Something gamers around the world are still struggling to achieve.
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
If the Oculus Rift takes off, how will it change games?
- Thread starter StuBurns
- Start date
Something gamers around the world are still struggling to achieve.
Games may end up even more scripted than before. Oculus Rift gives people the ability to look anywhere they want, which means they provide even more chances to miss whatever flashy/~dramatic~ thing the game devs are trying to show them.
"Hold E to look" may become something where it simply drags the camera away from you.
It may also bring about a lot of vehicle-based games because putting the player in a vehicle provides a way to guide the player along a track so that the player doesn't both look the wrong way AND go the wrong way.
"Hold E to look" may become something where it simply drags the camera away from you.
It may also bring about a lot of vehicle-based games because putting the player in a vehicle provides a way to guide the player along a track so that the player doesn't both look the wrong way AND go the wrong way.
10/10
Maastricht
Member
I'm hoping for more games that decouple looking from aiming/steering, etc. even outside VR, for instance use the gyro in the Playstation 4 controller (optionally combined with the Eye tracking the led bar) for looking around or into a turn.
In a reductive sense, yes. Iran it will change how you see a game but as for gameplay mechanics not at all. To be honest question how many people actually want that much isolation from the world when playing a game.
On the other hand, to can make far more effective use of VR if you so the opposite and design areas that are supposed to be believable pieces of a simulated world rather than "levels" with fladhy/dramatic things that the player is supposed to see.
I'd draw you a diagram, but I fear that'd get me banned. Plus I'm a lousy artist.
I think it'd start off as little more than a strange mix between choose your own adventure/visual novels/dating sims, first-person view and multi-angle porn. I don't see how it would be hard to code a "command interface" to cycle through different sexual activities and surround it with some sort of game setting.
Just think of it as a really light RPG. Encounter potential mate and woo them with shitty minigames or other interactive game-y things, invite them home once HP is low enough, commence battle of another kind (again, interactive, game-y). "Victory" or "Loss" affects your ingame stats, and the aim of the game is to nail the endboss. Or find your soulmate and have a kid. Or amass some sort of highscore. Whatever.
Maybe the gaming community will be mature enough to allow for further experimentation, for example a mature copy of Rune Factory or GTA/Saints Row.
Maybe including all of what being a father/mother can be about, sort of like a parental and relationship training session coated in yummy gaming mechanisms - but that'd require accepting sex as something natural and non-dirty (and I can't really see that happening).
Or maybe even Sim Sims with an online portion. The ultimate in escapism.
Gaming finds a way.
They want the price of the consumer model to be pretty close to that of the devkit, which is $300.
I'm petty sure this won't happen. Taking camera control away from players is instantly disorienting and nauseating - it wouldn't make it past internal QA. Oculus specifically advises against it.
AllIsOneIsNone
Banned
People are saying first person shooters, which will undoubtedly be popular, but I think "first person everything" is going to be the new mantra. Exploration will be vastly superior on the rift, especially if they use the it in congruence with motion tracking/motion controls. I think we'll even start seeing first person sports.
And of course cockpit simulations.
And of course cockpit simulations.
Gintoki313
Banned
That would be the best thing ever if they got Sims for Oculus Rift right. Just imagine walking through your own built house, interacting with people, etc. That would just be a good way for someone to home design for a real life design for their own house.
With graphics getting better I can see this happening.
Terrible Majesty
Member
gamers will be more insular, isolated from family and friends. Most of our friends will be in the digital realm, online etc.
unless you can do 2 player co-op oculus rift! O_O
unless you can do 2 player co-op oculus rift! O_O
You absolutely cannot do that in VR. It's a recipe for puking players.
jacksepticeye
Member
I want to see how it affects Horror Games more than anything else.
Amnesia + Rift = One hell of an experience
Amnesia + Rift = One hell of an experience
cosmicblizzard
Banned
The death of third person games 
So many people say this but i dont know if as many People would really play them :lol
jacksepticeye
Member
I fricken love my horror games so I would most definitely enjoy a VR experience with them but yeah, so many people already can't even play them the way they are now
People are just wimps haha
AllIsOneIsNone
Banned
Haha, yea, Psychologists are going to have to come up with a name for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from games. I can see the ads for Battlefield 5 OR: "Now you can now get shell shock in your own home!"
