HTC Vive, Standing On Its Own as a Great VR Setup
With the release of both the Oculus Rift and HTC’s Vive headset, the VR market is alive and well and only set to grow when Sony’s PlayStation VR drops in October. While it seems like Oculus Rift has gotten most of the attention, COG was recently invited to give the HTC Vive a whirl. After playing a handful of games on the VR device we think it deserves just a bit more attention. COG’s own Ahmed Mohamed tackled the world of HTC Vive VR, and we can safely say he was impressed.
It was my first time using a virtual reality headset, and I came out both impressed and excited for what VR is now and what it can be in a few years. I got the chance to try out four titles while using the headset and the motion controllers with three base stations set up around the room to track motion.
Starting off with an underwater experience called TheBlu: The Encounter, I was standing on a derelict ship as schools of fish and stingrays floated by. The audio immersion surprisingly played a larger role than I thought, with the muffled sounds of the sea pouring into my ears. Although being my first time, I didn’t have the surreal moment many have talked about when first trying a VR headset. That was until a skyscraper sized whale floated behind me, and I turned around. At first I didn’t react, until I analyzed just how lifelike and large it was. That’s when I felt a little uneasy, the entire purpose of the whale, and started to understand the hype surrounding virtual reality. I can’t imagine how nerve wracking a horror game experience would be with Vive VR due to the ridiculous level of immersion of the tracking, motion controls, headset, and headphones combination.
The second title, created by Google, is called Tilt Brush. The demo puts you in a space – and you can change the setting – and simply lets you move the motion controllers around to create art. This is the demo that truly exhibits what is essentially one-to-one movement. I tried hard to focus and could discern no input lag in my bodily actions translating to what was happening in the VR space. It’s cool to draw in front of you, but it was even more impressive when I swooped over my head while holding the trigger. I could duck below the paint I was drawing with, as well as analyze the 3D art from every angle by simply walking around the space. The nature of the 3D environments and the motion tracking allow for this type of experience and HTC might have the upper hand to its competitors in that department. There are several options within Tilt Brush like the ability to change the color of your brush and its material, the environment you are standing in, and visual effects among other things.
I moved on to a VR shoot ‘em up called The Lab: Xortex. I was tasked with firing projectiles at robotic enemies while dodging their shots by ducking or moving aside. There was a tactical nature to both focusing on enemy spawns and making sure not to get hit, as one shot means game over. In virtual reality the stakes are higher, as enemies can spawn outside of your peripheral view, forcing you to physically move your head and actually look around on every axis. And in that is where virtual reality can evolve what we know as gameplay. Focusing on what makes it unique, meaning the tech itself, and using that to its advantage.
Finally, the title that showcased every mechanic, was Space Pirate Trainer. It takes place in a 3D space on a tower overlooking a city wherein drone targets swoop up into view and fire at you. The twist is that the player can switch between a shield and a gun. You can dual wield 2 guns and hope to dodge bullets by moving your body, or, as I did, you can equip a shield on one hand and hold it up on one side while focusing fire on another drone. The game keeps track of your score as more and more waves of drones are sent your way.
Throughout my demo I was constantly reminded about how serious the VR initiative is. To re-iterate again, this is no gimmick. The HTC Vive delivers on what a virtual reality experience should feel, sound, and play like. How this translates to bigger and more prominent titles will be interesting, as well as how VR exclusive games utilize the technology to get the most out of it. While my current rig isn’t powerful enough to run the HTC Vive, the tracking and motion controls advantage it has over its competitors is enticing and has me considering a new PC build. HTC may well succeed due to sheer quality but, as with the demos I tried, the games have to continue to capitalize on actually being in virtual reality.