The (Second) Vive Report

So since my initial post, several things have changed:

1. My son built me a new windows PC with a 980Ti
2. My sons and I have spent many more hours in virtual reality

Thus, I wanted to provide an update on all things Vive.

Titles

I'm not terribly impressed with the titles available for the Vive so far.  There appear to be many on the horizon, but I'm not sure that the situation will be ideal until it is standard practice that all new first-person oriented games are released with VR support from the start.

I am in the camp that believes that VR will help usher in a new wave of puzzle-based games (a la Myst).  They will be fun to play (and likely quite challenging, too).

Gaming in VR

I love it.  Plain and simple, it is so much more engrossing to play a game like this than staring at a screen.  Vanishing Realms is probably a very mediocre game if on a screen, but it totally sucked me in.  I put my headset on in the morning to play and am suddenly transported to night.  The world is less interactive than I assume that they will be eventually, but it is still fun poking around and finding new bits lying around.  And swinging a sword through an ogre is great fun (and will elevate your heart rate).  I can't say that I've been reduced to a sweaty mess that others have, but it is still feels like good, active fun.  I have experienced a sense of vertigo standing on the ledge.

I'm looking forward to many more hours of gameplay.  Though, my youngest has so solidly run up the Space Pirate Trainer high score list that I'm not sure I'll be placing there any time soon.  Not to say that I won't be trying.

One Step Beyond

I still have a few things that I haven't tried yet and problems for the VR developer community to solve.

1. 360º videos:  Not expecting too much here, have watched a few on a flat screen and didn't think that they were that interesting.
2. Building something in VR:  I think the tools lag here.  Perhaps virtual graffiti will be my thing?  More interesting would be building 3D models with tools that are well-suited for the task.  I need to research this area further.
3. VR Tourism:  Looking forward to it, but need to find the right experiences.  Any recommendations?
4. Movement:  sticking a controller in my pants doesn't seem ideal.  But, then again, neither does instantly teleporting around a game area.  It's easy to dodge fire and the blows of ogres when using the teleportation method.  Also, Vive needs to figure out how to allow the playing area to be larger, or use tricks to make my brain think that it is bigger.  This is likely going to be a big challenge for all of the VR manufacturers.
5. Additional sensors:  HTC and Steam should let others build specific purpose sensors or gaming implements to be used.  An obvious first option - a gun (rifle not a pistol, the normal controller works well enough to fool me there).  Such things exist, but I'm looking forward to widespread usage and support in games.
6. Social VR: maybe this comes much, much later when households have 3 or 4 headsets, but it would be fantastic to play cooperative games in VR with friends and family.
7. 3D Sound: I'd love to be playing in VR with one of the Ossic headphones, but they are best case shipping them next February.  And I'm not sure that I'll be willing to pay $300.  But, I can imagine that they will matter in providing an even fuller experience.  You will be sucked into the other (VR) realm 100%.  At least I'm guessing here (I've not demo'd their headset). 

The Vive has Arrived!

Finally, despite ordering within 30 minutes of the window opening.  And HTC charged my credit card several days before they shipped.  Not awesome, but the Vive did arrive.  And it's pretty cool.  I will be upfront that my view of the Vive is very much in line with Cnet's review.  I'm a fan.

First, let me describe my rationale in buying this device.  My initial thought was that VR is very likely to come into its own in the next couple of years.  I want to be understand early the implications and the limitations of the technology.  And, I would be pretty excited if my boys were to be inspired by the technology and then do something fantastic.  They both have a lot of potential; but at the moment latent potential.  If I decide that I don't really think the technology is that cool, I reasoned that I could just sell my Vive quickly while it is still difficult to come by, for basically full price.  So I'm giving myself only a month to evaluate it.

Second, let's talk about the games available right now.  The Vive comes with three games included.  Job Simulator, Fantastic Contraption and Tilt Brush (less game and more 3D paint/sculpture application.  Reviews indicate that Fantastic Contraption is the best of the bunch and I'll admit that I haven't had time to play it yet.  Job Simulator was fun, though I only played for 15 minutes and it'll need to pick up the pace to keep me interested.  I have a real job, so I know how it tends to go and don't need a simulator.  Tilt Brush was fun to use as a platform for Pictionary.  My two boys and I played for about 45 minutes last night.  Painting in 3D is pretty sweet and the controls are reasonably intuitive.  The most fun I had, though, was with an early release game.

Space Pirate Trainer is a fantastic game.  Almost just worth it for the guns themselves and how completely your brain maps the VR gun to the controllers that you are holding in your hands.  It is amazing if simple game that kept me interested for an hour and I plan on spending much more time with it.  I'm very much looking forward to additional FPS-type games that have been successfully mapped to VR space.

Third, let's look to the future.  I'm a proponent that VR could be a very useful tool for expanding people's perspective about the world.  Want to go to Machu Picchu but not cause any damage to the historic site?  VR will be by far the best way to make that happen.  I think that there are a number of business opportunities here: games (obviously), virtual tourism, emersive learning (3D "hands on" lectures), and emersive entertainment like NextVR.  I'm always thinking about what is next for me - maybe there is something here.  If not, perhaps I can enjoy playing some very cool games and seeing my boys do the same.

Finally, I'm tightening my timeline for making a decision as to keep the Vive or not.  At the end of this weekend, I'll be pulling out my credit card, or I'll be listing one very lightly used Vive on Craigslist.  I'll keep you updated.