It has been the stuff of science fiction for decades, but at last, this is the year when virtual reality comes within the budget of mere mortals. Already, the TV channels are filled with ads showing kids laughingly running from dinosaurs or exploring the stars alongside their doting parents, and we can expect the sales campaigns to intensify as Christmas creeps closer.
There has been plenty of discussion surrounding the types of headsets available, and it is universally understood that you can pay anything from a few dollars for a cardboard VR headset for your smartphone to several hundred for the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift.
All this is well and good, but aside from vague notions of smiling children and rampaging dinosaurs, have you got any real idea about what you will be doing in VR-land once you’ve donned the headset? Here, we will take a look at some game types that will be seen as pioneers.
Place your bets
It is easy to assume it will be all about multiplayer adventure and battling monsters, but the fact is that online casinos are among the biggest draws in the gaming world and are an area of massive growth. With so many new entrants, there is already a battle to be seen as a little different and to gain a competitive edge, so expect sites like www.casinoonline.com.de to soon start offering gambling experiences where you can be dealt your cards by a virtually real dealer, and have the full James Bond casino experience, without having to put on the tuxedo.
The great thing about a virtual casino game is that it is not overly demanding on the VR effects, meaning it can provide a novel and entertaining experience despite the technology still being in its infancy.
Speaking of Bond…
James Bond games have always been popular conceptually, and the first foray into VR will be no different. I expect you to die is based on the famous quote by Auric Goldfinger, probably the best-known Bond villain of all time. The game puts you in one life-threatening scenario after another, and you will need all your wits and ingenuity about you to escape in time. This is a game that leverages the best that VR can offer, and the sometimes disorienting perspectives just add to the sense of drama and urgency.
Still boldly going
The boys of the Star Ship Enterprise have been boldly going where no man has gone before for the past half century or so, and the Star Trek computer game really is pioneering. For many of us in our 40s, the text based game that was distributed among those early home computers was our first experience of gaming. How apt, then, that Star Trek: Bridge Crew is there among the first mainstream VR games, and, once again, our first experience of a whole new type of gaming could be from the bridge of the most famous star ship in the galaxy.