The void

As you might recall, I have done a project with the Oculus Rift and have told you about my passion with Virtual Reality, gaming and gadgets.

I have gamed since a very young age and have always been a big fan of RPG’s (role playing games) it was always an escape for me to enter a different world where the characters would explore the world with me and where I would meet new friends.

When I first heard about virtual reality helmets, one of my initial thoughts was “Wow! How great that we could be more immersed into a game”. However, after trying it on, I felt the motion sickness kick in. The motion sickness would kick in because your physical body would be standing still while your virtual body would be walking around, confusing your brain. This in combination with the feedback of the device mounted on your head could make you feel sick for a few hours.

引用元:The Void 公式YouTube

引用元:The Void 公式YouTube

One thing that I wanted to see, was the use of virtual reality in combination with the physical environment. This is what the virtual reality experience “The Void” will offer. The fusion between both the physical with the virtual reality environment will create a more realistic experience, making users truly immersed and believe they are actually there. When walking towards a wall, you will now be able to feel it in the physical environment.

The Void is a new startup based in Salt Lake City, Utah USA, and they are planning on provide Virtual Entertainment Centers, where people can go and immerse themselves in custom-built arenas (they call them game pods) wearing untethered virtual reality headsets. The system will combine the virtual reality headset technology, powered by a player-worn ‘backtop’ (a laptop in a backpack), room scale tracking and input provided by virtual reality gloves and a haptic vest to add an extra dimension of immersion.

引用元:The Void 公式YouTube

引用元:The Void 公式YouTube

A nice feature that is integrated into the headset, is the binaural sound (Evelien wrote a nice article about this subject!) which will increase the sense of immersion and presence. Through the use of a gaming impact vest, which uses multiple haptic generators, the user will be even more physically immersed into the Virtual Reality experience and the use of a player worn glove should help the users interact with the virtual environment.

Though there are some questions surrounding the technology behind The Void, the experience is one of a kind. The plan is to release the experience in the summer of 2016 and I am definitely looking forward to trying this experience out for myself!

Related Posts