CSA Online Oculus Rift $599 USD Oculus.com Stepping up to a dedicated VR viewer, the experience is much more immersive. The Oculus systemplugs into your computer (desktop or laptop) and is a more self-contained system. It’s also much, much more powerful. Oculus has a game-developer community already in full swing, creating content for this VR wunderkind. Roller-coaster demos that feel almost too real are just the beginning. The Oculus Rift promises an immersive, but mostly seated, VR experience. You’re looking at a video game that’s experienced rather than simply played. HTC Vive $1,149 USD htcvive.com This is the single best VR experience available today. It requires some setup, some space and a powerful PC to run the show but, for that investment, you are at the absolute forefront of VR. Where other VR experiences track to the movements of your head, the experience which the Vive offers is some next-level stuff; not only can you turn through 360°, you can also physically move in the game space. You’ll need a little space to spread out; find a place for each of the two cameras/spatially aware sensors and strap on the headset that is the heart of the system. In each hand, hold one of the two tracked game controllers. Fire up a game and you’re transported into whatever world you choose. The orientation session, in which you learn how the controllers work, is an eye-opener. It really does feel as if you’re in a different world. Physical movements are tracked and instantly translated into the virtual world. Walk to a point in space and you move just as fluidly in the game space. Hold one of the controllers up to your face and see a perfect virtual representation move exactly as you expect. In a game, rather than a slightly strange-looking piece of plastic, you’ll see a sword, a bow, a hammer, a paddle or whatever the game world requires. Games and virtual experiences are many. A personal favourite: Vanishing Realms (vanishingrealms.com), where you explore a very real-feeling virtual world and search for clues to solve in-game puzzles. Along the way, find new items such as keys to open locked doors, swords and shields to fight visceral battles with skeletal bad guys, a bow that sees you ducking for cover while looking for the perfect opportunity to fire off a well-placed arrow. While the experience that each of these VR experiences offers is hard to properly put into words, HTC’s Vive specifically would demand more words than the whole CSA Online column affords…and I still wouldn’t do it justice. This is a “gotta see it to believe it” thing. Samsung VR $139 USD samsung.com/gearvr If you have a recent Samsung Galaxy smartphone (S6, Note 5 or S7), there’s a sort of halfway point between Google Cardboard and a full VR rig such as the Oculus Rift or the Steam/HTC Vive (which we’ll talk about in a second). Snap your Samsung Galaxy S6, S6 Edge, Note 5, S7 or S7 Edge in to the port on the front of this light weight headset and you’re ready to experience a bunch of immersive 3D games and movie experiences. For games, use the directional touchpad on the side of the headset or pair a Bluetooth gamepad to interact and move your head to look around. There are more than enough games and movies to justify the relatively small expense (again, assuming that you already have a compatible phone ). Here, you’ll find gems like a Cirque du Soleil experience that puts you right in the front row of a Cirque show that feels as if it’s being put on just for you. If you have any doubt that the show is being staged for your benefit alone, just turn 180° and take a look at the empty seats behind you. CSANews | SUMMER 2016 | 45
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MzMzNzMx