VR starting to make sense

Photo by Scott Webb on Unsplash

Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here!

It has been about a month since I received the VR headset.

I was playing it daily until the battery ran out for the first few days.

While the experience was largely positive, things like clarity and motion sickness did bother me.

After a few days, I found myself having to make a conscious effort to put it on.

And that made me almost return it.

Photo by Vinicius "amnx" Amano on Unsplash

But I did not, because I procrastinated.

And I started to get busy.

I did not touch the headset for like a week.

And then when I put it on again, the immersion pleasantly surprised me for the 2nd time.

And I started to feel lucky that I had not returned it.

So I started to get really casual about it, playing one or two times a week, depending on my schedule and what I want to do.

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And every single time, I loved the emersion, despite all the problems, like clarity, moisture after like half an hour, etc.

And the little moments that jumped in now and then were particularly satisfying.

For example, I was struggling with different ways of holding the gun (controller) for better aiming and suddenly I got into a position I felt comfortable and familiar with.

And then it came to me that that was exactly how I held a real rifle in the live-fire range in Canada. 

At that time, I was struggling with different awkward positions trying to look through the iron sight and line up the target.

A veteran saw that and came to me, telling me to put the rifle stock against my shoulder and move my head forward along the stock until I could see through the sight, instead of trying to bend my neck sideways like an idiot to press my cheek against the gun.

That worked and I had a good time.

That moment was particularly satisfying for me, not only because it brought back fond memories, but also because this VR thing was so much closer to how things really worked.

I would have never got that experience no matter how much I play flat-screen shooters.

Furthermore, I am also exploring new things, like videos and social interactions.

They are all largely fun and the experiences are remarkable.

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

I am happy that I did not return the headset and I think I have found a proper way to use it.

Play when I feel like playing it and focus on the immersion and ignore the problems, and meanwhile, wait for the next-gen headsets.

 

Till next time!

VR — Gaming Unleashed

Photo by Jimi Malmberg on Unsplash

Dear Readers,

Thank you for coming here!

I jumped into gaming right after finishing set up of the Oculus Quest 2 headset.

And it was mind blowing!

The first game I tried was Pavlov Shack. It is incredible that this game is still free on Quest platform.

This game alone will last me for a long time.

Photo by Jimi Malmberg on Unsplash

1.The experience and realism is just unmatched

Just some examples:

• Looking at the gun up-close and from any angle I wanted and really seeing and feeling the size of it only reminded me of the limited times where I held a real rifle in my hand
• Reloading was so fun and realistic. I spent all my time in the shooting range, reloading and shooting different guns, in my first play till the battery run out. To reload in VR, I had to pull the mag out, grab a new one, inject it into the gun and pull the charging handle (depending on whether there was a round in the chamber already), all through physical hand movements, instead of simply pressing “R” on the keyboard.
• I was reloading a M1 Grand, looking at the clip ejecting from the chamber with the satisfying sound, grabbing another clip, pushing it into the chamber and start shooting again. I was so excited then and I could only imagine how much more excited I would have been If I got my hands on this in university. I would be absolutely crazy about it.
• Aiming was totally different as well. I had to physically lift my arm and line up the sights through the scope or iron sight, instead of clicking the right button on my mouse. It all felt so cool and realistic! 
• Last but not least, turning around by physically turning around my head and body in the real world was so satisfying too. And it meant exercise!

I hope these examples give you some idea of the difference between shooting in VR and shooting in traditional gaming.

To me, once you tried VR, it is hard to go back!

Photo by Vinicius "amnx" Amano on Unsplash

2.I got some “downsides” too

After the initial excitements, it became clear to me really quickly that my killing productivity dropped drastically.

• There was no more pin point accuracy, like in COD. With shaking arm, came shaking aim. Single fire mode still worked best for long distance, but no more one shot one kill
• Reloading took a long time and I got it wrong very very frequently. Reloading in VR involved a few steps and I could get any of them wrong. So many times, I pulled a new mag just to realize the old one was still there. Or I was supposed to pull the charge handle, but instead dropped the gun…
• Turning was still not natural to me. As a result, my situation awareness dropped drastically too.
• The clarify problem and mild motion sickness did not help either

Photo by Stéphane Bernard on Unsplash

3.But it was just “learning curve”

With practice, I would get so much better.

When I played Counter Strike on PC for the first time, I could not move or aim properly.

Now it has become the second nature for me when it comes to playing shooter games.

I just need to adapt that second nature to the VR platform.

With a few hours of practice, I can now reload the M4 within half a second and can fend off waves of enemy attach.

I am working on turning now, especially turning right around corners and turning 180 degrees fast with fast aiming.

I will get there!

I’d better to. I wont be able to go back to the traditional gaming.

Photo by Giu Vicente on Unsplash

In the end

VR gaming is exciting! 

I think the game mechanics are there. We just need easier-to-use hardware!

Till next time!