Remember when gaming was new? How about when graphics became 3D? Or maybe you’ll recall older controllers having quite a few less buttons than our currently recognized console control schemes. We’ve gone through many evolutions in gaming. The first forays into new video game technology have rarely been met with incredible successes. It’s through the introduction, refinement, and perfection of that technology that we get truly amazing experiences.
I’ve said it before, and I will say it again and again and again. Virtual Reality (VR) must be experienced to be understood. Someone can tell you everything you want to know about virtual reality, but there’s nothing like putting a headset and moving your head to look at another world around you. I truly believe it is the next generation of immersion not only in games, but as a way to experience many things.
From Humble Beginnings
There are still some technological hurdles to overcome, and we’re not going to get picture perfect Matrix styled experiences right out of the gate. But think about the early days of gaming. The introduction of polygonal character models and environments was rocky at the start, but developers pressed forward. How about when games started to have more regular voice acting? Once upon a time, controllers didn’t have thumbsticks, but those were added along with many other buttons for an extra layer of input. Those things weren’t perfect right away. In fact, we’re still working on the implementation of those things, with some games doing it better — or even just doing it differently — than others.
That’s what VR looks like to me. There are going to be some bad experiences. There are going to be awful stage demos. But there are some great things making their way to the VR platform as well, and as the userbase and support grows, the experiences are only bound to get better. VR is a whole new way to immerse ourselves in a world, whether it’s a simple puzzle game, a psychological experience, or something else entirely.
PSX 2015 gave Stephen Bitto and me the opportunity to get our hands on and heads in a few PlayStation VR headsets, and here are our thoughts on the experiences.
I didn’t include Media Molecule’s Dreams in that slideshow because I didn’t actually get to see it in action in VR, but it should be important to remember that PlayStation VR support has been announced for it, and with the incredible amount of creative freedom that it will give players, it ought to be noted that it’s a VR compatible experience.
PlayStation VR and virtual reality in general are still young. We’ve got a long way to go, but remember that some of the awesome things we have in the world now were built on the shoulders of the things that came before. Technology is moving at an incredible clip, and it’s only a matter of time before we get some truly incredible and unique experiences to immerse ourselves in VR. From the demos that I’ve seen already, we’re off to a pretty good start.
PlayStation VR PSX 2015 Previews
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PlayStation VR PSX 2015 Previews
When demoing PlayStation VR at PSX 2015, there were two choices. Either you queue up to play RIGS (which was booked solid and near impossible to get into), or you queued up for a whichever other PlayStation VR game opened up next (also booked solid, but a bit easier to squeeze into). Stephen Bitto and Chandler Wood were on site and managed to run through the lines a few times to check out some different PlayStation VR games. Here's what they had to say about their experiences.
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Headmaster
Previewed by Stephen Bitto
In Headmaster, you play the role of a shamed footballer sent to The Football Improvement Center to get your game back. While it’s strange that the main focus of this academy is to work on headers, I must also concede that I’m wearing a video screen on my face to trick my brain into thinking I can play soccer at all. We’ll call it even.
In my particular demo, two other PSX attendees and myself played through three rounds each and the winner received a rare card. Using only the PSVR headset, the goal was to head soccer balls toward targets for points. Special targets and multipliers increased the fun and ultimately cost me the victory (I was one double score target away).
Again, the motion felt natural. The soccer balls were shot my way and as I used my noggin to direct them toward the targets, I never once thought, “these are missing because the game is inaccurate.” I knew that my lack of precision was entirely to blame for any errant soccer headshots.
While Headmaster was technically simple, the accuracy of the inputs and added fun of playing with other attendees kept me engaged.
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Job Simulator: The 2050 Archives
Previewed by Stephen Bitto
So what will computers do when they inevitably take over the world? Put on simulations of what it was like for humans to work in offices, of course!
Despite the title’s silly premise, it was a technically impressive proof of concept for VR. Using the PlayStation VR and two Move controllers, I was able to use my hands and see them in a virtual world. Not only that but I was able to take steps in each direction, making the environment seem that much more real.
The tasks the demo laid before the player were simple. Brew coffee, check email, terminate employees. Little did I know, something amazing was about to happen.
