Oculus Rift: can indie developers save virtual reality?

http://media.edge-online.com/wp-cont...ft-610x343.pngTwenty years ago virtual reality was the future. After decades of research and development in university labs throughout the world, consumer headsets began hitting the market, and a world of seamless immersive entertainment was imagined – even feared. For a few moments, entertainment cyberspace flickered into existence, inspiring movies and books, but very quickly it was gone.Some blamed the limited technology. The VR headsets of the nineties had low resolution screens and clunky head tracking components, resulting in nauseous lag. But there was another problem: the lack of support from developers. This was the beginning of the polygonal era – the big players were busy leaping into bed with Sony and its PlayStation console, which promised affordable 3D graphics and a global audience. In comparison, virtual reality looked like science fiction facilitated by enormous, and expensive, head-mounted units and evangelised by companies no one had heard of. The industry was just heading into its era of big development cycles and conservative thinking. There was no competition.Twenty years later, we have a digital marketplace in which a lone engineer from a military research lab can put a homemade VR solution on Kickstarter and receive $2.5m in funds. Oculus Rift, with its 1280×800 display resolution, sensitive motion tracking and 110-degree field of vision appeals to the same bunch of cyber-dreamers that the old VPL and Victormaxx headsets did, but now there’s a route to market that facilitates grass roots optimism. Virtual reality is back.And this time, not only have the technology and distribution channels evolved, but the development scene has also changed dramatically. Digital distribution has allowed the indie sector to grow in importance and stature, and creative risk is leading more surely to reward. You can make a global impact with experimental games now – as Fez, Braid, New Star Soccer and Minecraft have all shown.

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