Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality has made a comeback with headsets like the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. It continues to grow and improved with the new offerings like the Valve Index and Oculus Quest 2. The generational improvements that consoles and PC hardware have enjoyed are now happening with new headsets.

For so many years, most of us had to experience games on a flat screen. Only a window into a virtual world. Now with virtual reality headset improvements, we are able to look around those virtual worlds, as if we were there. Motion controls make it possible to interact with these worlds using our hands and now VR treadmills make it possible to walk with our legs in those worlds.

There really is no way to explain the feeling of jumping into virtual reality that very first time. Being able to physically turn your head to see the world around you is so much better than using a mouse or gamepad. Using your hands and legs in VR adds to the magic.

The early days virtual reality were plagued by long setups (like the VIVE was with all the cables and mounting sensors to the wall) and bouts of motion sickness. These newer generations of VR hardware and VR games have found ways to mitigate the chances for motion sickness related to the artificial movement in the games or experiences.

The future of virtual reality is bright with new technologies like eye tracking (for foveated rendering), facial expression tracking, tactile vest that allow you to feel and more. It’s almost become as easy to play setup and play VR games as consoles have been. Now is a good time to explore those virtual worlds.