Oculus Rift Support

[Bridge]

I like the idea of immersion by using this new piece of technology.
But it should be Frictional Games choice to choose if their games should be compatible with this.

Technically not because the means to implement it are open source, so someone with a lot of time could make this work with Penumbra: Overture (maybe even Amnesia, I don't really know how much control modders have over the code). But you can't deny that implementing this device is in Frictional's best interest. I'm not saying they are in any way obligated to do it, it is their choice, but a game company that places such a high emphasis on immersion would be crazy not to attempt this if it is within their budget and abilities. It actually wouldn't surprise me if Frictional become one of the pioneers of this thing.

[Macgyverthehero]

I like the idea of immersion by using this new piece of technology.
But it should be Frictional Games choice to choose if their games should be compatible with this.

Technically not because the means to implement it are open source, so someone with a lot of time could make this work with Penumbra: Overture (maybe even Amnesia, I don't really know how much control modders have over the code). But you can't deny that implementing this device is in Frictional's best interest. I'm not saying they are in any way obligated to do it, it is their choice, but a game company that places such a high emphasis on immersion would be crazy not to attempt this if it is within their budget and abilities. It actually wouldn't surprise me if Frictional become one of the pioneers of this thing.

Well, it's good to try. Isn't it?

[Your Computer]

For 275 bucks you can get the prototype for it, i'm pretty sure that the version what will be available for consumers will be like 100-150 bucks or something.

Nice mindset you have there buddy, disregard anything new and cool because it costs money. It's not some random junk what adds almost nothing to the game experience, this would help out with immersion so much. Besides wasn't there a novit falcon version of penumbra black plague, that thing never caught on.

If they want to make it affordable to the PC gaming community, they need to make it below $70 (though i would argue lower than that). If they're going to be selling the product about as much as it costs to buy a new monitor, why would you expect people to purchase this device? Why not just buy a new monitor and be better off with an eyefinity setup or otherwise? Why have a small screen which would make you uncomfortable after a while, when you can have a huge screen which doesn't? You think a similar device like the Oculus Rift hasn't been done in the past?

High prices in a market indicate low supplies and therefore is intended to discourage purchases. You think the average consumer's excitement for a product is going to overcome reality and magically increase their own money supply? The only people we can expect to purchase the Oculus Rift for over $100 are those who donated at least that much for the kickstarter fundraiser. From the current numbers we would observe that demand for the product is too low.

[Traggey]

The resolution of this thing is 1280 X 800, smacking that in a 110 diagonal field of view over my eyes?

PIXELS! PIXELS EVERYWHERE! Th-TH-THE GOGGLES! THEY DO NUFFINK!

[Arvuti]

The resolution of this thing is 1280 X 800, smacking that in a 110 diagonal field of view over my eyes?

PIXELS! PIXELS EVERYWHERE! Th-TH-THE GOGGLES! THEY DO NUFFINK!

Now with your argument proven wrong, you are just trying to find things to complain / nit pick about.

This thing will be close to your eyes anyway, it wouldn't make too much of a difference besides they are trying to improve the screen resolution for the consumer version.

[Traggey]

Not simply trying to complain at all, this would be amazing if it worked properly to play with something like Amnesia. I just don't think it will work properly and what has been seen this far does not look impressive at all.

it being closer to your eyes means you'll be able to see them pixels even better, I certainly hope they do something about that resolution because if not I'm going to avoid that thing at all cost.

[Arvuti]

Not simply trying to complain at all, this would be amazing if it worked properly to play with something like Amnesia. I just don't think it will work properly and what has been seen this far does not look impressive at all.

It's one of these things that you have to experience yourself, so it's kind of a hard thing to show off.

Also here's what required to integrate Oculus Rift into your game.

The two main things you will need to do is (1) integrate Rift motion tracking with your character’s view camera transformation, enabling looking around the world, and (2) implement stereo rendering and optical distortion adjustment that produces a correct 3D image on the device. Our SDK will assist with both of these tasks, providing accelerometer and gyro data, screen size information, as well as pre-made shaders to simplify development and abstract away hardware details.

[GrixM]

The market for this thing is going to be super small, and the thing itself is probably going to cost quite alot of money, it's too risky and a giant waste of resources for a small indie company to put money into this.

Again, why do you think the market will be so small? I personally believe that if the device even comes close to what the developers promise, it will be on the wishlist for gamers everywhere. And there are plenty of gamers willing to spend that kind of money on something like this, or parents giving them to their kids etc.

The resolution of this thing is 1280 X 800, smacking that in a 110 diagonal field of view over my eyes?

PIXELS! PIXELS EVERYWHERE! Th-TH-THE GOGGLES! THEY DO NUFFINK!

Remember when TV's used to be ~480p? It doesn't matter that much, it'll still be more immersive than regular monitors. Also, remember that this is just the prototype. The developers have said that higher resolution is likely to be featured in the consumer version, and they have even hinted at 1080p next year (although they said it would likely cost around $1000 for the 1080p glasses).

[Kman]

Before you guys go about claiming how this is the the "next step in gaming" I want you to think about something. Think about the last two times a company tried to revolutionize the way people played games, by implementing motion control... That would be the Wii and the Kinect. Now, I want you to think about how big the hype for them was when they were announced and how much relevance in gaming they really have now. Nuff said.

[J.R.S.S.]

I just got back from Quakecon down in Dallas. There I listened to John Carmack talk about the rift and other great minds. From there I had a chance to even experience it myself. I will tell you now, I don't get amazed or interested easily. The rift is something we've never seen before. This isn't a big company trying to make money. When I put on the headset, I stepped in the world, which that was Doom 3 (BFG Edition). I was there, in the base, actually walking around. I could walk over to desk and have it seem like I'm actually leaning over it, I went up to walls and put my hand out, almost being able to feel it in front of me, I looked down at a corpse and was memorized by the odd feeling that he really seemed there, in the room with me.

The rift is just a prototype and months from a product that they'll be selling. In a few years after the technology has improved, people would probably think it's crap. Though as a VR system that works, it's like nothing you all have experienced. And you won't truely know or understand until you put that headset on you and step into the world. The kits are going out to developers soon and the world is being shown. I truely believe that VR is the future and AR is even there. It also will happen faster then we think. This is different, this will change gaming forever. I know if Amnesia was played in VR, many who have played and beaten the game would have a difficult time... "The dreamers can come out again" said Carmack and it's true. Time to start thinking of the possibilities.