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I had previously ignored all this VR stuff but I had a go on an Oculus Quest 2 recently and it compeletely blew my mind, just the demo/tutorial when it takes yo

I had previously ignored all this VR stuff but I had a go on an Oculus Quest 2 recently and it compeletely blew my mind, just the demo/tutorial when it takes you through the basics. And I know we all hate Zuck or whatever but the Quest 2 is half the price of an iPad (more or less). Its the most amazing experience I've had with a bit of consumer technology since my first smartphone. And so now I'm seeing how they've really finessed the VR experience in the last 5 years: - fast framerate - track hands for natural hand manipulations - room scale movements (moving around in a small area) - avoid nausea by keeping to the wearers natural movements as much as possible (no 'walking around' using a joystick, its better to teleport) - this means a lot of the best games/experience involve standing still or fairly still - e.g. Beat Saber (which is awesome btw) So this redirected walking is trying to use subtle tricks to make the players room scale movements take them further.

dougmwne 5y ago
The Quest 2 is a marvel. My first VR headset and I have found so many ah-ha moments. Facebook reportedly has 20% of the company working on VR and AR, 10,000 employees. They are all in. Key moments I've had: When it's on you're head, your mentally there. The immersive impact is immediate and strong enough that you'll bash your lamp off the table and not even care. It's the end game of what every home theater, hi-fi audio system, high end gaming setup is trying to do, just done immediately and with no buy-in needed on your side. Fitness is already a killer app. Get into a boxing match and your body will react like you are in an actual fight. You'll go so hard you can easily hurt yourself. No motivation needed on your end. Social interactions are close enough to real life that you treat people like humans instead of Twitter ragers. Once face and eye tracking are added, it will quickly top video conferencing as the most personal way to communicate at a distance. Media consumption is awesome. A movie theater in a box, complete with digital popcorn. Productivity and apps have interesting potential. With hand tracking and multiple wall sized screens, it's already tantalizing close to the computers in Minority Report. Gaming is extremely compelling. The immersion means instant fun. Play table tennis and you might forget it's not the real thing. Experiences. Stand on Mars. Go to a foreign city. Get on a roller coaster when you are deathly afraid. Stand on top of a mountain you could never climb. The "thereness" will mean you have experienced it in an important way. This seems like a product category that will have some impressive developments over the next 10 years. In its best moments, it is as compelling as the Star Trek Holodeck.

dougmwne 5y ago

The Quest 2 is a marvel. My first VR headset and I have found so many ah-ha moments. Facebook reportedly has 20% of the company working on VR and AR, 10,000 employees. They are all in. Key moments I've had: When it's on you're head, your mentally there. The immersive impact is immediate and strong enough that you'll bash your lamp off the table and not even care. It's the end game of what every home theater, hi-fi audio system, high end gaming setup is trying to do, just done immediately and with no buy-in needed on your side. Fitness is already a killer app. Get into a boxing match and your body will react like you are in an actual fight. You'll go so hard you can easily hurt yourself. No motivation needed on your end. Social interactions are close enough to real life that you treat people like humans instead of Twitter ragers. Once face and eye tracking are added, it will quickly top video conferencing as the most personal way to communicate at a distance. Media consumption is awesome. A movie theater in a box, complete with digital popcorn. Productivity and apps have interesting potential. With hand tracking and multiple wall sized screens, it's already tantalizing close to the computers in Minority Report. Gaming is extremely compelling. The immersion means instant fun. Play table tennis and you might forget it's not the real thing. Experiences. Stand on Mars. Go to a foreign city. Get on a roller coaster when you are deathly afraid. Stand on top of a mountain you could never climb. The "thereness" will mean you have experienced it in an important way. This seems like a product category that will have some impressive developments over the next 10 years. In its best moments, it is as compelling as the Star Trek Holodeck.