When I picked the cup up to drink the coffee, my mouth naturally opened up. Ignoring the fact of how dirty that Move near my mouth had to be, I was stunned. My mind could be tricked. What is this sorcery?!
Job Simulator may not be the next big thing but it provided me with a great entry point to VR.
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Super Hypercube
Previewed by Stephen Bitto
Super Hypercube could easily be a Tron puzzle game. The clean black surroundings brightened by neon lights was very reminiscent of the (relatively) recent sequel from Disney.
In this VR demo, the player must rotate a combination of cubes in a 3D space ahead of them to fit through a hole which approaches rapidly from down a tunnel. The catch? The player can’t see directly past the shape ahead. Leaning, ducking and jumping are the only ways to see the hole as it races toward you.
Fans of puzzle games will quickly find themselves addicted to the fast-paced, suspenseful nature of Super Hypercube. My one complaint was that using the DualShock 4 didn’t feel natural. The shoulder buttons along with the left analog were used for rotation of the object but the movement could have been more literal. Using two Move controllers Minority Report style may have given a better sense of spatial awareness.
Despite that drawback, I was sucked into the gameplay chasing my personal best over and over. After completely the demo (and getting a compliment from the demoer on my impressive performance), my VR weekend was complete and a believer was born.
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Super Hypercube
Previewed by Chandler Wood
VR experiences don't have to be limited to things of big scope. Take Tetris for example. It's a simple experience that is addicting and engrossing to many. Super Hypercube has the chance of being VR's Tetris.
As Stephen explained, you must rotate an ever expanding cube so that it can properly fit through specifically shaped holes in walls. The walls are directly on the other side of you from the cube and approach rapidly.
Super Hypercube actively uses VR in its gameplay. The cube in front of you grows, adding more cubes to each side, and you must lean in increasingly intensity in order to see the hole and figure out how to line up it perfectly.
The amazing thing about Super Hypercube is the spatial awareness, being able to walk around, forwards, backwards and side to side. It's not just a matter of being able to look around, it's an impressive demonstration of being able to move about freely in a virtual space without the use of an external input.
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Battle Zone
Previewed by Chandler Wood
My first demo was Battle Zone. This tank simulator is a reimagining of an early Atari game, as such is given the aesthetics of something like Tron.
Sitting down in a chair in the middle of the booth, I was put into tank -- that is, the PlayStation VR headset was put on over my eyes, the headphones on my ears, and controller placed into my hands. The first thing I had to do was look around in awe.
I was no longer on the PSX 2015 show floor. I was sitting in the cockpit of a tank, and I could look every which direction around me. After a brief tutorial, I was set loose to battle other tanks and flying enemies in an open arena.
Battle Zone doesn't require a lot of head movement, but it instills a sense of depth and immersion as minor head movements reminded me that I was in a tank. If I were to turn my head during any other demo on the show floor, the illusion of being in the game would be broken. That's not the case with Battle Zone, and when I defeated the last wave and the headset was pulled from my head, it wasn't as easy to walk away from that experience as many of the other games I played at PlayStation Experience.
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Until Dawn: Rush of Blood
Previewed by Chandler Wood
I'm a chicken when it comes to horror. I've typically got the lights on and my knees curled to my chest if I'm playing something that might scare me. If I'm playing a horror game, I can turn away from the TV or hide under blankets. VR takes that comfort away and puts the developer in control.
Until Dawn: Rush of Blood is a sample of what VR horror can be, providing both atmospheric horror as well as jump scares (more of the latter though). It sticks you in a mine cart and carries you through a scripted on-rails experience.
Early on I physically had to duck to avoid logs and tree branches. Later I was tasked with using the Move controllers as guns to fight off waves of horrifying enemies.
Aside from some thematic elements, Rush of Blood shares little in common with Until Dawn. The scripted on-rails style isn't quite as atmospherically unsettling as other free-roaming experiences can be (I wanted so desperately to try Kitchen, but luck never worked it into my rotation), and the gunplay was less than impressive, but it's nice to see developers at least getting some PlayStation VR experience under their belts early on, and I think we can expect more great things in the future.
