Virtual reality has become much more than a passing fancy. Over the past couple of years, VR headsets have gone from something that you see only in an electronic display to a thing that you can buy off the shelf just like any regular gadget. In today’s article, we are going to talk about the primary industry that has been impacted by virtual reality – gaming. Without a doubt, VR has been a game-changer, and we will do our best to highlight some of the most effervescent transformations.
Virtual Reality and Gaming – Match Made in Heaven?
We can say for sure that virtual reality technology was not created to cater to the gaming industry exclusively. VR has so many applications, that one cannot help but think that there is, perhaps, more to this than actually playing games. Doctors use VR headsets to preplan complex and extensive operations. Architects employ virtual reality systems to come up with designs in real-time.
Still, the topic at hand is gaming, so we shouldn’t stray too far from it. Are VR and gaming a match made in Heaven? Based on what’s happening today, we can go with a definite “yes.”
At TopBestVR.com we are given the complete picture of how the scenery shifted. We’re no longer talking in terms of games made for that VR headset. No, there’s a whole line of peripherals out there, each with its own pros and cons, games library, and degree of freedom.
Up to this point, the illusion of reality has been created using advanced graphics engines and electronics that mimic things such as depth and width. Unfortunately, however great smart TVs or monitors are, they are hardly substitutes for that in media res feeling. More specifically, there’s still a barrier between reality and whatever type Universe your game builds.
That’s where virtual reality technology comes in. As you know, we discover the world through our senses – smell, sight, touch, hearing, and taste. What if a single device can provide you with all of those stimuli and even more? The answer’s rather obvious – you would be ‘tricked’ into thinking that what you see and hear feels more real than reality itself. Sounds rather crazy, doesn’t it?
Far from it! Virtual reality technology was capable of changing the industry in such a way that gaming now feels like stepping into a Star Trek holodeck. Sure, games like Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice look really great and turning to CGI really made a difference, but you still think that something feels rather artificial. Storytelling and great graphics are the ingredients that make a game truly immersive. But is that all?
Well, virtual reality has proven, times and times again, that when you have something not that great and throw in a device that can fool the human brain, the result is always spectacular.
You know that gaming peripheral is there to stay when it induces strong emotions. Take The Climb, for instance. It’s a simple enough game designed for Oculus Rift that involves a lot of climbing and bouldering. Nothing too out of the ordinary. However, when playing it, gamers really do get that feeling that they’re actually out there, hanging by the rock. Some even experienced violent panic attacks when they fell. That’s what virtual reality gaming is all about!
Of course, some virtual reality headsets are more convincing than others. For example, Oculus Rift has various ways of rendering a virtual environment, like taking advantage of space. Room-scale or standing may be simple words but in virtual reality is much more than that. Even though you’re still in your room, you tend to feel like that the space you’re navigating is actually part of the game’s Universe.
At the moment, virtual reality and everything that it implies is a platform. We don’t know for certain if Rift or HTC Vive or Samsung Gear VR’s will remain the same. Maybe they’re just the starting point of something greater than we’ve imagined.
Still, we don’t have anything better to do than to watch how virtual reality is slowly, but steadily, changing the industry’s standards. And, wouldn’t you know it, more and more game developers have begun creating games with full or partial VR support. That really says something for a device thought to be too fragile or expensive or rudimentary to compete with hardened veterans.
Conclusion
Has virtual reality changed the gaming industry? One can say for sure that it did and still does. More and more devs are making the switch to VR, thus giving the customers a nudge to buy a headset. Everything’s changing and, pretty soon, ‘gaming’s life’ will actually mean experiencing a totally new life and the world.