't think I can quite put into words yet the feelings that are less positive, I'll report back later.
Initial things I am noticing is that many of the games and apps are along similar veins, I don't think people are really pushing the boundaries very far at this point, or at least those endeavors aren't released to the public yet.
I need to spend some more time with this before I can even think about final judgements, these are just my initial reactions.
I remember getting really excited about "VR" in the 80s as a kid and even seeing demo devices of various sizes and shapes in science museums and at EPCOT Center, back when "VR" basically meant "things you can do on any household PC right now with OpenGL."
All I want from a VR headset, to be able to look around a virtual environment for use in cockpits and FPS instances, whilst sitting in a chair. Also 3D movies.
I wouldn't expect much more from the technology than the ability to perform optimally for those particular uses.
The more you demand from a VR experience, the obtrusive the technology will be. The only real VR conduit would be neural interface Matrix stylee.
All I want from a VR headset, to be able to look around a virtual environment for use in cockpits and FPS instances, whilst sitting in a chair. Also 3D movies.
Yes, this is where I think it could be very useful with current technology. I did an Oculus Rift fighter-spacecraft demo (I think it used Eve:Online) that was very compelling. I have been playing a lot of F1 using a steering wheel and pedals, all that is lacking is the ability to look where I want by moving my head.
Honestly, I've considered getting an Oculus to attempt to make the equivalent of a Geordi visor. Develop a small sensor rig and be able to see a much larger spectrum of light, by mapping higher/lower wavelengths to visible ones. Probably done better by other technology, but would be a pretty neat thing just to have around, and could be expanded upon to see other signals.
Also, I've always had this dream where you could have glasses that showed you digital graffiti done by others. Not something that would -actually- deface the buildings, but you could walk down the street and see the various marks left by others, and leave your own, where only the people in the digital-graffiti community would see it. The majority of which would probably be space guns. I feel like the main problem would be having a 3D map of where every wall in town is.
I find it kinda interesting that people seem to be rallying so much behind the Oculus specifically. Is there just more freedom to explore at Oculus than there might be at other companies doing the same thing?
I guess the keyword is dedicated. Seems like most of the rest flows from there. Or maybe just the initial publicity of it. Oculus being first out the gate though probably gave them the recognition it needed for the rest. There has to be like at least 3 other VR solutions currently by companies with more hardware experience though. Probably not willing to gamble as much as Oculus though.
There has to be like at least 3 other VR solutions currently by companies with more hardware experience though. Probably not willing to gamble as much as Oculus though.
Doubt it. Half of our hardware team are ex-Apple employees who've shipped multiple iPhones and Macbooks The other half have shipped and designed things like the Xbox 360 controller.
One thing that would worry me about all these acquisitions is that Occulus may be getting almost too top heavy? This is mitigated by the fact Facebook is massive and can sustain more than its share of PhD-weilding employees, but, I'd be curious what their operating costs for development are and the sheer volume of revenue that must come in to eventually make up for it.
I would believe it if credibly told otherwise, but at first blush I can't see once-every-few-years headset purchases from your average consumer being enough to float the ship: alternate revenue streams must be on the horizon. With Facebook involved this also becomes something more of a potential as I can definitely see them seeking varied revenue paths.
I'm curious how Oculus will end up. Will they be the Makerbot of VR? Or the Microsoft?
Another thing people have to realize is that the first player in any market is rarely the winner.
Let's say VR does become legit. VR devices and software become as big as smartphones are now. Everyone's getting in on it. Oculus will be the first to market with the best product. Just like the Palm, Blackberry, Symbian, and Windows CE. Just like Yahoo!, Webcrawler and Altavista.
Even in the best case scenario where VR is finally a success, I don't believe Oculus will be the company to own it. It won't be huge until the second or third gen from another company. Apple will probably eat their lunch 10 years in.
Comments
I got Luke confirmed so far, and a few other pretty cool maybes.
I'll likely pass, anything Oculus related is a PR landmine these days and I'm not sure I'm up for possibly fucking up at Prime.
Remember that this panel isn't about current tech or even the next 5 years. It's a futurist discussion entirely about the horizon beyond reasonable speculation. All panelists will be able to review the slides and prompts long in advance, and everyone can submit a private "do not bring up X" list (that only the moderator will see, covered by a mutual NDA if do desired). ;^)
(I do this sort of thing a lot in my other industry...)
Initial things I am noticing is that many of the games and apps are along similar veins, I don't think people are really pushing the boundaries very far at this point, or at least those endeavors aren't released to the public yet.
I need to spend some more time with this before I can even think about final judgements, these are just my initial reactions.
I wouldn't expect much more from the technology than the ability to perform optimally for those particular uses.
The more you demand from a VR experience, the obtrusive the technology will be. The only real VR conduit would be neural interface Matrix stylee.
You have to look around you in all direction, listen for where and when the duck is about to fly out, turn, track, shoot.
Head movement, coarse aim/ tracking, supplemented with fine aim/ point device.
Intel i5 and nvidia 970 minimum. Also windows only for launch.
Also, I've always had this dream where you could have glasses that showed you digital graffiti done by others. Not something that would -actually- deface the buildings, but you could walk down the street and see the various marks left by others, and leave your own, where only the people in the digital-graffiti community would see it. The majority of which would probably be space guns. I feel like the main problem would be having a 3D map of where every wall in town is.
I do not use the term rockstar lightly.
Oh wait, Carmack.
I would believe it if credibly told otherwise, but at first blush I can't see once-every-few-years headset purchases from your average consumer being enough to float the ship: alternate revenue streams must be on the horizon. With Facebook involved this also becomes something more of a potential as I can definitely see them seeking varied revenue paths.
I'm curious how Oculus will end up. Will they be the Makerbot of VR? Or the Microsoft?
Let's say VR does become legit. VR devices and software become as big as smartphones are now. Everyone's getting in on it. Oculus will be the first to market with the best product. Just like the Palm, Blackberry, Symbian, and Windows CE. Just like Yahoo!, Webcrawler and Altavista.
Even in the best case scenario where VR is finally a success, I don't believe Oculus will be the company to own it. It won't be huge until the second or third gen from another company. Apple will probably eat their lunch 10 years in.