Polygon - Virtual reality makes a splash at GDC 2014https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/42931/favicon.ico2014-03-24T13:00:05-04:00http://www.polygon.com/rss/stream/52911392014-03-24T13:00:05-04:002014-03-24T13:00:05-04:00The Oculus Rift will control the future of VR, and that's just fine by Sony
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<p>Sony is in a good place when it comes to virtual reality.</p>
<p>The company has a long history of creating high-quality displays, and Project Morpheus, the virtual reality platform Sony showed at GDC, <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/1/10/5296908/sony-hmz-t3-head-tracking-prototype-oculus-rift">won’t even be its first head-mounted offering</a>. Sony's <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/19/5526966/project-morpheus-sonys-playstation-4-virtual-reality-helmet-is-much">hardware and software </a><a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/19/5526966/project-morpheus-sonys-playstation-4-virtual-reality-helmet-is-much">demos</a><a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/19/5526966/project-morpheus-sonys-playstation-4-virtual-reality-helmet-is-much"> </a>compared favorably <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/19/5524336/new-oculus-rift-dev-kit-price-july">to the Oculus Rift development kit 2</a>, and the PlayStation 4 is leading the next-generation sales race, not to mention the hardware is demonstrably more powerful than the Xbox One. Speed and power are important when it comes to rendering a scene in virtual reality with the necessary high frame rate.</p>
<p>It goes even deeper than that, however. Every Dual Shock 4 can be paired with <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/20/5531280/blame-the-popularity-of-twitch-for-the-lack-of-ps4-cameras">the now-rare PlayStation camera</a> to create a controller that supports...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/24/5542272/the-oculus-rift-will-control-the-future-of-vr-and-thats-just-fine-by">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/24/5542272/the-oculus-rift-will-control-the-future-of-vr-and-thats-just-fine-byBen Kuchera2014-03-24T09:30:01-04:002014-03-24T09:30:01-04:00Sony looks to the 'social screen' to make virtual reality popular
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<p>One of the keys to launching a successful virtual reality headset is to turn the isolating technology into a social experience, said Shuhei Yoshida, head of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios.</p>
<p><span>Last week, Yoshida </span><a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/18/5524058/playstation-vr-ps4-virtual-reality" target="_blank">unveiled Sony's Project Morpheus</a><span> during the </span><a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/17/5518910/gdc-2014-panels-announcements-and-more-live-from-san-francisco" target="_blank">Game Developers Conference</a><span> in San Francisco. Project Morpheus is a virtual reality headset that rests on a user's head and slips onto their face like ski goggles or a snorkel mask. Inside the mask is a single high definition screen that displays a view of a virtual world. Tracking technology allows the user to look around by moving their head. The still-experimental device is designed to plug into a PlayStation 4.</span></p>
<p>While Project Morpheus isn't <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/19/5524418/why-oculus-is-hoping-that-sonys-project-morpheus-headset-delivers-a" target="_blank">the first functioning virtual...</a></p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/24/5541818/project-morpheus-second-screen-ps4">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/24/5541818/project-morpheus-second-screen-ps4Brian Crecente2014-03-21T14:00:02-04:002014-03-21T14:00:02-04:00Eve: Valkyrie is a Rift exclusive, a PlayStation 4 exclusive and an amazing ride
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<p><i><a href="/game/eve-valkyrie/14592%E2%80%8E" class="sbn-auto-link">Eve: Valkyrie</a></i> throws you into the game in a way that's more Disney World than <i>Battlestar Galactica.</i></p>
<p>You begin in the cockpit of your ship, and you can look around, check out the controls, and even lean forward to get a closer look at the instruments now that positional tracking has been added to the Oculus Rift development kit and the game itself. <i>Valkyrie</i> is one of the prettiest virtual reality games on display at GDC, and the sense of actually... too late. The alarms begin to ring in your ears.</p>
<p>The moment you get comfortable inside the ship, the battle itself begins. The alarms sound; the ship you're inside spits you out a long tunnel and into space. And space is much more crowded in the latest version of the game: There are...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/21/5531820/eve-valkyrie-is-a-rift-exclusive-a-playstation-4-exclusive-and-an">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/21/5531820/eve-valkyrie-is-a-rift-exclusive-a-playstation-4-exclusive-and-anBen Kuchera2014-03-21T13:00:01-04:002014-03-21T13:00:01-04:00The evolution of the virtual soldier: Hands-on with the latest version of the Virtuix Omni
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<p><a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/19/5527098/vr-headsets-oculus-morpheus">Every piece of virtual reality equipment</a> that I’ve seen at GDC this year requires a certain amount of faith that the problems with the current version will be fixed before release.</p>
<p>In the case of the <a href="http://www.virtuix.com/" target="_blank">Virtuix Omni</a>, a sort of virtual reality treadmill, the issues include a harness that's awkward to put on and take off. It takes a few minutes for one of the company's representatives to get me strapped into the machine, but I was promised this issue was temporary.</p>
