Virtual Reality

Videogame culture discussion
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christian
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Virtual Reality

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More here - http://imgur.com/a/jUVWG
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christian
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Re: Virtual Reality

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Interview with Phil Spenser - http://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-i ... 0-6430815/
Randolph Ramsay wrote: I don't think I've ever read your opinions on the future of VR and AR. Is that the future, do you think? Are games heading inevitably down that path where that technology is an essential part of what we do with gaming?

Well, now it's just my opinion. I'll say, obviously we have relationships with Valve, we have a relationship with Oculus around the VR work that they're doing, but I'm going to say I kind of hope not. It doesn't mean I don't think VR has great experiences to offer. I think it does, and we'll find those, and people will love playing those. I love playing games in my family room with my kids. I love people coming together and watching what's happening on screen and laughing, and the kind of fun of what video games were always about. That doesn't mean that can't happen in a kind of socially connected VR environment, but to me it would be too bad if all gaming became people with head mounted displays on, headphones on, kind of blocked out from everything that happens. I do think there'll be great experiences there, but just kind of for the sake of what gaming is, I don't think that should be the only way people play.

I think there will be certain experiences where that's perfect. I don't know necessarily if it will be genre based, but I just love me watching you play Mario and giving you ideas about where things might be, and we laugh, and we can kind of sit around and eat chips, and do things that people do. I think that's kind of the basis of what gaming is about.
Are we not already doing this? Blocking everything out, that is. Not with every game, mind you, but with those that fit the criteria. You wouldn't do this for a Mario Party or a Smash Bros., for instance. But with SOMA, or Metal Gear Solid V? Of course we are! As Phil Spencer briefly touched on, it depends on the genre.

I think this unease around VR blockout is a holdover from the time when gaming was being attacked as a highly anti-social activity, and gamers went on the defense claiming, "Oh no, look at how we gather together around the couch and have a good laugh, complete with chips and beers even! We even now record ourselves playing and stream it with all our friends across the Internet who couldn't make it!"

Now if you gave one of these social gaming apologists a look at a VR headset, of course their knee-jerk reaction is going to be, "This doesn't represent all of gaming! Nor should it ever."
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christian
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Re: Virtual Reality

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Just as was mentioned in the arcade culture thread, they also overly concern themselves with cupholders.
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christian
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Re: Virtual Reality

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http://www.polygon.com/2016/1/7/1072995 ... e-worth-it
cloudform wrote: It’s sad that by pricing the Mac at $2,500 in 1984, Apple forever doomed personal computers to obscurity.
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Re: Virtual Reality

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http://www.polygon.com/2016/1/7/1073311 ... ght-sticks
Ben Kuchera wrote: "Last year, through most of last year? The HOTAS [Hands-on throttle and stick] system was the best selling product of the company," he told Polygon. "That's because of Elite Dangerous and Star Citizen and the whole VR thing. We literally couldn't make them fast enough."

I wanted to be clear: They think this sales boost is due to VR? "There's no doubt, absolutely I believe that. No doubt," Verrey said. And they're chasing that market aggressively. There is a range of products aimed at Elite Dangerous, and the X-52 model is actually in the game.

"We have the X-52 coded into the game so when you look down you have the full graphical representation [of the controller]," Verrey said. "They've coded it into the game. You can see the controls. We have an exclusive range of Star Citizen hardware hitting later this year, and that's looking super cool. It's taking our HOTAS products and adapting them specifically for Star Citizen."
That's pretty cool that the actual joystick model is in the game. Hopefully Ace Combat 7 will come with a joystick bundle, and Capcom will come to their senses and release a Steel Battalion VR (with monster controller). One can dream.
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christian
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Re: Virtual Reality

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http://www.polygon.com/features/2016/2/ ... view-games
Ben Kuchera wrote: Having a gun pointed at you in virtual reality is uncomfortable.
The term "virtual reality" was used to describe early shooters like Wolfenstein 3D, and the effect was the same.
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christian
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Re: Virtual Reality

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In fact, from Wolfenstein 3D to the present with games like Rainbow Six: Siege, having a gun pointed at you has always been uncomfortable. What he ought to say is that the HTC Vive makes it even more so. When you think about it, that's kind of a strange thing to want from a gaming peripheral. But strange as it may sound, in the end, it will no doubt lead to better art.
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Re: Virtual Reality

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http://rly.sexy/virtual-reality-gta-v-w ... or-weapons
Joseph Delgado wrote: I'm really not sure about this. I feel horrible about making this. You actually feel guilty. My mouth dropped the first time I shot someone in my GTA: V VR setup.
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Re: Virtual Reality

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http://www.polygon.com/2016/2/26/111207 ... al-reality
Ben Kuchera wrote: Our physical and immediate reaction to an external threat is something that developers have to design around, lest they overwhelm the player.

"The violence, any violence, feels so much more real than anything else you've ever experienced that your body reacts to it immediately with fight or flight responses," Bowler explained.

"Even just having three enemies walk right up to you is so damn intimidating that we had to add an 'Out of Ammo' fail state for the game." An earlier version of the game left you to be ripped apart by the monsters if you ran out of bullets, but now that situation ends the game. It operates as a sort of "eject button" so "you aren't forced to endure your terrifying demise," Bowler explained.
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christian
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Re: Virtual Reality

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History of the best immersive sims - http://www.pcgamer.com/history-of-the-b ... rsive-sims

Or as some were calling them as early as Underworld, VR games. As Raph Koster has said, headsets are simply clients. And that is hardly a way to define a genre. Neglecting this crucial point is a sure fire way to ensure you'll never understand VR.
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