VR gaming might not currently be used around the world, but it won’t be long until it is the preferred gaming method for the gaming community worldwide. The gaming experience in 2023 is about as immersive as it can be without using VR.
Our game graphics are as sharp and colourful as possible; surround sound takes us into what is happening in the game world, and game accessories like vibrating chairs let us feel what is happening while we battle our way through monsters and soldiers.
When VR takes hold, you’ll be stepping into these worlds in a way you never have before. Playing a fantasy game will require you to physically dodge dragonfire to avoid being burned to a crisp (thankfully, that won’t happen even if you’re too slow!). If you were to be playing online slots UK, you’ll feel the arm being pulled down and hear the sounds as if you were right there on the slot machine.Let’s have a look at how VR will alter the gaming experience in the years to come.
Complete Immersion
Virtual reality technology will go hand in hand with augmented reality technology in the near future. Where VR brings you into an alternate reality, AR brings an alternate reality into this world- think Pokemon GO. AR will likely begin with glasses or goggles that project the game world onto their lenses, so you feel as though you are walking through it.
There are numerous applications for AR technology, from speedometers on car windshields to real-world military training. Online casinos will make you feel like you are there in person, playing the games you enjoy so much, and online concerts will make you feel like you’re in the middle of a real-life crowd.
VR is currently limited to headsets. In some cases, gloves or handheld controllers allow you to move and touch things in the game world. These headsets are still pretty bulky and require a steady supply of power either from a readily available charger or from being directly connected to a power source. One day, not terribly far in the future, VR will extend past just headsets and gloves to full-body suits.
You’ll know what we mean if you’ve seen the film Ready Player One. The suits will be calibrated to translate your body movements into the game world. It’s doubtful whether gamers will ever want to feel actual pain when they are struck or wounded in game worlds, but some sort of vibration will likely signal that you have been touched.
Eventually, suppose gamers are willing to fork out for the setup. In that case, there will likely be devices like treadmills available and, one day, maybe even harnesses to simulate flying through a game world. If you’re into VR in a big way, you’ll eventually need an entire room, or at least part of one, to dedicate to all your gear; firstly, so you don’t hurt yourself while playing, and secondly, so you don’t injure your family or partner! No one likes getting kicked in the face, no matter how good the resulting goal was.
VR gaming is the ultimate end goal for gamers who love their worlds so much that they wish for nothing more than to truly enter them as physically and in as realistic a way as possible.
Costly Gear
The gear required for a setup like this is likely already in existence, though it is probably only to be found in labs and military training locations. This gear, even the headsets, gloves and controllers currently available on the open market, is still very costly. This high cost is currently prohibiting gamers worldwide from being as involved in VR and AR as they would like.
VR and AR tech, like all technology, will become more affordable as it becomes more widely and more cost-effectively made. All new tech is initially very expensive. As it is produced more and more widely and manufacturers begin to compete for their slice of the market, the tech becomes more cost-effective for buyers, and more buyers have access to it in more countries. Once that happens, the number of games that are VR-capable will skyrocket.
This includes the further development of the Metaverse, a whole alternate virtual world where we will be able to make friends, purchase NFTs and “in-world” content and items, take part in virtual events and so on.
Wrap Up
It has taken decades for the gaming world to develop the way it has, from number games and Tetris to open-world MMOs played by millions of gamers worldwide. Further development of VR will be relatively quick in the grand scheme of things. We should expect to wait around another decade before the tech is cost-effective all over the world, but the virtual reality future is coming, one way or another.
