The Eurogamer Expo, like most gaming conventions, can normally be split into predictable zones.
There will be the big name games able to support themselves, the console makers and their latest offerings (greatly anticipated or otherwise), an indie zone, and some form of retro gaming. There will be a few hardware demonstrators so you can pick up some fancy gear or perhaps even a gamer chair. Because regular chairs ain’t got enough game, son. But EGX 2013 broke those predictable areas because despite the PS4 and XBox One showings, 2013 was all about immersive gaming and the peripherals needed to reach that dream.
The list of immersive gaming was topped off by the Oculus Rift, but that’s more due to the pervasiveness of this Kickstarter success than any inherent superiority. While there was a dedicated Rift stand squirreled away in a corner, the 3D VR goggles managed to infiltrate a number of games from atmospheric indie Montague’s Mount to the magnificent beast that is Surgeon Simulator and even making their way into the Virgin Media stand.
While the benefits of VR goggles have been extolled by many, there are some major flaws to be addressed. Flaws might be too harsh a word. Limitations? First is that not all games lend themselves all that well to head movement cameras. Take for example spaceship flying. Cool as it may be to look behind and see the enemy, the disconnect between physical and visual movement can quickly lead to disorientation. It’s surprisingly easy to spend most of your play time trying to bring the camera, the spaceship, and the player’s intended movements.
Pew pew!
Games where the player keeps his feet on the ground fare much better as far as player enjoyment is concerned. But even with a solid z-plane and sedate exploration as in Montague’s Mount, the Rift can become nauseating after even five minutes. This could be a side effect of the one size fits all configurations for lens position and focus expos require, but the Rift may cause players to finally heed those “Take a break every 15 minutes” warnings.
We foresee many missed stops in a vrAse future.
The Rift was by no means the only 3D VR goggles seen. Besides at least one attendee sporting a smartphone-cum-VR goggles courtesy an app and appropriate rigging along the lines of the vrAse, the consumer-ready Carl Zeiss Cinemizer was also on show. While a good deal more expensive than the currently developer-only Rift, the Cinemizer is a sleek and portable set of goggles that reek of Neuromancer levels of future. Not only does it appear that users can jack in to anything with an HDMI connection (or adapter), the convertor can be charged up and used on the go with Android phones. While the Rift felt a bit more secure for sudden head movements, the Cinemizer felt perfect for those wanting to take their VR on the road.
The future’s so bright, you gotta wear (VR) shades.
Of course, you might want to take to the road without actually taking to the road. Confused? Well, what if we said the next level of immersion gaming was not just waiting in the wings but ready to steal the spotlight from goggles? Yes, instead of sitting around in a virtual environment, you can physically get up and go walk about with the Virtuix Omni.
The Omni far exceeds any attempt to describe it. Yes, it is a platform that, a bit like a treadmill, you walk and walk on but stay in roughly the same place. And yes, that is a special railing to keep your VR-jacked butt from some real world injuries. It sounds unimpressive in words, but in action? Check out the videos on the Virtuix Kickstarter and Youtube pages to see full body responses as people walk through Skyrim and Minecraft. Oh yes, the Omni is another Kickstarter success as gamers demand the next levels of immersion. While the Omni on show at EGX was only available for demos to developers, you can pre-order your own right now.
All this talk of consoles and high tech peripherals, the games sure had a lot to contend with…
