| your mother said: I wasn't referring to those ridiculously heavy helmets from a generation ago - I was referring to the visors, which are much less clunky than before, but still clunkier than just watching TV. And yes, I would love to be in Matrix in virtual 3D surround, controlling bullet time! The technology is certainly there (it's been around for a generation already) but I don't think we're quite there yet in terms of social acceptance. Everything the Wii does makes you look silly, and people accept that, but the major difference between donning a helmet/visor and flailing your arms around is that with current Wii peripherals, you never lose that element of human interaction - you still look at people doing those silly movements, watching their expressions, react accordingly and everyone getting a laugh out of it. It's not the lack of compelling content - that's always been there. It's not the silly inhibitions - the Wii has amply demonstrated that people don't care! With a helmet/visor, you are only looking at the game itself. There is no eye contact - I think the human element is lost there, and that is probably the largest issue with regards to universal acceptance. But who knows? Perhaps VR is ready for prime time after all. Perhaps VR will come in another format that doesn't involve helmets/visors. Perhaps the next generation will reveal surprises that we can only conjecture about today. The Wii certainly demonstrated that surprises in gaming can come in all shapes and sizes. |
I'm sure they could design a visor that could quickly flip upwards so you could see people, or when you press pause in the game, the visor flips up automatically/turns see-through. I mean, you can still HEAR all your friends, and if they are playing the game, you can see them in game also.
But I see what you mean about human interaction... The last thing we need is World of Warcraft 2 except you just sit in a corner with a helmet on your head, and never talk to anyone, LOL.
