2012 may be the year that marks the beginning of the future
for virtual reality gaming. It was the year that the Kickstarter project for
the Oculus Rift was successfully funded with almost $2.5 million raised in the
time that the project was running. The Rift is a head mounted virtual reality
headset that can make you feel like you are experiencing a game or movie
instead of just watching it.
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| www.oculusvr.com |
The Rift is the first product that will allow for a new type
of game to be played. One where you interact with the real world but with a
game interface injected into it through a suitable wearable display. Imagine chasing
your friends with your hand in the shape of a gun and through your headset you
see lasers shoot from your fingertip.
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| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holodeck |
Though new experiences can be had through wearable technology like the Rift, this is just the beginning. The Star Trek reality is looking closer every day. One where you can load up your favourite program on the Holodeck and interact with the world around you. Although the future of augmented reality gaming looks bright, I may be getting ahead of myself. Let’s look at where we stand today.
The ‘finger laser tag’ idea is a good example of what is
possible with technology today. A head mounted display and something to do the
processing like a smart phone is all you would need. You can also have the
scene projected towards yourself instead of outwards. With the release of
current generation gaming consoles like the PlayStation 4 and its add-on camera
accessory you can create your own augmented reality scene.
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| www.apptoyz/shop/appblasterv2/ |
At the time of writing the Oculus Rift is
only available to developers and is not yet realized for public use. Luckily
there is something else you can use for augmented reality and it’s something almost
everyone has, your smartphone. The appBlaster is a cool product that already
exists allowing you to experience augmented reality. You run their app on your
phone and mount it to their gun using the phone as a display.
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| https://www.google.com/glass/start/ |
Google
is also contributing to the augmented reality scene with Google Glass. Glass is
another head mounted display that has a display that sits off to the corner of
your vision. Google Glass isn’t designed to be a gaming device, however its form
factor is closer to what a future augmented reality headset would be like. The
future of augmented reality gaming is moving the display into the glasses lens
itself, removing any socially awkward stigma wearing a clunky box on your head.
The display could even move into the lens of contact lenses or a very sci-fi inspired
implant, removing the need for anything external at all.
We really are moving towards a future of interacting with the real world. Instead of sitting on a couch talking through a headset to your friends you could meet up with them in the park and play a game of finger laser tag.
The future of augmented and virtual reality is exciting. It
becomes more seamless all the time. With many companies jumping on board it’s
actually moving its way from the enthusiast to the average person. Removing
barriers to entry is the key to augmented reality gaming catching on. Maybe one
day we will see the Holodeck become a reality.
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by Sean McParland
- -
by Sean McParland
References
Ive heard about Oculus Vr a lot. This a epochal invention. This is only a start. In 2020, we can see farther
ReplyDeleteThere is a prospect for the virtual reality market
http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/24/5542272/the-oculus-rift-will-control-the-future-of-vr-and-thats-just-fine-by
It seems like a lot of people are jumping on the bandwagon. Everyone's making their own prototype
ReplyDeletehttp://bitcortex.com/oculus-libre-open-source-hmd-inspired-by-oculus-rift/