VALVE IS BIDING THEIR TIME

If we examine the last 10 years, the video game industry has been unpredictable. Graphical capabilities of machines are constantly advancing, motion control came and went and VR is trying to become something more than bits of interesting ideas for people with expensive tastes.

Even the format in which we buy games is changing, with experts arguing whether physical or digital media will prevail in the future. Different people have varying opinions and all we know for certain from this is that we don’t know where the industry is going.

Maybe VR becomes the next Dualshock and turns into the default way to play games or people decide to go more than 70% digital with their games. Maybe the Power Glove makes a comeback. Isn’t it logical that Valve is waiting for this uncertainty to be over before they move on and release their possible masterpiece?

The developers want to make a Half-Life game that won’t look or feel outdated within a year. Other than more horsepower and some other interesting interface ideas, there is nothing in 2016 that would have made Half-Life 2 a better game back then.

THE OLD WAY TAKES TIME

We already examined that it’s possible Valve is waiting for the dust to settle and the novelty of glorified tech demos to go away (e.g. The Order 1886) before they bring out the big guns and remind people that games shouldn’t try to be movies. But what about the development process of Half-Life games?

The Half-Life series lets the player experience the action and aims to make you feel in real-time instead of wowing you with an on-rails dramatic event that stops the action to show you some insane set piece or scene (see Call of Duty, Battlefield, etc). If you ever listen to developer commentary while playing the game you notice the insane amount of detail and fine-tuning that goes into making the game perfect. Instead of relying on cutscenes, the levels are made so as to invoke a series of emotions that immerse you in the experience of Gordon Freeman.

When you play, you really care about your friends and their fate not because that’s the story, but because the game is structured to make you feel that connection. In an era of Hollywood-style first-person shooters and games that basically play themselves, Half-Life games feel out of place and are take much more time to make. The length of the games compared to the years of work that goes into them is very short because of the detail that goes into crafting an incredibly specific experience.

MONEY MONEY MONEY MONEY

The simplest reason of all. Valve is a successful company. They’re most likely waiting for the prediction of a “dry period” before even thinking of starting work on the next game in the Half-Life series. It’s a sad fact but it makes sense. As gamers we can only hope the hype won’t betray us. It can’t be as bad as No Man’s Sky after all.

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Nowadays, virtual reality projects are widely expanding their potentials day by day. Even more innovating ideas are being shown to the public through time. In the last few years, we’ve seen a lot of those ideas come to life from several known companies or even new technology startups. Virtual reality seems to be trending not only in the gaming industry but also in the business in general or even for daily actions. We’ve searched a lot in order to find the 10 best virtual reality gadgets for you. Have a look and get a closer taste of what’s going on out there, in the jungle of virtual reality!

Oculus Rift
Maybe the most famous VR gadget of all. Oculus Rift is a virtual reality headset developed by Palmer Luckey, funded via Kickstarter and bought by Facebook for $2 billion. This VR has several sensors that can offer a 3D environment directly through its stereo screens by tracking your head movements. It can be connected with any device that has DVI and USB port.

Cost: $599

Samsung Gear VR
Another Gear series product from Samsung but also an Oculus Rift copycat. The Gear VR headset was co-developed with Oculus having as the only difference the ability to support smartphones instead of PC or consoles. There is a number of specific smartphone models that Gear VR can support, but is this a drawback in general?

Cost: $99.99

HTC Vine
HTC in collaboration with Valve, one of the biggest companies in the gaming industry, decided to make this Steam VR headset! HTC Vive plugs into PCs and work with Valve’s gaming ecosystem. It uses up to 70 sensors in order to give you the freedom to roam around a room. Also, it uses lasers mounted on the wall to map your location and movement around the physical space, integrating this into the virtual space. HTC Vive is maybe the first and only VR system that can support this kind of freedom, the freedom of movement, that others don’t offer yet. Nevertheless, you will still need to wear additional headphones to complete the whole experience and have plenty of space in your room.

