Best AR/VR/MR devices:

I believe the table above have one of the best options for AR/VR/MR. With the exception of the pricing of the MR devices listed above, I have chosen the above due to their application support, price and design. MR devices were selected solely based on power and functionalities.

Most preferred device for AR and MR:

AR: Oculus Quest 2

Specifications:

• Panel Type: Single Fast-Switch LCD, 1832×1920px per eye
• Supported Refresh Rate: 72Hz (default), can be configured to 60Hz in some cases
• Default SDK Color Space: Rec.2020 gamut, 2.2 gamma, D65 white point
  • CIE 1931 xy color-primary values:
    • Red : (0.708, 0.292)
    • Green: (0.17, 0.797)
    • Blue : (0.131, 0.046)
    • White: (0.3127, 0.3290)
• USB Connector: 1x USB-C
• Tracking: Inside out, 6DOF
• Audio: Integrated, in-strap
• CPU: Qualcomm® Snapdragon XR2 Platform
• CPU Notes: Developers have access to 3 gold cores
• Memory: 6GB total
• Lens Distance: Adjustable – 3 preset IPD adjustments

The reason why I believe the Oculus Quest 2 is the best AR device is because it is able to do VR applications as well.

It is cheap (~$431) and is becoming more and more affordable for all users as compared to other devices that could go above 500$. The Osculus Quest 2 also does not need a powerful computer or GPU to support.

Although the specifications is not as superior as the Microsoft Hololens 2, for its price and wide range of supported applications, the Oculus Quest 2 would still be my preferred device. I am also looking forward to purchasing an Oculus Quest 2 soon.

MR: Microsoft Hololens 2

Specifications:

• 52 degrees of freedom (Edition 1 had 34); 47 pixel per degree or 2048 x 1080 pixels per eye.
• Transparent lenses, HD 8 MP camera, numerous sensors to track user position from all sides, and a microphone for voice inputs.
• Current updated HoloLens 2 has two 2K 120 Hz (refresh rate) display that projects to overlay 3D color 3D images over natural spaces so the user sees mixed reality and can interact with virtual 3D models and holographs.
• Eye and hand movement tracking to place mixed reality content appropriately and allow proper interaction by the user.
• Popular for enterprises in remote training, remote collaboration, logistics, assembly lines, etc.
• HoloLens 2 used for developing mixed reality apps with Unity and Azure for free trials.
• Remote assist option allows for data sharing and collaboration.
• 4GB RAM, Storage 64 GB. Weighs 20 OZ.
• CPU: Custom-built Microsoft Holographic Processing Unit (HPU Generation 2); Qualcomm Snapdragon 850.

I personally have not tried on the Microsoft Hololens 2. However, based on the videos online and reviews by participants, it seems to have a pretty quick response rate and great audio and viewing angles.

As much as there is a reality trade off as portrayed in the uncanny valley diagram, I believe that the stronger and more powerful the device, the greater the immersion and presence the device is able to take on.

Unlike magic leap 1, which looks like goggles, I would prefer a cleaner design with higher specifications. Although it might be pricey, but with the power and potential it has, I believe it is the best MR device.

Before we dive right into my top headsets list, let’s explore the relevant metrics that aided me in sieving these few choices out. Since the program or game used for the headset is not inclusive in this comparison, we will not be able to compare how each headset provides `Experiences` or its corresponding fidelity levels. Instead, we will be comparing how each headset is able to support these experiences through its technical specifications and unique features. As all I can see are through Youtube videos, my opinions may be swayed by the reviewers I watch.

Here are my favourite headsets shortlisted from the youtube videos I could find.

VR Headsets:
1. HTC Vive Cosmos
2. Playstation VR from Sony
3. Quest 2 (Oculus)

AR Headsets:
1. HoloLens 2
2. Google Glass
3. Magic Leap

MR Headsets:
1. HoloLens 2
2. Samsung Odyssey+

There are certain metrics used to evaluate my favourite Headset; albeit amateur ones.
These are field of vision, resolution, refresh rate, modularity, auxiliary modules (such as earpieces), how comfortable it looks, its I/O options, how independent the set is, its software support, tracking capability, etc.

Which is my favourite? (as a consumer)
Oculus Quest 2!
– Integrated Speakers
There is no need for additional speakers or headsets, which may interfere with the headset itself. This means zero latency while providing an enclosed environment and quality sound. This may not be ideal for users with specific audio preferences, but works perfectly for me, or the majority of users. Tangle-free, fuss-free.

– Doesn’t require additional modules / Oculus Link
The Oculus is stand-alone and does not need another device like the PlayStation VR. This means lower costs and ease of upgrade. (no need to upgrade PC, or graphics card) — however, this may not be ideal for users who wish for modularity.
Oculus Link allows users to link with a PC. This allows for choices.

– Aesthetics
It looks clean, modern and not too daunting to the regular consumer (e.g as compared to the Hololens with industrial looks)

– Controllers
This is one major factor as to why the oculus is one of my favourites. With an easy entry from console controllers, your hand can rest on the controller, with the thumb be the only moving limb. This provides intuitive and fast controls. The grooves look ergonomic as well.

– Price
The price of the Oculus compared to its counterparts is much more affordable for a similar level hardware specs.

– Software Store / Software Support
One feature is its safe playing area, which may be important especially now where many stay at home.
There is also robust support and a huge game store. This is valuable as nobody would want to buy a headset with no software supported.

