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VR GAMING & BEYOND
This is it. The final level!
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For the final round, we will cover VR and its capabilities over time, seeing examples and how it offers different styles of experiences and uses in the digital age.
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Get ready to enter the level of VR Gaming & Beyond!
What is VR?
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VR, or Virtual Reality, is a way of creating a simulated space, via computer technology & equipment. This is usually presented with a Head Mounted Display (HMD) which transports you into a 3D world. This technology gives you the chance of entering another dimension, exploring mesmerising different worlds of creations.
Believe it or not, VR has been around for a while, but it's only been in recent years during the late 2000s, when technological advancement helped to create new VR equipment. The main VR headsets that are used today are HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR. Virtual Reality has still yet to become a mainstream topic, especially in gaming, as there are still a couple of factors that prevent it from reaching a standard level of availability such as being expensive (it ranges from £200 up to £1000 depending on which equipment you'll be using), ease of portability like setting it all up with the sensors around the room and game usage in general. The graphics and visuals are also not as clean and can often become a little pixelated- you wouldn't expect this from modern gaming equipment, seeing from other examples like PS4 or Xbox. Additionally, VR is not like other consoles where you can game for days; because it will depend on how sensitive others are with adapting to the headset's screen e.g. getting used to a 3D environment.
VR is definitely developing, but just not as fast as we thought. In time, as technology advances, we'll be able to do more with virtual reality.
VR in gaming:
If we take PSVR for instance, when the headset pack came out in October 2016, it offered various games in which the player can choose from, one game called PlayStation VR Worlds included different types of experiences in different genres, all in one:
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At the same time, PlayStation has also enabled some games to be VR compatible. This often changes the gameplay from 3rd person to 1st person view, where you can also view the screen as your surroundings (360 degree view). Here are two games that has been changed to be compatible with VR:
Dirt Rally VR (2019)
Tomb Raider: Croft Mansion VR
Beyond VR Gaming:
As we've talked about, VR is an experience. A lot of short films and documentaries have been made for virtual reality. This is because you can derive more emotions when you're watching in VR, compared to when you watch them normally in a 2D screen. It gives people the idea of thinking that they're actually inside the fictional world. Characters can communicate more directly towards each individual watcher, grasping all of their attention. This empowers the production and therefore, has a more effective way of telling a story.
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Moreover, there are also plently of ways you can get your hands on VR films and other content. All you need is a VR headset viewer. For example, you can view short films and documentaries with the phone app: Within. This packs an array of videos that can be viewed with a VR headset- for free!
There are multiple ways to get your hands on cheaper VR equipment: some VR headsets even range from £5.00 to £20.00. For example, Google Cardboard, which is a cheaper option, is a headset that lets you view VR videos. Even if you search VR videos on YouTube, you'll certainly be able to find some VR content that you'll enjoy!
SUSPECT: A VR Short Film
Below, is an example of a short film I created with a group of others with the
Z CAM S1, a VR camera recorder. We tried to explore different ways of telling a story. One way we thought we could do this was by using VR.
This is a murder-mystery short film in which the watcher plays as a witness throughout the whole film. Even though the watcher cannot interact with the VR film, we try to explore the capabilities of VR. For example, they can watch out for small clues that lead to the murder of a girl called Clara, which happens at the end of the film.
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I wanted to show this as an example because it shows that even for short films, not only was it a new way of presenting it, but the audience can actually become part of the production by 'being' in the film and looking around to find small clues that reveal the plot. See if you can watch out for any clues yourself!
(Don't worry if you don't have a VR headset- you can use your mouse/pad to navigate around!)
If you would like to get into Virtual Reality more, I would recommend that you'd go to special VR locations and conventions as you'll find out more about the topic and how content is made. It's definitely worth the time because you'll be able to try and experience different styles of VR content!
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To get you going, click on these images below:
OTHERWORLD
VR WORLD
You have now completed your gaming journey.
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Thanks for your time, I hope you've enjoyed it as much as I did.
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See ya!
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