Virtual Reality Archives -

Virtual Reality Offers Hope For The Future

May 31, 2016 By Bradd West

Virtual Reality Gives Humanity Hope

If you look up the definition of the word ‘hope’, you won’t find the words “Virtual Reality Gaming” beside it. But maybe you should. VR Gaming offers hope to humanity.

Experiences To Look Forward To

Everyone needs something to look forward to: some fun, some excitement, some twists- and-turns to make life interesting. VR Gaming offers just that: an escape from boring. Just like “spinning your wheels” can drive you nuts, our routines often drive us into ruts? Repetitively performing the same tasks, traveling the same route to work every day, and eating the same old meals over and over again can get you squarely stuck in the mud. Why not try some virtual variety?

Take for example, CCP Games’ EVE: Valkyrie, one of the most highly anticipated VR games, launching for both Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus. As Lily Prasuethsut, US Editor for Wareable, describes in her recent article:

“It’s (EVE: Valkyrie) a multiplayer game for VR set in the EVE Online universe – you play a rookie, guided by female pilot Ran, through some tutorial missions before getting onto the good stuff – space dogfights with other Rift users. It’s fast, it’s futuristic and it’s fun.”

Virtual Reality is fast, futuristic, and fun

“It’s fast, it’s futuristic and it’s fun.” In other words, it’s something to look forward to. Enter hope. So, the next time you find yourself “feeling down”, why not try on some VR goggles and games to help you “see life in a fresh, new way.”

Heroes To Look Up To

Perhaps the greatest blessing VR offers humanity are its heroes of innovation. Everyone needs a hero, or two. Heroes are beacons of light, spreading hope with every good deed. Just check out the titles of this summer’s blockbuster movies. The 2016 Blockbuster Line-up spans from March to August. Of the many debuting, three of the titles include: Superman Vs. Batman, Captain America: Civil War and Tarzan. “And – yep – we may even get the world’s first great film based on a video game (Angry Birds)”, Prasuethsut writes.

All of these movies feature “hero” based stories. The VR Industry parallels this, supplying it’s own team of “super-heroes”. Let’s just look at one now. I’m referring to innovators like Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus VR and creator of the Oculus Rift. Talk about “seeing the future” and “ushering in new hope”, Luckey prophetically invites us all to join him on his journey of “re-wiring reality”. Cool. That gives me hope. Things can get better. Today’s pain won’t last. Tomorrow just may be “my best day yet”. See, how it works? Hope. From VR none-the-less! Who would have thought! Well, Palmer Luckey did. That makes him a hero; someone we can look up to.

Palmer Luckey wearing Oculus Rift Goggles

Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus VR, wearing Oculus Rift Headset

When “heroes” like Palmer Luckey help us envision a more interesting future through Virtual Reality Gaming, humanity’s horizons rise higher, the hills we must climb seem less daunting, and life itself seems – well, more “doable”. Just as parents of small children point their kids to their heroes as examples of what to be and do, children and adults alike can look to “heroes” like Palmer Luckey as a model of the worthy human pursuit of our highest ideals. Palmer paints a picture of a world kids can aspire to, adults can feel encouraged by and communities can rally around to improve their quality of life.

When your reality morphs into misery, virtual reality offers, at least, a partial solution; a stretching experience, a striking perspective, and a surprising chance to feel good again. Why not give it a try?

Virtual Reality’s Life-Cycle Still Rising

May 13, 2016 By Bradd West

Where does VR live on the product life-cycle?

Where does Virtual Reality live on the Life-Cycle Curve?

Every new technology, like every new product, rises and falls on a “life-cycle”. As leadership authors, Bill Weltor and Jean Egmon write:

“We live in the midst of simultaneous industry changes, company changes, product changes, technique changes, and fads – and all are at a different point in their own life cycle.”

As one of the newer technologies still being developed, Virtual Reality is enjoying a prized ascendancy in the technology world; not a meteoric rise you might say, but more like the slow, gradual climb a roller-coaster takes you on as it reaches its tipping point “for the real thrills of the ride”.

