Video Games Helping People Walk

No, I'm not about to make a jokey post about so called "lazy gamers" being forced outside by recent mobile hit Pokemon Go but instead I'm going to quickly talk about something amazing I found about a week ago regarding VR and medical science.

Apparently the deal is people are using VR and some other apparatus in order to help paraplegics gain some function back in their legs.  Of course its not just a case of shoving them into the occulus and then BAM PRESTO they can walk again, but some steps have been made for these people to regain some control and improve their quality of life.

For the original story please check it out at this link
http://qz.com/757516/paraplegics-are-learning-to-walk-again-with-virtual-reality/

I feel its important to point out stories like this because all too often games are demonized for shit that isn't inherently their fault.  Let's face it, the Oculus was designed in order to be the leap in gaming but here are a bunch of people adapting it in order to do some really good stuff.  One quick google search on this story shows that there aren't any modern gaming outlets reporting this story, probably because they are too busy writing about made up controversy for clicks.

Hopefully VR will not only change gaming for the better but will find itself being used for all sorts of good stuff like this, it's quite the invention.

Thoughts on VR

So last weekend as I was going through the Steam listings like I do every damn day, I found a whole bunch of new VR releases.  So I guess that means that VR is starting to hit some kind of stride now.  Of course I don't own one of these things yet, although I have tried the Occulus a few times so I thought I'd just take a little bit of time to talk about VR as a concept.

On paper VR sounds really fucking cool.  The idea of being completely immersed in a game experience, actually getting that feeling of being IN the game, sounds amazing.  This isn't a new idea but the last time someone tried it the technology just wasn't anywhere near where it needed to be and it ended up sucking really hard.

Although that was 1995 and now we're in 2015 so shit is way better than that red and black sack of shit.  I've not actually played a game in VR yet, which is a shame.  My current experience consists entirely of being on impossible roller coasters and it was an impressive experience to say the least.  I'm terrified of real roller coasters and these demos did give me similar sensations although I wasn't screaming like a little bitch because I was still very much aware I was just sat in a chair in a shop front.

That said, there's a potential here for things to be really great once developers get their head round everything.  Obvious applications involve things like FPS games where the motion sensors can give you real freedom to move around and shoot things.  What I'm holding out for though is a real good horror game and I'm not just talking shitty "BOO! VR JUMPSCARE!" stuff, I mean real immersive, Silent Hill 2 level shit.  Other interesting ideas could be things like first person dungeon crawls or games that involve piloting a mech or something.  I'd love to play a game where you take the headset off and maintain/improve your robot just using a regular mouse/keyboard/screen setup but when you have to go on a mission or whatever you slam that headset on and pilot it using those weird motion controller things.  It would actually feel like your suiting up and getting in your bot, it would be pretty sick.

There are two big problems though I have with VR as a concept right now.  Not a single game that I've seen actually seems to have any substance to it.  It's all just fucking gimmicky bullshit and even if I had the headset I don't know if I could bring myself to buy any of the available titles.  That said, I'm sure this is a problem that's being caused by the age of the damn thing, once developers get used to developing for it I'm sure there will be some really cool games. 

The other thing that turns me off though is the goddamn price point.  One thing I noticed on Steam is that most of the games seemed to be compatible with the HTC Vive which is pictured at the top of this post.  So of course I look the thing up thinking that maybe I'll buy one and...

holy shit, $1000?!  When everything right now seems to be trumped up tech demos $1000 is a lot to ask for.  I'm sure there are plenty of people who have been waiting for for VR for a long time so the price point wasn't too big a deal but for normal folks like me, holy cow.

Still, as time goes on the games will get better and the tech will probably get cheaper.  I for one and looking forward to seeing where this all goes.  Nothing well ever beat just relaxing in a nice chair and chilling with a video game but the world of VR is absolutely worth keeping an eye on.

Finally Tried The Oculus

So today I was walking around town doing some retro game shopping (video incoming) when I discovered a building that was running some Oculus Rift demos for people to just line up and try out.  At the time me and my group were fucking starving but of course we put that aside to test out some VR goodness.

For those that don't know, the Oculus Rift is a VR headset type thing and it's being used to do all sorts of cool gaming shit with.  Think the Virtual Boy but with some really good displays instead of just some red and black faux 3D bullshit going on.  It also doesn't give you nasty headaches after a short time of use or at least not to my knowledge.

The demo that I was able to try today wasn't a game as such more like a little first person movie of a roller coaster.  The roller coaster wasn't just any kind of roller coaster though, it was impossibly high and did all sorts of weird twists and turns that would kill you if put into a real coaster. 

Before I continue I would just like to say that I have a fear of heights and therefore I dislike roller coasters greatly.  When I was lining up to try the thing I could feel myself getting nervous despite that fact that I knew it was just a wooden chair in a dark room.  Just to give you a good idea of how bad I am, last time I went to Universal Studios Japan I freaked my shit on the Snoopy themed roller coaster designed for children, it's not good.

Anyway, I put the Rift on feeling only slightly apprehensive and I was met with a view of the coaster making it's climb.  I could turn my head and view the surroundings which was really cool and as it got to the top I got that same feeling in my chest that I get when I ride the real thing.  I found myself grabbing the chair pretty tightly despite the fact that I knew it wasn't real.  Once it started to fall the feeling subsided and it was a good bit of fun but I thought the fact that it was able to get that kind of response out of me pretty amazing.  At the end of the ride the coaster flies off a slope where the guy showcasing the demo then runs behind you and rocks your chair back to simulate the feeling.  I freaked out a little there more because I felt like I was going to fall off rather than the feeling caused by the rift.

Still though, if this is VR in it's early stages then things are going to get really good when the thing is released to the public.  Playing a horror game or a First Person Shooter in this thing will be mind blowingly fun and I can't wait to try.  If VR really is the future then sign me up!

Facebook Buys Oculus

Jesus H. Christ, when did the internet last flip out about something this hard? It's been a while, but people have every right to be upset in the light of recent events.

So to sum up the tragedy that has just happened; Facebook has bought Oculus for 2 billion Dollars.

Now just in case there are people reading this post who aren't in the know, the Oculus was a Virtual Reality headset that was open source.  This means that anyone was free to go on their website and purchase a devkit and start developing things for it.  This was really interesting because the rift devkit itself was actually pretty cheap, which means that the thing was being worked on by hobbyists and enthusiasts and there was lots of really interesting stuff in the works.

Now, there are some hopeful people on various forums and comments sections that I've seen saying that it's a good thing because now the Oculus has way WAYYYY more funding.  Considering that they were only a small operation this injection of money will be really helpful for them to make the rift even better.

But I think these people are being wilfully ignorant to all the terrible things we already know about the Facebook company.  Just think about that for 2 seconds, we had a product made by a small company that was dedicated to delivering a quality product, being bought out by a huge company who's ONLY focus is monetization.  Now that Oculus is part of Facebook it has to start dealing with shareholders who are only interested in one thing, profits.  That means no new and interesting ideas, just safe shit that will turn a profit which means that a lot of the creativity that was coming out of the Oculus will now be killed.

I could write a big long post about all the terrible things that come with this kind of deal, but I won't because that would take all day and anyone with a working brain probably already understands all the negatives. 

A piece of cutting edge hardware that was once in the hands of gamers and technology enthusiasts now belongs to Facebook and if you don't see something seriously wrong with that then you may just need some kind of professional help.