OCULUS RIFT (W/ DOOM 3 BFG EDITION) PAX PRIME 2012...

1:59 pm - Fri, Sep 7, 2012: 128 notes

OCULUS RIFT (W/ DOOM 3 BFG EDITION) PAX PRIME 2012 HANDS ON

At this year’s PAX Prime I got an opportunity to get a quick hands on demonstration of the Oculus Rift running DOOM 3 BFG Edition. For ten minutes I got to touch fully realized virtual reality technology with motion controls and it was breathtaking.

My hands on was with a rough developer’s kit running through a Mac laptop with a traditional game controller. Initially I had to adjust for focus until I could see clearly in the Rift and then they strapped it to my head and off I went in search of hellish monsters to fill with lead.

For those visually impaired (i.e. people with glasses like me) I did have to take my glasses off for the demo but the creators there told me how the retail version of the Oculus Rift would have vision correction built in with adjustable lenses so that a user could input their vision prescription directly into the Rift.

It was weird not using the analog stick to control movement (like trying to unlearn years of controller conditioning) but after a minute I was able to finely control my character’s movement and gun aiming with just the movement of my head. Once I got the hang of it I was deftly checking corners and taking enemies out with ease.

I still used the second analog for those moments I needed to turn completely around fast but it was rare that I needed it. The moment I realized that this was different than previous VR tech was when I came across a steam pipe in the game. The effect of billowing steam coming at my face and the particle effects were amazing.

Although it was only ten minutes, my time spent with the Oculus Rift was impressive and honestly I could have spent a day testing it out immersed in space marine action. It’s exciting to see the technology realized and to have seen it first hand in action and working.

If the rough developer’s kit I had hands on is just a taste of the technolgy to come, I can’t wait to get my hands on the fully built version of the Oculus Rift when it ships.

(via otlgaming)