Virtual Reality’s Star Still On The Rise

Even though Virtual Reality has been around for awhile (The first traces of virtual reality came from the world of science fiction. Stanley G. Weinbaum’s 1935 short story “Pygmalion’s Spectacles” is recognized as one of the first works of science fiction that explores virtual reality. It describes a goggle-based virtual reality system with holographic recording of fictional experiences including smell and touch) it’s real market value and entertainment potential are still being imagined and realized in today’s embryonic technological markets. Take Google’s affordable VR headset, Cardboard, as an example. Clay Bavor, Google’s chief VR developer, has been researching and working tirelessly in an attempt to make VR available for everyone:

“It’s (The Cardboard Headset) let us engage in VR, and learn, and bring a lot more people into the story of the beginning of VR than would otherwise be there.” David Pierce, writing for Wired, recently noted that, “The five-millionth Cardboard shipped out in January 2016, when there still was no Vive or Rift or Playstation VR. Google’s virtual reality is for everyone, and it’s already here.”

It seems clear that Virtual Reality’s story is still being written. Like making the journey from familiar surroundings to exotic places, VR offers many unknown and surprising experiences still to be discovered and defined.

Facebook Wants Exotic Virtual Reality

This is partially true because more established social media platforms are getting into the VR game. In March of 2014 Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg, announced that his company had bought and acquired Oculus VR, a start up with mega-market potential. According to Zuckerberg’s posted announcement:

“Oculus…They build virtual reality technology, like the Oculus Rift headset. When you put it on, you enter a completely immersive computer-generated environment, like a game or a movie scene or a place far away. The incredible thing about the technology is that you feel like you’re actually present in another place with other people. People who try it say it’s different from anything they’ve ever experienced in their lives.”

Zuckerberg goes on to say:

“…this is just the start. After games, we’re going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face — just by putting on goggles in your home.”

With investors and innovators like Mark Zuckerberg and Google’s Clay Bavor getting behind VR technology, it appears the future of VR is bright indeed. As a fresh product still being manufactured and priced for mass acceptance, it seems clear Virtual Reality is very much in the growth stage of its life-cycle. There’s still more to be written in this amazing story of alternate reality experiences.

Virtual Reality Appeals To “The Fast and the Curious”.

May 2, 2016 By Bradd West

Recently, a friend of mine attempted to play Battlefront with his 13-year-old son on his Playstation 4. The two of them, sharing one controller, switched back-and-forth as each played a turn once the other one died. They were playing the Tatooine Map and racing speeder bikes, maneuvering in and out of trees trying not to die. My friend’s son noticeably processed data quicker (Look out for that tree! Watch out for that rock!), thus delaying death longer. My friend, a middle-aged father of three, didn’t fair as well; crashing and burning almost instantly after the start of play. What’s the difference?

I’m reminded of two types of people Virtual Reality appeals to:”The Fast and the Curious”. By fast, we mean those seemingly meta-humans among us who operate much like computers themselves. Their brains, processing data at dizzying speeds compared to the rest of the population, unlock complex and multi-faceted matrixes quicker than most. They tend to enjoy designing the pace of their daily lives in much the same way that they want to enjoy a gourmet meal in a 5-star restaurant: fast and now; with no skimping on quality. They’ve got things to do, after all!

Unlocking Virtual Reality’s Matrix

David Allen has written about the way our brains work like computers in his internationally acclaimed bestseller, Getting Things Done. He writes:

“The short-term memory part of your mind – the part that tends to hold all of the incomplete, undecided, and unorganized “stuff” – functions much like RAM on a personal computer. Your conscious mind, like the computer screen, is a focusing tool, not a storage place. You can think about only two or three things at once. But the incomplete items are still being stored in the short-term-memory space. And as with RAM, there’s limited capacity; there’s only so much “stuff” you can store in there and still have your brain function at a high level. Most people walk around with their RAM bursting at the seams.”

Not so with the “The Fast And Curious”! They seem to defy normal laws of neurology. Occasionally, they may reach a limit with how fast they process things, but like Olympic High-Jumpers, their bar is set much higher than the general public.

The other type of person Virtual Reality appeals to are the curious. They’re “Next-Level Seekers”, relentlessly finding next level gears to take them higher, faster, deeper, and further, longer. Curious as they are, they continually attempt to elevate experience to new heights, bypassing laws of gravity and sometimes, logic. When you and I manage to find our “next-level” gear, it usually awakens in us “next-level fear. The curious, however, thrive on emotions like fear, uncertainty and doubt. Where it might cause you or I to push the brakes, it causes them to hit the accelerator.

Curious Virtual Reality consumers’ fierce passion for knowledge and progress reminds me of the Albert Einstein quip which says:

The important thing is not to stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing. One cannot help but be in awe when he contemplates the mysteries of eternity, of life, of the marvelous structure of reality. It is enough if one tries merely to comprehend a little of this mystery every day. Never lose a holy curiosity.