Cost: $799

PlayStation VR
It’s also known as Project Morpheus. As you can realize, Sony is trying to get in the game of virtual reality too. Games will be much prettier and real than before. Gamers should love it as this VR headset has a 5.7-inch OLED display offering less motion blur that a normal one. Display’s refresh rate gone up to 120Hz make it possible to give a 120fps gaming experience. We could also say that this is not a complete VR system, but it’s an accessory for the PS4 console. This means that it will possibly be less expensive from other complete VR systems like Oculus or HTC Vive. As Sony announced a few days ago, it will be launched on October at $399.

Cost: $399

Microsoft HoloLens
The company shows for another one time that wants to get in the hard game of technology. This time with a VR headset. Except this is not exactly a VR headset, but a hybrid of virtual and augmented reality. HoloLens merges real-world elements with virtual and holographic images, meaning you can make a skype call while you are cooking in front of a wall, designing your prototype ideas in your kitchen’s table or even walk around the surface of the Moon in your living room. The magic in Microsoft’s HoloLens is that is a system on its own. A full Windows 10 system is built into the headset and it runs off a battery. It has a 120-degree field of vision on both axes and offers high definition visuals. A whole system with all those features makes you worried about battery life. How long it lasts? We just have to wait and see…

Cost: $3,000

Google Cardboard
It’s strange, funny and yes… It’s real! Google’s VR headset is just a cardboard! It’s mainly a cardboard container that needs a smartphone inside. Are you wondering if this works? Surely yes; this can give you a low-cost taste of what it means virtual reality! As your smartphone offers all the necessary gyroscopic sensors and location systems to accurately trach your head movements, you can experience virtual world really easy.

Cost: $23.95

Unlimited Hand
This is a gadget that helps you enhance your experience in virtual reality. It’s a project that also started with the help of kickstarter. UH can be placed on the arm, synchronizing user’s hand with game world. It senses the finger motion and gives haptic feedback. Virtual reality is without a doubt funnier and even more realistic by having those enchantments!

Cost: $298

Manus VR Glove
Another similar enchantment as the previous one is Manus. It’s basically a glove that can track every movement that you can do with your hand and fingers. It includes high tech sensors of accelerometer, gyroscope and magnetometer on each glove, wireless connectivity through a low-energy Bluetooth. It has also a good battery quality as it offers a 5-6h average of battery life and it enables also a fast charge technology. It’s good to mention that Manus VR Glove has an open source SDK. Programmers will approve!

Cost: $250

Control VR
“A next generation wearable technology that turns your hands into the ultimate intuitive controller for PCs, VR and beyond”! Those are words by the Control VR Team which actually promoted this project via kickstarter. There are 1,161 backers that pledged $442,227 to help bring this project to life. Those gesture control gloves are using DARPA-designed micro sensors which detect small inertial changes in order to finely track your arms, hands and fingers. This makes 3D animations of virtual reality come into life and be “physically” controllable by the user. The one arm and body tracking solution will set you back $350 and if you want both your hands in the game, the two arm tier is $600.

Cost: $350/$600

Cyberith Virtualizer
In my opinion, Cyberith is a company that sees the world differently from the others. They though: “What about the freedom of movement in EVERY VR headset out there?” The solution is clear; a physical platform that allows the user to move freely and naturally! The Virtualizer’s flat base plate has a low-friction surface that enables you to walk, run, and strafe freely in every direction. As it’s flat, movement feels realistic, dramatically enhancing immersion. The uniquely constructed ring allows for vertical movements such as jumping and crouching, as well as a 360° axial rotation. The adjustable harness ensures that movement through virtual worlds is effortless…you can even sit down! The Virtualizer is made of steel and aluminum. This means that you not only can expect great strength, but also excellent build quality. The robust construction provides great stability and as a result, safety. It can be dismantled quickly and easily, making it easy to store. The Virtualizer is produced and assembled in Europe. Furthermore, it’s USB-Plug & Play and fully compatible with all software that allows controller or keyboard input.

Cost: $599

All those mentioned above are really cool things and fresh ideas of the modern world. But, is this a new start or the world’s end?

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