I fricken love my horror games so I would most definitely enjoy a VR experience with them but yeah, so many people already can't even play them the way they are now
People are just wimps haha
first full native horror game should be among the sleep, dont know if you already heard of it. There is a playabl 20-30min long Alpha Demo. It´s very cool
diggmcbadass
Member
I'll definitely play horror games out of curiosity, but I am pretty sure I will have a terrible time.
Generally though, I think this thing will either become huge or have a solid core following. It would surprise me if it completely failed.
Generally though, I think this thing will either become huge or have a solid core following. It would surprise me if it completely failed.
Also, just got email about them getting ready to ship my dev kit. I got all kinds of game boner right now
BiggStankDogg
Member
I can't wait till something like this becomes a standard perhipheral...
The death of third person games
Not necessarily. It means taking a different approach to third person, but there are still interesting things you can do with it, like laying out the entire level as a virtual diorama and having the player sort of take on the role of a puppeteer.
Edit:
Exactly! Lay out a very large map and let the player decide which part of it they want to look at.
Interficium
Banned
These topics never have enough of this in it. Every group I know that has a Rift has seen roughly the same amount of people just be physically unable to use it; about 40% get a long-lasting (approximately a day) motion-sick feeling from the brain-body disconnect after 10-15 minutes of playing. Apparently there's a percentage of people who will be able to "train" themselves to adapt, but there's always going to be at least a double-digit percentage of people who will simply will not be able to. That seems like cruise-control to niche territory to me.
Oculus will never take over traditional gaming. It will build a comfortable niche for itself but I don't think the mass appeal is there. There are too many shortcomings.
And yeah, motion sickness is a real issue. I've had around 15 people demo it so far, and only 3 of us were unaffected by it. A few people couldn't wear it for more than a few minutes without feeling really sick. A few people had much better experiences on repeat demos so some people can adapt to it somewhat.
And yeah, motion sickness is a real issue. I've had around 15 people demo it so far, and only 3 of us were unaffected by it. A few people couldn't wear it for more than a few minutes without feeling really sick. A few people had much better experiences on repeat demos so some people can adapt to it somewhat.
How many people in Japan suffer from 3D sickness? The console market has at least double digits worth of people who are not willing to play a large amount of the games made as it is.
GraveHorizon
poop meter feature creep
Will it affect sound design? I don't play with great sound systems so I can't say for sure how perfect it is right now, but I enjoy being able to tell where stuff is happening based on what I can hear, and true surround sound would be a requirement in a virtual setting. Plenty of sound cues to let the player know where to look, subtle sounds for when an enemy is sneaking up on you, etc.
Give me the listen feature of The Last of Us in a first-person game, but actually make it sound-based. Like you just crouch down and the game world is focused just on the audio, no seeing through walls, so you have to use your real awareness to determine where the enemies are.
Give me the listen feature of The Last of Us in a first-person game, but actually make it sound-based. Like you just crouch down and the game world is focused just on the audio, no seeing through walls, so you have to use your real awareness to determine where the enemies are.
^ This only makes me more excited.
Remember when first-person 3D was a new thing, lots of people experienced motion sickness until they got used to it. If Oculus Rift can turn my stomach into knots, all the better!
It's not the 3D that's the issue though. Perspective and the way the camera moves in accordance to you will mess with people. You can't be pulling the camera around without making it a point to make sure the player knows its going to happen because while the eyes may see motion, the person isn't the one causing it which will ruin people.
Oculus Rift could push Binaural Audio for gaming
Like this, you need Headphone/set
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2dzsVjn8hNc
Hopefully it will usher out things like splash screens and cookie cutter menus, load times, cutscenes, etc.
As others have said, just BEING places and exploring them will be a lot more captivating. We won't be required to shoot or platform through virtual worlds to make them interesting.
Along with that comes major changes in pacing. People won't be able to handle non stop mayhem and action. Playing twitch shooters or crazy platformers will either a) quickly wear you out (which can be great thing because it means the experience is that overwhelming as it would be in real life) or b) make people extremely sick.
Seperating camera control from the right analog stick opens up so much potential. I hope integration with motion controllers like the Hydra take off because it opens up so many more ways to interact with not only the virtual worlds themselves, but with other players in that virtual world. With the RIft/Hydra you can do some really mindblowing stuff. Being able to make arm gestures and point at things allows for intuitive, silent communication in tactical games.
That Indie game "The Gallery" which is being made specifically for the Rift/Hydra already has so many cool examples of what is not only possible, but relatively easy to implement:
Picking up, putting down objects - in one video he picks up a long 2x4 and extends it over a gap so he can cross over it.