The curious live by this philosophy. Science is better for it. Innovative technology is the result of it. And Virtual Reality is profiting from it.

How about you? Are you fast and curious? About Virtual Reality? What questions do you have? Please leave a comment below…

5 of the Best Virtual Reality Games to Keep an Eye on in 2016

April 21, 2016 By Kevin Vren

Virtual reality is here. HTC Vive and Oculus Rift are two of the VR devices that are out right now. In October of this year, the headset for the PlayStation VR of Sony will be released.

Interest in VR has been high and its commercial availability is bound to happen. As such, game developers are working hard to get their titles working on these devices. Sony alone has promised that over 100 titles will be offered for their headset when it’s released later this year.

While there are some interesting games available, these are the five you should be looking forward to:

Job Simulator

The job simulator being referred to is what man uses to learn about the days of old. In essence, the simulator offers them an “interactive history lesson.” In this game, you are given common tasks like cooking as well as office work, working the till at the supermarket and being an auto mechanic. All of these tasks are made possible through externals like the PlayStation Move controller.

Job Simulator will be available for HTV Vive, Oculus Rift an PlayStation VR. Also, this is a good game to start with when you’re still trying out VR.

EVE: Valkyrie

Hailed by Wearable as “one of the most anticipated titles” that will be launched for VR headset this year including Vive, VR and Rift. Set in the EVE online universe, this multi-player game allows you to explore and even get into fights but only after you’ve completed some training.

Elite: Dangerous

According to Alphr, Eite: Dangerous was made to be “the biggest space simulation in history.” The game features over 400 billion star systems (where 150,000 are modeled using real-world astronomical data and the rest are generated using algorithms). The systems were developed based on scientific models.

Although the game wasn’t designed for VR, there has been interest for Oculus and Vive headsets. The game is likened to the Flight Simulator of Microsoft but in this case, it’s set in space.

Darknet

You are playing against a clock in this game. Essentially, you must hack through a series of nodes that are connected to each other in order to find the core. Put simply, you need to find the core before you run out of time.

Earning currency is your prize and you can unlock additional features each time you progress. Then again, the game gets harder as you go further.

This game is already available on Oculus Rift and owners of a Samsung Gear VR can simply download the game and play it through their devices. In addition, this is a good game for those who use a less expensive, Android headset.

Fantastic Contraption

One of the launch games of HTC Vive, this game allows players to build robots and devices all within the 3D world. While there are concerns these kinds of games will result in people being anti-social, Alphr mentions that it’s “designed to bring people together.”

How can this game “bring people together” exactly?

One person creates the machine via their VR headset while others can watch the creation come to life through a monitor.

As the demand for VR headsets increases, so will the amount of games produced by game developers. We are not too far from a future where VR is the dominant way of interacting with people.

Virtual Reality Creates It’s Own “Game of Drones”

April 19, 2016 By Bradd West

Amazing First Hand View With Oculus Rift

Got Flight? Feel Airborne With The Oculus Rift

Last September, as youtube.com user eye in the sky flew a sneaky drone over an HBO film set in Ireland capturing footage of what many thought would amount to a Season 6 spoiler for the hit tv series Game of Thrones, Virtual Reality enthusiasts were introduced to their very own Game of Drones.

Nowadays, a new kind of fun-under-the-sun is promised to lovers of “all things Virtual”. Want a first hand view of flying without having to actually be up in the sky? Easy! Want to feel yourself performing flight maneuvers at heights you previously only dreamed of going? No problem! VR’s got your solution: Drones. Thanks to new VR technology, you really can get a bird’s-eye view of earth.

Imagine yourself standing, feet planted firmly on the ground, remotely controlling a “flying camera” from your wrist. Looking through the lenses of the First Hand Viewer Goggles you’re wearing, the “flying camera lens” twists-and-turns as it tracks in sync with your own eye movements, showing you scenes in real-time of people playing, swimming, jumping and walking along grass and dirt-covered landscapes, as if you’re sitting atop your very own “magic carpet ride”. Welcome to FLYBi.

The New FLYBi Drone With FPV Virtual Reality Goggles

Eye-In-The-Sky With FLYBi Drone

Recently, FLYBi has engineered for the world the first drone with virtual reality goggles. For those skeptical of Virtual Reality Technology, this new “Game of Drones” validates the many applications of this type of gaming science.

