VR has long been pegged as the future of gaming, and in recent years, it has taken leaps and bounds in the field of gaming, entertainment, and even social interaction. Not only have we seen massive jumps in VR technology lately, but also glimpses into where the medium is going in a short period of time.
Here is how VR is boosting the current game environment and where it’s likely headed in the future.
VR Fitness
The COVID-19 pandemic and the enforced closure of gyms and fitness centers spurred growth in VR fitness. Thanks to the pandemic, the fitness aspect of gaming finally has been realized, and with that comes the reduction of a sedentary lifestyle as well as the promotion of good physical health.
In fact, several of the most popular apps on the Oculus store are specifically designed for fitness. These include Supernatural, FitXR, The Climb and its sequel The Climb 2, and the indoor bike-focused VZFit.
Sense of Self in the Virtual World
For decades now, there have been online avatars of many kinds as well as games that give you the ability to create your own character and customize your appearance, but never before have we been able to put our actual selves into the virtual world.
Meta recognizes this by pouring millions into the development of more realistic avatars. The company is researching eye-tracking to make eye movement more realistic, and facial expression tracking so virtual faces can show more emotion.
Overcoming Phobias
VR has been a tool not only for gaming but also for psychological conditions like phobias as well. As someone who is not a huge fan of heights myself, playing VR games where you climb sheer cliffs, or jump from tall buildings has slowly helped me get over my aversion to heights, which was a very unexpected but awesome side effect of my time with VR. In fact, VR technology is being used in clinical settings to treat phobias.
Introducing Realism to Games
The concept of realism has been a big one in games of late, and many gamers and critics love to center on how realistic a game is at points. With VR, there are obviously games that stretch the imagination, such as Skyrim VR, but then there are games that are harrowingly realistic, such as Half-Life: Alyx with its accurate hand tracking down to individual fingers. These games have some of the best graphics you’ll ever see, and experiencing them in VR is both a fascinating and chilling experience. Likewise, the physics system in Blade and Sorcery produces some incredibly realistic and gory melee combat that has become a standard for melee combat in VR games going forward.
What to Expect From the Future of VR and AR integration Going Forward
Right now, VR is still technically in its infancy, but its progression will be far faster than that of console games, and one of the reasons why is a headset like the Varjo XR3. This headset is a fortune to buy, but it integrates AR technology in a way we haven’t seen before. It creates a sense of presence through the use of ultra-clear visuals and an impressive sense of scale alongside a wider field of vision than most headsets are capable of.
This immersion will lend itself not only to gaming but to other fields ranging from medical diagnosis and surgery to combat training and beyond. Unlike any headset out there, you can mentally feel people in the room with you when you use this headset, and the result is both terrifying and amazing to witness.
Headsets like the Varjo XR3 will soon become more affordable as the genre grows, and with it will come a more immersive virtual experience than the world has ever seen. We can expect things like AR-based games, where your house or apartment will itself become a game level, as we’ve seen already in several Sidequest games, and we will also start to see the integration of VR headsets in public, creating AR worlds for people to walk around in if they so choose.
Into the Metaverse
There has been tons of talk about the Metaverse of late, and while many platforms are already created, only VR will truly take this concept to the next level. Currently. Meta Horizons lets you jump into the Metaverse and see what it’s all about, and while it’s clearly still in an early phase, being able to interact with others in a virtual universe is something that only VR can bring to you and with the quickly improving VR tech like what is available with the Varjo headsets, you will soon be able to have a conversation with someone in VR and have it feel like they’re actually in person with you.
In Conclusion
Ready or not, VR is slowly marching towards its destiny as the new gaming standard, and with all of the fascinating technology on its way, we’ll be saying Ready Player One before you know it.