<p>"I regret that we don't have a new belt at the show. This is still a prototype belt. It's functional, but not comfortable, it's not good-looking, it's not ergonomic," Virtuix CEO Jan Goetgeluk told Polygon. The final version would be like a wind-surfer's harness: padded and easy...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/21/5530264/the-evolution-of-the-virtual-soldier-hands-on-with-the-latest-version">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/21/5530264/the-evolution-of-the-virtual-soldier-hands-on-with-the-latest-versionBen Kuchera2014-03-20T15:30:02-04:002014-03-20T15:30:02-04:00World of Diving is an open, relaxing foray into virtual reality SCUBA diving
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<p>I was underwater the first time someone at the Game Developers Conference asked me to take a selfie. </p>
<p>During my demo of <a target="_blank" href="http://divegame.net/">World of Diving</a>, an upcoming title that offers procedurally generated environments and social SCUBA diving, the developer showed me how to detach my camera from my diver's body, and I was able to swim around and take a picture of "myself" in front of an underwater statue.</p>
<p>The camera is an in-game item, and you have to bring it up to your virtual eyes and use the viewfinder to take images during the game's missions. We were in the middle of a mission that involved turtle photography, which is more interesting in person than it sounds on paper.</p>
<h3>Multiplayer exploration and photography</h3>
<p>You see much of your body while...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/20/5529780/world-of-diving-is-an-open-relaxing-foray-into-virtual-reality-scuba">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/20/5529780/world-of-diving-is-an-open-relaxing-foray-into-virtual-reality-scubaBen Kuchera2014-03-19T16:18:17-04:002014-03-19T16:18:17-04:00Project Morpheus, Sony's PlayStation 4 virtual reality helmet, is much better than expected
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<p>The challenge with Sony’s virtual reality headset Project Morpheus, and even <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/19/5524418/why-oculus-is-hoping-that-sonys-project-morpheus-headset-delivers-a">Oculus was upfront about this fact</a>, is to do virtual reality well.</p>
<p>The post-Oculus world has a minimum level of quality for virtual reality that new products have to at least match, if not clear, and <a href="http://www.polygon.com/2014/3/18/5524058/playstation-vr-ps4-virtual-reality">Sony’s push into console-based virtual reality</a> could poison the well for other companies if their high-profile hardware isn’t up to the task.</p>
<p>Luckily, it works well. Very well.</p>
<h3>Going inside</h3>
<p>The headset itself looks like it was sneezed on by a character from <i>Tron</i>, and it rests on the top of your head before you tighten straps to keep it in place. The optics can be moved towards or away from your head, I was able to keep my glasses on and still be comfortable,...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/19/5526966/project-morpheus-sonys-playstation-4-virtual-reality-helmet-is-much">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/19/5526966/project-morpheus-sonys-playstation-4-virtual-reality-helmet-is-muchBen Kuchera2014-03-19T16:00:03-04:002014-03-19T16:00:03-04:00GameFace is the surprisingly unterrible self-contained Android-based VR headset
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<p>The GameFace headmounted display is a completely self-contained Android-based virtual reality headset, so there is no need to hook up any other piece of equipment.</p>
<p>The display is a "a full HD screen" split between two eyes. The development kit, coming at the end of this year for an estimated $500, will have an upgraded screen. This is a very early proof of concept for that development kit, which means a retail product is likely quite a ways away, and could be a large step up from the hardware we demoed at GDC.</p>
<p>"I can’t say exactly what resolution [the final version] is going to be, but it’s pretty fucking awesome," Ed Mason, the founder and CEO of Gameface said with a laugh.</p>
<p>We played through a series of demos, including many that...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/19/5523316/gameface-is-the-surprisingly-unterrible-self-contained-android-based">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/19/5523316/gameface-is-the-surprisingly-unterrible-self-contained-android-basedBen Kuchera2014-03-19T14:30:02-04:002014-03-19T14:30:02-04:00The real-life holodeck didn't work quite as well as advertised
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<p>Dhan Balachand is the CEO of Sulon Technologies, and I’ve been lured into a hotel room at GDC to check out something that’s being billed as a real-life version of the holodeck from Star Trek. </p>
<p>The product is called the Cortex, and it delivers a combination of augmented and virtual reality.</p>
<p>"They’re not mutually exclusive," Balachand said. "They can combine to create some really crazy experiences."</p>
<p>The 30 minute demo was plagued with technical difficulties, but as a proof of concept the Cortex was able to deliver what was promised, although the execution has a ways to go before it becomes an attractive product.</p>
<h3>Some assembly required</h3>
<p>The head mounted display doesn’t actually come with a display, you have to provide your own by...</p>
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<a href="https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/19/5524888/the-real-life-holodeck-didnt-work-quite-as-well-as-advertised">Continue reading…</a>
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https://www.polygon.com/2014/3/19/5524888/the-real-life-holodeck-didnt-work-quite-as-well-as-advertisedBen Kuchera