To savvy consumers of electronic technologies already accustomed to VR games of Star Wars Pod Racing, this latest aerial application reveals a “real-world” relevance blowing a much-needed wind beneath the wings of inventors developing these types of virtual products. As Ben Popper has written, stating in his article for theverge.com, “We’re going through an exciting period in the development of consumer drones.”

The current technology boom keeps this subject alive and forever interesting! Screens, goggles and glasses continue to evolve. Video transmitters and receivers have improved and become more reliable. Antennas and antenna tracking systems have improved. GPS accuracy has improved. There are heads-up display systems, head tracking capability and return-to-home features. There are apps that work in conjunction with your equipment to view video and GPS information.” – www.dronenthusiast.com

It seems that with VR’s Game of Drones, the sky might not be the limit, especially as the latest trends have moved from driving boats to more aeronautic endeavors. Now that vr has reached the sky, what’s left to conquer? RC Virtual Reality Space Drones, anyone? Yes! Well, maybe. Okay, probably. Either way, make no mistake that “What’s next?”, is top-of-mind for key innovators and influencers in this Game of Drones. How soon “what’s on their mind” gets to market, only time will tell.

Let’s talk: What do you think is next on the VR radar? Please leave a comment below…

VR Influencers: You. Love. The. Game (Thanks Taylor Swift)!

April 16, 2016 By Bradd West

VR Influencer and Facebook Founder, Mark Zuckerberg, playing with the Oculus Rift

“One (person) in ten tells the other nine how to vote, where to eat and what to buy”, write authors, Ed Keller and Jon Berry.

The Game Has Changed

In one sense, since 2003 when this statement was first published, nothing much has changed. In another sense, everything has changed. Enter the tidal wave of VR technology and gaming, where a person can experience a 3-D environment and actually feel what it’s like, to say, step into the shoes of Lionel Messi or Christiana Ronaldo, sensing the ball at your feet, your opponent at your side, and the goal in front of you. Have you ever wanted to “step into” the tv set and enter the world of the game or show?

2016: The Year of VR?

Technologies that were formerly available only to Military Units around the world, through flight simulation systems used to train Airplane Fighter Pilots, are now being marketed to ordinary citizens and gamers. In fact, 2016 has been called “The Year of VR”, for good reason. The Rift, Vive and PlayStation VR, all launching this year, as companies like HTC, Sony, and Oculus, compete for space and marketshare in this burgeoning industry.

The Rift vs. Vive vs. PlayStation VR

VR Early Adopters

But who buys VR gaming; buys into it, I mean? Who are these early adopters passionately evangelizing their friends and families about why they should buy this-or-that new VR platform? According to Darren Dunn, these early adopters look more like communities than individuals. Analyzing the Affinio Platform and studying “the twitter handles of of @Oculus, @htcvive, Microsoft’s @HoloLens, and @googlecardboard”, Dunn says, “we can paint a picture of the communities that are first to utilize VR tech.” He goes on to name a few of these communities, which he refers to as ‘tribes’: “Indie Game Developers, Education Technology, and VR Junkies.”

VR “Early Adopters”

Even though VR isn’t a new idea, it’s still very fresh in terms of getting a relatively low priced, high-quality product to market that the average consumer can enjoy. As early adopters of a fairly known but, up until now, relatively unmarketable gaming genre, these communities serve as “leading indicators” of what people will buy, or at least, be willing to try out in the near future.

VR Visionaries

What kind of person buys into VR, early, before it’s proven it’s profit-producing potential? Perhaps we should ask, Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus VR. At 16, it’s well known, Luckey started making virtual reality headsets, at 19 he founded Oculus VR, and at 21 he sold his company to Facebook for $2 billion. Commenting on how his own fascination with VR grew, Luckey said:

“Virtual reality is in so much science fiction, across a wide variety of stories, that even if you’re not particularly interested in VR, if you’re a sci-fi enthusiast you end up learning a lot about it. That’s what happened. I grew up my whole life thinking virtual reality was very cool, and I thought that it must exist in secret military labs somewhere.”

It takes a certain kind of person to “get into” VR, it would seem. Someone we could say, like Luckey: curious, pioneering, threshold-pushing, and visionary. It would appear that the Elon Musks, Palmer Luckey’s and Mark Zuckerberg’s of the world have a common denominator: they’re focused on the future!

How about you? Is VR on your radar? Are you adopting it’s potential and “singing VR’s praises” through your social network? If so, leave a comment and let me know what you think.

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