Spray paint - you can pick up, shake, and use the spray paint can however you wish. Mark your route as you explore, or just have fun graffiti'ing everything in sight.
Glow sticks/Flashlights - You can pick up glow sticks/flashlights and orient them however you want. In the demo he holds up the glow stick to illuminate the sewer as he proceeds through it.
Climbing ladders - You actually reach out and grab each rung to climb.
I mean come on, how cool does this look? (walkthrough starts @ 1:50:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry3w3s_CXcM
Truly some mindblowing stuff in there. The most impressive part is how natural and intuitive all of this looks. And this is only the beginning!
As others have said, just BEING places and exploring them will be a lot more captivating. We won't be required to shoot or platform through virtual worlds to make them interesting.
Along with that comes major changes in pacing. People won't be able to handle non stop mayhem and action. Playing twitch shooters or crazy platformers will either a) quickly wear you out (which can be great thing because it means the experience is that overwhelming as it would be in real life) or b) make people extremely sick.
Seperating camera control from the right analog stick opens up so much potential. I hope integration with motion controllers like the Hydra take off because it opens up so many more ways to interact with not only the virtual worlds themselves, but with other players in that virtual world. With the RIft/Hydra you can do some really mindblowing stuff. Being able to make arm gestures and point at things allows for intuitive, silent communication in tactical games.
That Indie game "The Gallery" which is being made specifically for the Rift/Hydra already has so many cool examples of what is not only possible, but relatively easy to implement:
Picking up, putting down objects - in one video he picks up a long 2x4 and extends it over a gap so he can cross over it.
Spray paint - you can pick up, shake, and use the spray paint can however you wish. Mark your route as you explore, or just have fun graffiti'ing everything in sight.
Glow sticks/Flashlights - You can pick up glow sticks/flashlights and orient them however you want. In the demo he holds up the glow stick to illuminate the sewer as he proceeds through it.
Climbing ladders - You actually reach out and grab each rung to climb.
I mean come on, how cool does this look? (walkthrough starts @ 1:50:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ry3w3s_CXcM
Truly some mindblowing stuff in there. The most impressive part is how natural and intuitive all of this looks. And this is only the beginning!
Filth
Member
So what you're saying is that the time is right for Jurassic Park Trespasser 2?
I would honestly love a properly done version of that games concept
jacksepticeye
Member
first full native horror game should be among the sleep, dont know if you already heard of it. There is a playabl 20-30min long Alpha Demo. It´s very cool
I wanted to play it a while ago but it was like $100 on the kickstarter to get access to the demo at the time, did it change? Cos I really wanted to check out that game
the real alpha is for backers but there is a playable 20min alpha for everyone
Here on the Kickstarter page
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/krillbite/among-the-sleep
But that does not have any OR support but full release version will have it
Monumental
Banned
It won't.
ElectricKaibutsu
Member
I don't see this taking off unless MS releases an Xbox branded one and pushes it with consoles. As I understand it you need a fairly beefy rig to make it run smoothly, as others have mentioned it's really only good for FPS, and local multiplayer is basically impossible.
It's the kind of thing a lot of people will want to try once but probably won't buy.
It's the kind of thing a lot of people will want to try once but probably won't buy.
I agree that it won't take over traditional TV/monitor gaming, but I don't think that nausea has to be that big of an issue. Oculus just needs to make a 10-15 min "Welcome to the Oculus Rift" demo for people to play through the first time they use it, which would show off the tech, but also ease people into using it in a non nausea-inducing way.
POWERSPHERE
Banned
When Skate 4 is released supporting it
Xilium
Member
Don't think it will take off. I think at best it's going to be in a similar position as the fight/flight stick or racing wheel in that it will be a premium peripheral for hardcore fans of a particular genre. As mentioned, it only really makes sense for first-person games and even then, I think it would be more of a detriment in multiplayer, competitive shooters. Horror games and adventure games seem like the best fit for it.
As for how it will change games, again, it probably won't but we will probably see a resurgence of survival-horror games that aren't heavy on the combat, the return of Myst-like adventure games, and possibly a new style of hidden object games.
As for how it will change games, again, it probably won't but we will probably see a resurgence of survival-horror games that aren't heavy on the combat, the return of Myst-like adventure games, and possibly a new style of hidden object games.