![]() ![]() Both pioneers of the early internet - Matalon designed websites for bands such as Aerosmith and The Rolling Stones, and together they started an early e-commerce site - they couldn’t resist the pull of VR. He and his co-founder Michael Clebnik thought they could build that game on an “indie budget,” working out of Matalon’s basement and Clebnik’s modern house in the suburbs of Boston. Matalon says he was looking for a game that combines combat with problem solving in a big, open world ripe for virtual exploration. “Where's the real meat? So I set out to make the kind of games I like to play.” “Especially in the beginning, my reaction was, where's the beef?” he says. He’s co-founder of Metro VR Studios, a small, independent studio that just released a game called “Orion13,” set in the aforementioned robot world. Scott Matalon says that’s because the games just aren’t good enough yet. And the total amount of money invested in VR has dropped in recent years. That’s just a fraction of the tens of millions of traditional gaming consoles sold each year. Still, Nielsen data shows fewer than 6 million VR headsets were shipped last year, barely more than in 2018. One popular game is just a simulation of basic office tasks. You can play VR Fruit Ninja, solve puzzles with “ Doctor Who” and battle alongside Marvel heroes like Spiderman. (Allison Hagan/Here & Now)Īll that money has led to a lot of content. VR headset manufacturers Oculus and Valve both sold out of some models over the holidays, with shipping delays of more than a month. “Oculus has definitely become kind of the Kleenex of virtual reality,” Morgan says.Īs investors poured hundreds of millions of dollars into VR, Facebook put its own cash into funding games in the hopes that better experiences might attract people to buy the gear. And in 2014, Facebook made a $3 billion bet on VR when it purchased the headset manufacturer Oculus. Since the term was coined in the 1980s, VR has been used to train pilots, assist doctors and help patients with PTSD, and the number of applications just keeps growing.īut the era of modern VR gaming started just about a decade ago. ![]() Virtual reality has existed in one form or another for decades. “Now, people have been saying that since roughly 2014.” Here & Now's Peter O'Dowd taking his first swing at virtual reality with the new "Orion13" game. “2020 is once again being declared to be VR's make-or-break year,” says Robert Morgan, who creates VR games and experiences. But some say VR gaming hasn’t lived up to its potential yet. Instead of watching stories play out, you can live them.Īnd in the last few years, those visions have started to become reality. Sunlight pours in through the window.įor decades, this kind of fully immersive experience has been the promise of virtual reality gaming. Take off the headset: You’re sitting on the couch in the living room. The enemy robot goes down in a flare of light. You strike first, your real hands transformed into virtual weapons. Look up and there’s a neon pink enemy charging at you. Look down and there’s your body, your robotic hands and metallic feet. Put on the headset: You’re on a dark city street below glittering skyscrapers. Facebook Email A look inside the new virtual game "Orion13." (Courtesy of Metro VR Studios) ![]()
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