Imagine you are in an ancient temple with an idol in front of you. You decide to take the idol and the moment you do it, 3 demon monkeys appear out of thin air and they don’t look happy at all. They make scary noises and you make a run for it. As you are running away from them, you hear noises. If you turn back, there is a huge demon monkey chasing you to get the idol back. If you are wondering what I am talking about, it is the starting scene of Temple Run VR. It looks like it will be a lot of fun to play this game from this perspective. Dota 2, another popular PC game has a VR version where you can enjoy the world of Dota. You can watch live matches, replays, and streams where everything is in full scale. Every big company is investing in VR, so you would be wondering, what’s going on? Why is it such a big deal? Is this the future of gaming? 

Looking back? Not recommended in VR 

What’s the difference?

Traditional games are games played on consoles or PC’s are beautifully crafted. They are well thought out and the attention to detail is absolutely mind-blowing. The games have hundreds of hours of gameplay and the storyline is amazing. There are a large number of games to choose from and each one offers a different experience. You have First Person Shooter and Third Person Shooter games to make the games immersive. It looks like these games have covered every aspect properly.

However, it isn’t immersive enough for you to get completely involved in the game. You always feel like the real-life experience is lacking and this is where VR comes into play. It fills the void that has always been there, it gives you the complete immersive feel. When you put the headset on, you feel like you’ve been transported to another dimension. It doesn’t feel like your bedroom anymore, even though you are exactly in the same place. You look around and all you can see is the artificial world. That’s the difference between a traditional game and a VR game.

Lone Echo, A space VR game 

Why is it such a big deal?

It has been everyone’s childhood dream to be Batman, Superman, Flash, or any other superhero. You always wanted to know what it feels like to be in their shoes. With the release of VR headsets and games, it seems like you will finally get to live that dream. Virtual Reality, or simply, VR, offers a mesmerizing experience and by this, I mean that you can interact with the objects in the virtual world or if you look around, it feels like the artificial world has become your temporary reality. It truly showcases the power of technology. Imagine playing games like Assassins Creed, GTA, Red Dead Redemption, and Skyrim where you are the protagonist. You will feel like you are in the midst of the action and you will get lost in the moment. Experiencing this will be something else. You might be sitting in a safe place but at that moment, you will feel like you are in another place. That’s how powerful VR can be.

I’m Batman 

The problems with VR

Nothing is perfect. Even though there is so much to look forward to, it has drawbacks which need to be dealt with as soon as possible. Some of these issues can hamper the growth of VR if left unattended.

  • The biggest drawback is motion sickness. If you happen to suffer from this, using VR will leave you feeling sick and nauseous quickly, although it is recommended to take a 15-minute break after 30 minutes of gaming even if you don’t require it. There is development going on in this area to overcome this major setback
  • Disorientation is another setback. You would have seen funny videos online of people falling down when pushed from the back while strapped on the VR headset. As hilarious as it may seem, the immersive nature of VR is a double edged sword.
  • The cost of obtaining VR headsets and bundles is very high. This means that a majority of the consumers won’t purchase them until the price comes down. For this to happen, it will take a while for headsets to become cheaper to produce.
  • You need high-end processors and graphics card to run VR. They are very expensive and coupled with the rest of the components, it would add up to more than a thousand dollars. Not only is it expensive, it is out of reach for a majority of the population as the current hardware they possess isn’t powerful enough for a lag-free experience.

Is it the future?

Yes, in fact, it looks like it is the future of gaming. It might not seem like it right now, but in a couple of years, it’ll definitely reach levels you couldn’t possibly imagine. Here’s a scenario to show you what can happen one day. You are Batman and you’re on top of The Wayne Tower. You see Joker harassing innocent civilians in a nearby park. You jump off the tower and glide your way towards Joker and catch him by surprise by attacking him from the sky. At that moment, Bane appears out of nowhere and charges at you. Just thinking about it can give you goosebumps. Virtual Reality games have a lot of catching up to do reach where traditional video games are at right now. VR may have come out of its infant stages, but it is still developing. There are a lot of bugs which need to be ironed out to make the experience enriching. The possibility of being able to visit a different world in the comfort of your living room or bedroom sounds like a fantasy which will soon become a reality. It might take a while to get there but it will definitely be worth the wait.