In class on Wednesday I had the pleasure of trying on some different virtual reality headsets. I tried Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear VR, and Oculus Rift DK2. These immersive headsets worked to create presence and use 360 degree video and head tracking to either tell stories or create an experience for the user.

The first one I got to try was the Treyvon Martin experience on the google cardboard. I thought the experience was okay, but the graphics definitely distracted me from the story. Using real audio from the police calls was a good idea, but I don’t agree with the camera angles. I found myself wanting to go outside instead of staying inside the caller’s houses. The environment really had very little to do with the story. I understand that some people might find it disturbing to see the scene of Treyvon getting shot but it is an essential part of the story.

Next, I tried the Samsung Gear VR. I felt as if it was the same thing as google cardboard except the fact that it had a touchpad on the side. What impressed me the most was the menu system because it was very easy to switch between experiences without having to take the headset off.

Our group did not get to try the DK2 because the class ran out of time, but I had ordered my own because I plan on using it for my senior thesis. The DK2 arrived over the weekend and I had quite some time to fool around with it before writing this post. I played through several of the experiences on the oculus share page but there were a couple that really caught my attention. I was most impressed by Colosse. It was very nicely executed and used powerful storytelling techniques. It used the entire field of view by making the viewer turn their head from the small crab on the shore to the colossal giant towering above. I also loved the art direction and by having scenes with a unmoving camera, I experienced no nausea at all. Colosse is an excellent example of storytelling in VR done right. I encourage everyone who has not tried it yet to do so. Another game worth mentioning is Don’t Let Go. Although the graphics aren’t the best, the immersion factor is very real with this one. The aim of the game is to hold both CTRL keys for as long as you can without letting go as various things happen around you to make you want to let go. When sitting at the desk in the game I really thought that the virtual hands were mine because they were holding CTRL on the virtual keyboard and the elbows moved when I leaned in and out in real life.

1. The technique that worked well utilized the entire field of view. Colosse and Seza Peso are excellent examples of this. Having things happen in all directions and making you move your head to follow the story really worked well because it make you feel like part of the story and that it was an experience rather than a video you can watch on a computer screen. What did not work as well is the Treyvon Martin experience because it did not utilize the entire field of view. There were things behind you, but there was no real reason to look at them because they were just the apartment of the people.
2. I began to get nausea after playing with the oculus for a few hours. It happened mainly in games where your character is moving. In some games you can control the direction you’re facing with both the game analog stick and your physical head moving and that really made me feel nauseas because sometimes my view would be moving without my physical head moving. Another reason I get nauseas is if the video is lagging when I move my head. I experienced this in Seza Peso. The head tracking was a bit laggy, but in Colosse it was completely fine.
3. 1. There was a couple times where I found myself wishing for better resolution. Since the screen is so close to your eyes, you can see each pixel if you focus in on them and they look like black dots all over your screen. However, if you get more caught up in the experience then you don’t really notice it as much.
   2. Sound is immensely important for immersion. I tried playing some games without the headset on and its very obvious that you’re not in the environment. The best example of this is scary games. I tried Affected and was terrified by the game. I was so scared that I took the headphones off and played without sound. Once there was no sound the game was not that scary at all because you feel like you’re sitting at your desk instead of inside the games creepy locations.
   3. Smoothness of headtracking is also very important when trying to fool your brain into believing you’re in a space. Your vision does not lag in real life so it’s a dead giveaway that you’re in a virtual world. Also, when the head tracking is not smooth I sometimes get nausea.
   4. The importance of leaning forward really depends on the game. On some games in the Samsung gear I never got the urge to lean forward. However, in Affected leaning was a very important aspect of the game because you can peek behind corners to see if there is anything scary coming up.
   5. Wireless is definitely better than wired, however I don’t see wires being a big problem as of yet because you are mostly sitting down when playing in VR. If one were able to walk across the room then I can see wires being a problem, but right now I would rather have the headset connect to my computer because it allows for more flexibility of content.
   6. Graphics really bothered me, but perhaps that’s just because I am a very visual person. I like being immersed in a beautifully rendered world. It makes the experience more believable in my opinion.
   7. There was always full spherical range of vision in all the demos that I’ve played. Whether or not the game utilized it is another question. I think the experience is better when the game forces you to look around instead of staring straight all the time.
   8. Content choices. I am unsure how to answer this one. I guess everyone has their own likes and dislikes as far as content goes. It depends on your target audience.
4. I don’t really remember every feeling empathy in any of the experiences. The only one that might have triggered it was the Treyvon Martin one but I was so focused on the bad graphics and being trapped inside of people’s apartments that I really didn’t feel very empathetic. However, I did find myself feeling something during Seza Peso when the giant head looked straight into my eyes. It was a chilling feeling because since you have the oculus on it knows exactly where your eyes are and he looks straight at you with a very intimidating expression on his face.
5. Nausea was caused by games that moved by both the game controller and your head. Affected, Seza Peso, Villa Savoye, and Mental Torment were some of the games that caused a bit of nausea.