Mobility is a huge problem that needs to be solved. Until then, VR will be a peripheral like the Kinect, great for one-off interactive experiences involving your full body... but never able to deliver truly transformational gameplay.
Mobility is a huge problem that needs to be solved. Until then, VR will be a peripheral like the Kinect, great for one-off interactive experiences involving your full body... but never able to deliver truly transformational gameplay.
Disagree with this strongly.
VR brings realistic physical motion skills in to replace thumb-twiddling on controllers. When I play VR table tennis I am exercising my gross motor skills. It is a 100% different experience and type of skill acquisition to anything you will get from flat gaming. There are actually pro table tennis players who now train in VR because it is so realistic and of course they can fine tune to the nth degree what they want to work on. Alternatively, games like Space Pirates have you literally swaying and ducking bullets coming at you in 3d space. There is no comparison at all to me moving a joystick to achieve the same thing.
Mobility was solved with untethered devices. Just put it on and start playing immediately. No dedicated area required.
VR gameplay isn't remotely comparable. Perhaps it's due to VR linking us with our real-life limitations. In real-life, I doubt many untrained people can turn 90 or 180 degrees, raise a rifle, sight in, and fire accurately in a under a second.
I'm not saying there aren't great VR games but VR doesn't appear to add new elements to the genres or gameplay beyond "now try this without an accurate mouse/keyboard/controller" or "you can now see a virtual representation of your hands... and use them to awkwardly manipulate the environment".
When you say "Blaston.. (provides).. gameplay that would not be possible in another medium", I think that's what you're referring to.. the awkward manipulation of the environment. Blaston is a very simple 3D game that absolutely could be played without VR but wouldn't be nearly as goofy and fun. Perhaps that's it, perhaps the "akwardly manipulating/traversing the environment" is the unique gameplay that VR adds (similar to Kinect). The human element I guess you could say.
It seems as though the trade-off is a boost in immersion for a simultaneous reduction in game and gameplay complexity.
Blaston and Superhot on the other hand tie you to the same physical boundaries you're actually in and make me feel like I'm actually in the game. I dodge bullets by stepping aside or crouching. I physically aim to land that headshot.
Even though the graphics are simple it feels more realistic since my maneuvers represent what I can actually do with my body in real life.
I think the key is to accept that you can never be the John Wick you are in regular games and add some unique mechanics utilizing the restrictions. Superhot has the slow motion which makes you feel like you're in the Matrix when pulling off good moves and Blaston has a really cool gun gameplay (having to balance picking up guns, firing, throwing and dodging simultaneously) and the intensity of standing right next to another player trying to shoot you in the face.
Blaston has also managed to capture gestures in a great way and there's a meta game for greeting (waving, bowing), praising (thumbs up, clapping hands), doing GG (bumping fists with the other player) etc so the other person feels really alive. That's something novel I haven't experienced before.
It's 100% a trade-off though with the core gameplay always being inferior due to the limitations. Game developers really need to work around that fact not to end up just making a bleak copy of a "real" game. It's also probably a different target audience since it should produce different types of games if done right. Kinect is not a bad comparison but I think the potential of VR is much greater.
You have absolutely nothing like that in the non-VR space. Being able to physically swing weapons is night and day vs clicking a mouse. Picking up a bad guy and throwing him, etc.
Also, in some FPS type games (like paintball, or Battle Dome).. being able to literally peak around corners is a game changer for the feeling of immersion and it makes a huge gameplay difference.
Finally.. Climby! Being able to have a climbing simulator that you are really using your hands/arms and having a feeling of vertigo. You don't get that with keyboard/mouse & 2d.