VR sickness has been one of the constants in every conversation I have about VR. Players who have never played in VR bring this up as an excuse to never have to like it or try it, because VR sickness is truly subjective and you can’t say that they are inherently wrong or lying. And while true, many people do experience varying degrees of VR sickness when the body and mind are at conflict in virtual reality, this is not a dogma that can be applied to the platform as a whole, but rather specific titles that misuse the medium.
I’ve only rarely experienced feelings of unease in a few select VR titles — notably those with lack of grounding and full range movement — I found myself getting queasy just watching the trailer for StarBlood Arena with all of its twisting and turning three-dimensional mech combat. If RIGS made me feel a little light headed, of course the first question I had to ask the StarBlood Arena team was “How are you mitigating and eliminating the potential for VR sickness?”
Ask the guys at WhiteMoon Dreams about a technical aspect of their game — like preventing players from getting sick — and you’ll see their eyes light up as they answer in extraordinary detail. This is something they take very seriously and they’ve got a large number of mechanics and tricks in place to optimize player comfort, including, but not limited to, high frame rates, high resolutions, and creating focal points in the center of the screen away from movement in players’ peripheral vision. It’s a concoction of elements that come together to create a fun and great looking game without compromising health and comfort. Their passionate answers got me curious, so I sat down and put on the VR headset to try out Starblood Arena for myself.
I’ve seen some complaints on the announcement trailer that the game looked too slow, but depth and presence do a lot, so the speed seems much faster inside of a VR headset than the trailer might indicate. There were four characters to choose from, mildly cartoony personalities that help to add a splash of color and interest. Each had varying weapon sets and abilities, so I went with the one that fit my play still. You know, the guy with loads of firepower and few special abilities, because who needs special abilities when your enemies have already fallen to the might of your guns. And fall they did.
Embrace Being Off Balance
Being able to fly around in a completely 3D space might seem insane, and it threw me off balance a little bit at first. Though I never felt sick, I did initially seek to right myself as the twisting and turning arena combat disoriented my view, never leaving me with a real sense of which way was up or down. That’s when I embraced the fact that it didn’t matter. After all, a kill is a kill whether you do it level with the ground or flipped at a 120-degree angle. I accepted this principle and by the time the demo ended, I’d landed myself with 18 kills and not a single death, which even impressed the developers.
I played against bots with difficulty ramped up, but the final game will include online multiplayer and single-player arena challenges, each across a variety of maps and modes. They indicated that with VR being such a solitary experience, it’s hard to convince your friends to get one the same way you might coax them into getting a PS4 to play a multiplayer game with you. WhiteMoon feels that StarBlood Arena could be one of the first games in which you tell your friends “Hey, you need to get a PlayStation VR so that we can play this together!”
Of course WhiteMoon Dreams is just getting started. This is only the announcement of StarBlood Arena, allowing gamers to get a basic idea of what the game is. It was hinted to me that the months leading to launch will feature reveals of more characters, game modes, and even a pretty big reveal for the game that has the potential to really blow people away. Whatever it ends up being, StarBlood Arena will definitely be a game to watch as it nears its release in Spring 2017.
Check out the latest PSX 2016 news and hands-on previews at PlayStation LifeStyle.
10 Reasons for PS4 Owners to be Thankful
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Reasons for PS4 Gamers to be Thankful
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SharePlay
Be thankful that games that only have local multiplayer can still be played online due to the magic of SharePlay. It's one of the console's most under utilized features, but it's also the coolest. If you haven't given it a try, check it out!
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Instant Game Collection
Be thankful that every month a bunch of good games become available as part as your PS+ subscription. It's the reason why millions are still playing Rocket League, and has introduced players to so many fantastic games over the past few years. The Instant Game Collection rules, and be glad it's still going strong.
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Great Indie Games
Be thankful that gamers are getting a wider array of games than ever before due to the rise of indie games. Modern classics like INSIDE help keep players entertained between major releases, and now great games get released the entire year. There's no such thing as a gaming drought in 2016.
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PS Store Sales
Be thankful for PSN sales that discount games a crazy amount. A consumer's dollar has never been worth more in gaming, as AAA titles can be purchased for just a few dollars in these sales. It may not be good for the industry long-term, but it's fantastic for consumers.
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The Wait is Almost Over
After waiting a decade The Last Guardian and Final Fantasy XV are finally going to be playable. That's a pretty crazy idea, and even if both games end up being busts, people will finally get some closure. Either way, be thankful that both games made it through development hell and are going to be in store shelves in less than a month.
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PS2 to PS4
Be thankful that a whole new generation of gamers get to experience classic games for the first time. With PS2 games getting re-released on PSN, a fresh audience is getting to play games like Psychonauts and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for the very first time. That's awesome, and gaming history should be preserved this way.
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Region Free Gaming
Be thankful that the PlayStation 4 is region free. Unlike on current Nintendo consoles, PS4 owners can play any game released on the system. From an import copy of Persona 5 to a physical release of Infamous: First Light from Europe, there's no barrier to enjoying the games you want. Plus, digital storefronts make it easier than ever (and so much quicker) to import.
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Trophies
Be thankful that trophies exist, even if the digital trinkets might not have any real meaning. Trophies have given players reasons to play games in ways they never would have before, and Microsoft deserves a lot of praise for implementing achievements. They really helped at making gaming more fun, and collecting trophies is just plain fun.
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Virtual Reality
Be thankful that you get to watch virtual reality come into its own. The technology is still young and sometimes rough around the edges, but it's also why it's so exciting. We haven't seen the best that virtual reality has to offer, and it'll only get better as time goes on. That's incredibly exciting.
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Game Developers
Most importantly, be thankful for the game developers that make this incredible form of entertainment possible. Without them this industry wouldn't exist, and a form of escape couldn't entertain millions. They are under appreciated, work crazy hours in order to finish a game, and deserve some gratefulness.
