Daily Opinion #5: Virtual Reality is not a gimmick

Yes. It’s true. We now live in the future.

_{go outside, get some fresh air, and... VR?}

This is one of those things that you won't realize how amazing it is until you experience it. Putting on a headset and actually feeling like you are somewhere else is really something else. Don’t knock it until you try it.

Granted, there are varying tiers of quality in this realm. The most inexpensive are phone-based ones. It all started with google cardboard. Some really bright engineers at Google realized that the hardware for a basic virtual reality experience was already in everyone’s pocket - a mid range CPU and graphics processor along with gyroscopic capability and a 1080p or better display. I am of course referring to your phone. Strap your phone into a headset with lenses and you have a basic VR system for a very inexpensive price. The first iteration of this was Google’s own cardboard kit, which is literally made of cardboard with lenses added in. Nowadays for about the same entry price of the cardboard you can obtain something that resembles a higher cost headset for about the same price - complete with head strap and foam padding for comfortable long durations.

_{a bicycle is the best place to VR}

But is phone based VR really any good?

Yes! absolutely! For the price, you’ll feel like you really got something great for an insignificant price, especially if you haven’t experienced VR before. In the US you can now find these VR headsets that will fit almost any smartphone for a menial price of less than $20. They are available at all of the big box stores or you can check out Amazon. Most come with a bluetooth gaming controller which I highly recommend having for phone based VR experiences.

_{all the cool kids are doing it}

Enter roomscale VR

The phone based VR is cool for the price range, and shouldn’t be overlooked, but where it’s really at is definitely roomscale VR. I’ve tried both the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive now. The Vive however is what really sold me on VR having a future. Being able to stand and interact with objects in virtual space at actual size is really something else. It’s not s gimmick and really feels like the first iteration of a holodeck - this is like holodeck 1.0

The downside is the entry price - the Vive requires a fairly powerful PC with a decent graphics card alongside it’s current $599 price tag. It’s not cheap, but it sure is amazing and I can assure you this is where gaming (and real world applications) are headed. The Vive is so cool that I believe I will do a separate entire review on just it alone.

And that’s the daily opinion.

Image source: Pixabay