The Rise of Virtual Reality Gaming
Virtual reality gaming if it lives up to what is planned will be playing your game, scratch that, IMMERSING yourself in the realistic simulation of the games reality. As Palmer Lucky, Founder of Oculus, describes it would be "like plugging yourself in to the Matrix".
We've just witnessed the mobile development explosion. Games for Android, Windows and IOS have been churning and burning over the last 10 years. So what’s next you ask? Virtual reality gaming is next and it is going to be epic. Reference the 90s, when virtual reality became the rage but failed to reach its potentional. You are probably saying "What? Virtual Reality has been around for a long time". Remember that movie Lawnmower Man? Well the issue with “Virtual Reality” was that technology could not produce that quick, low-latency response that is required for the gaming market. At least they could not until now.
Enter the Oculus Rift
Currently available to developers. The Oculus Rift Headset is the world’s first low latency consumer VR Headset designed specifically for virtual reality gaming. The experience the oculas rift VR headset offers is truly immersive for 3D gaming. The Verge quoted "The immersion levely here is really something to behold.". MSNBC has raved that "There are a lot of cool gadget out there, but I promise you have never seen anything like this." This is an exciting product has support for both Unity Technologies and Unreal Development. Valve has even confirmed that they will create a mode for their hit free to play Team Fortress 2 to work with the Rift. Doom3 is on deck to be the first Oculus-ready game.
With great promise and backing. Occulus is sure to be a hit with consumers. Occulus VR Has announced on March 29th that they have begun shipping of their development kits. You can order a dev kit from this link for $300 US which is unbelievable in itself.
If you are a student or an educator and would like to develop virtual reality gaming, you can get started in game design with educational discounts on the popular Unity 4 Pro or GameSalad Creator at Studica.com
Share this Post