Virtual reality for your home console

[Frieza2000]

Last fall my little brother serendipitously landed one of the sweetest jobs in the world. He basically gets paid to write a quick hack for a variety of computer games and spends the rest of the day playing them, on top of playing console games on their giant plasma screen TV in the break room in his free time. I think he reads some web comics too.

The company is called Vuzix, and they make a visor peripheral. It comes in a number of different models, which link to different devices. There's one that connects to Ipods and portable DVD players, a one eyed version that links to a PDA that he likened to a scouter [insert >9000 meme here] but I think more closely resembles Joanna Dark's com link, and most of their money comes from a military contract to produce some kind of Metroid-esque heads-up display for Project Future Solider, but we know nothing about it.

Then, of course, there's the gaming version, which is the one he works with. They've recently perfected stereoscopic version - genuine depth perception. He takes existing games and programs in a second camera, shifted a prescribed amount over to the left, one camera for each screen. On top of this, there's some kind of sensor in the thing that knows when you turn your head. When you turn, the cameras turn in harmony. I've yet to get my hands on one, but he says it's phenomenal. His first experience was with a flight simulator. He could see every detail of the cockpit as if he were there, the clouds passing by, the birds, etc. I was too excited to really pay attention.

One of his noteworthy projects was the Orange Box. Unfortunately Steam kept erasing his .dll patches whenever he booted the game so he couldn't do Portal or Halflife itself, but he got it to work in deathmatch. Surprisingly, he says it doesn't lend itself well to existing FPSs. With a mouse you can do 360 degree turns instantly, but he said the neck sensor isn't good for that. I think it was that the sensitivity isn't high enough or something. There's also the fact that your view determines where your gun is pointing. Ideally you'd want to make aiming and looking separate entireties.

I know they're currently in talks with Microsoft to put something together for the Xbox, but you know this thing belongs on the Wii. With a few improvements on the turn sensor and a decent powerglove expansion for the Wiimote, you've pretty much got the essential components of VR. The fantasies of Nintendo dreamers for the great "Revolution" may yet be realized if this product can market itself intelligently (and cost less than an Xbox. They're working on it!). Current Wii sales would look paltry by comparison.

I just thought I'd show off my insider info. This probably isn't something that'll happen within the next 5 years, but it's coming sooner than you think. Go on, fantasize.

[Isuka]

Some people were toying with this kind of gaming experience too, but VR goggles sound a tad more promising.

I actually think it'd belong a lot better on the 360 or the PS3 myself.

[DackAttac]

I dunno. Maybe it'll make more sense in games like first person shooters where you're already dealing with the character's POV, but personally, I find it more of a break from realism if I have a total immersive view but am still moving my whereabouts around with a joystick. Maybe down the line they'll invent some sort of omnidirectional treadmill of some sort, but then we're getting a tad too complicated, aren't we?

[P.P.A.]

But seriously, that sounds pretty cool. I won't get it though, as I don't expect constantly having an electric device around your head with your eyes staring on tiny separate screens would be very healthy in the long run.

[Frieza2000]

I had similar thoughts, but he says it doesn't bother his eyes at all. And he works with the thing all day.

Even games that don't have first person perspectives would benefit graphically. Games are in 3d, but we view them on a flat screen. With stereoscopic vision, your view is 3d. You're THERE! You're not watching a feed of the action from the perspective of a camera, you ARE the camera! The head tracker could even lend a hand to the oft-bemoaned camera angles in platformers.

[j-man]

What about those of us that wear glasses? We're fucked, right?

[Sniffnoy]

Wouldn't this cause motion sickness if you were just controlling it with a stick?

[Frieza2000]

Do you get motion sick controlling a vehicle with a wheel and peddle? It might sound kind of disruptive at first, but it shouldn't be that much different than playing on a TV. When I play games, especially first person games, I always end up getting so immersed that I feel like I'm there anyway, and moving with the controls becomes just as natural as moving myself. Having depth perception and an easier way to move the camera just improves the illusion. Though if the game started throwing you around, or put you on a rollercoaster or something, a handful of people would get sick, in the same way that some people get sick watching movies in Imax theaters.

J-man, they actually make a product that functions as a pair of glasses.

[Isuka]

I always get motion sick when driving an actual car. That's why I try to avoid it if I can.

And I believe there's a hefty difference between a series of red LEDs shooting laz0rs and stuff right to your eyes several times per second, and two actual tiny stereoscopic displays.

[j-man]

Wow, so I can pay 3 and a half thousand dollars to look like Geordi LaForge.

That is awesome.

[gr4yJ4Y]

I think I read somewhere that the development team working on Boom Blox, Steven Spielberg's first game with EA, made a head tracking mode for the game they were considering putting in as an Easter egg or cheat. From the YouTube video that Isuka pointed out, it looks like it could be easily implemented and not cost a ton. It could make way for this Vuzix stuff for the next gen.

[Malchik]

What about those of us that wear glasses? We're fucked, right?

We're becoming increasingly less of a minority thank God.

[Oompa Star]

This topic reminded me of Questworld from The Real Adventures of Johnny Quest. I can see something like that becoming standard during our lifetimes.