I S VR THE FUTURE OF GAMING?

IT’S HAD A STRONG CAN IT OPENING, BUT POSITION SHORE UP ITS AS THE FRONTLINE INNOVATION? OF

“While VR is an exciting platform that offers the potential for more immersive experiences, we’re still some way off it being the radical change that many people have suggested it would be over the past couple of years,” says Creative Assembly technical art director Jodie Azhar, and we have to agree. While we’ve enjoyed a lot of the output on PSVR, HTC Vive and Oculus Rift in particular, nothing in the VR space has struck us as truly essential just yet. But change could be coming.

“I believe immersive realities generally will turn the existing traditions of interactive entertainment on its head,” insists Terra Virtua CEO Gary Bracey. “It might take a year or two, but undoubtedly a whole new genre will be created, offering more accessibility to the many who don’t yet play ‘proper’ video games.”

So what’s been getting in the way of this happening so far? What are the last wrinkles that need ironing out? “There are a few reasons for this, such as price point — VR headsets are still expensive for the average consumer; health and safety — there’s still a big issue with nausea and eye strain; discomfort — most headsets are quite bulky, and people don’t want to wear them for extended periods of time,” points out Azhar. “I’m excited about the possibilities for what VR can offer once these issues have been tackled, but until we make these breakthroughs, I think we’re going to continue seeing a slowdown in the appeal for VR in games in the near future.”

Bracey thinks that a largely untapped aspect of VR might still provide a breakthrough, though. “Another reason VR has so much potential is because it combines both traditional gaming and aspects of social media. Now that VR hardware is reaching a point where it is no longer so cumbersome, players can experience incredibly rich digital worlds while interacting with people in their neighbourhood or across the world. The possibilities are exciting, and only limited by our imaginations.”