– Specifications
I shall not repeat these, but here are the specs: https://developer.oculus.com/learn/oculus-device-specs/

My most preferred VR device is the the game-changing, high-tech device Google Cardboard. First of all, for all its features, the Google Cardboard is available at an unbelievable price of 14.90 SGD on Lazada. Secondly, it boasts a high quality frame made from highly recyclable material. Thirdly, there is almost no learning curve. In order to experience a high-quality virtual reality experience, all one needs is to slot a smart phone into the Google Cardboard and get started. This video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IZK1k1elBU), for example, provides a high degree of immersion and presence despite the Cardboard’s limitation of having only 3 degrees of freedom.

Unlike VR devices, I have never used an MR device and thus, my preference is solely based off the marketing efforts of the companies behind the devices that I have been exposed to. Microsoft released a video envisioning the future of MR devices (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2MqGrF6JaOM) amazed me as I was completely unaware of the utility these devices could offer us. Therefore, my most preferred MR device is the Microsoft HoloLens 2 as it seems that the companies vision is to invent a device which aims to enhance human life as much as possible. In a demo by Microsoft, the HoloLens displayed impressive eye-tracking, voice recognition and six degrees of freedom which allowed the user’s surroundings to be completely populated by virtual objects.

With an approximately 6000SGD price tag, I would probably prefer purchasing the ground-breaking, game-changing HoloKit instead.

Devotion is a first-person Taiwanese psychological horror game that draws inspiration from many familiar aspect of the Taiwanese daily life in the 1980s. The theme focuses on traditional Taiwanese practices as well as many folk religions. The game follows the main character in his journey to discover what happened in his home, and the event that leads to the downfall of his family.

Elememental Tetrad:

Aesthetics: The game has succeeded in faithfully recreating an atmosphere that is very familiar to the Taiwanese, while at the same time introduce many of the cultural aspect of Taiwanese culture to the international player base. The many cultural references and folk religions told through the design of the environment and through collectibles helps to further support the experience of the player. It allows the player to be fully immersed in the story that the game is trying to tell

Story: The story is one of the strong aspect of the game. The game tries to tell a familiar story about a family of famous screenwriter, Feng Yu. Throughout the game, the fate of Feng Yu and his family is slowly revealed, and the purposefully vague memos that the player find during the experience further reinforce the message that the game is trying to convey about the occult and religious practices in 1980s Taiwan.

Mechanics: The game is rather simple in term of mechanic. It is mostly a puzzle solver/ walking simulator with jump scares here and there. It serves rather as a platform to allow the player to explore the beautifully designed environment and to immerse themselves in the experience. The only enemy in the game can one-shot the player, but since there is no life total and the checkpoint system available make this rather trivial, but not to its detriment as it highlights the ‘limbo’ aspect of the game, where the main character is doomed to go through the same environment over and over, until he has atoned for his sin.

Technology: The game was not originally made to be a 3D first person exploration, but in order to deliver the vision of the studio director, the team ended up using Unity to create the very pleasing environment that the player can explore.

The lenses:

The lens of Curiosity: The game is purposefully vague at the beginning, dropping the player in an average apartment in Taiwan in the 1980s. The way that the story is told through memos and imaginary sequences with spirits and ghostly figures further pushes the players on to discover the real truth of the main character. The game never really explains what is happening, instead allowing the player to piece together the nuggets of information to form a complete story, which intrigues the player to go through all the horrors at await.

The lens of Atmosphere: Just like every other psychological horror, Devotion tries to create an atmosphere in which the player can emerge themselves. The familiar aesthetic of a typical Taiwanese apartment which serves as the main setting of the game creates an unique atmosphere where the player feels constantly unease. The game takes something that is familiar to the player, and turns it into a place of horror and danger, thus subverting the player’s expectation in order to more effectively deliver the story as the player can relate more with it.

The lens of Inherent Interest: The game boasts a unique aesthetics of Taiwan in the 1980s. This particular part of history is portrayed through the story of the main character, and it touches on the theme of the occult as well as draws inspiration from many elements of the traditional Taiwanese culture. This would create a distinctive environment for players to experience, which is not commonly seen in contemporary horror games currently on the market.

The lens of Secrets: The game is purposefully designed to let the player experience the main character’s descent into ruin, which is told through bits of information made available to the player gradually. By keeping the story vague at first, the player is encouraged to explore and uncover the secret that plaques the apartment that the player find themselves in.

Game Summary

Baba Is You is a puzzle game where the rules of the puzzle are the puzzle itself. In each level, the rules of the game a present as blocks which you can interact with, and by doing so, you can create new rules and interactions that change how the game works. The objective is thus to find a way to win the level by modifying the rules in a way such that a goal is reachable.

Official Website

https://hempuli.com/baba/

Game Trailer

Gameplay Video

Elemental Tetrad

– Mechanics: The controls are straightforward. You only need to use the arrow keys to move the main character “Baba” around.

The level is a Sokoban-styled 2D space, where all items are represented as blocks which you can interact with. The rules of the game are written as short phrases within the level. “BABA IS YOU” is an example of a rule which gives you control over the character Baba. “FLAG IS WIN” is another example, which allows you to win the level only if you touch a flag.

The catch is that the rules themselves are blocks themselves, so you can move the blocks around to create different phrases and change the rules of the game. Your objective is thus to find a way to win the level by modifying the rules in a way such that a goal is reachable.

– Aesthetics: 16-bit music, simple childish graphics, simple controls. The game is simplistic and does not feel overwhelming at first glance. This makes it approachable despite its notoriety as a very difficult puzzle game. 

– Technology: Multimedia Fusion 2 was used to develop the interface of the game, as that does not require an engine that does heavy lifting like Unreal Engine. A Lua scripting plugin was used instead to power the logic of the many rules in the game.

– Story: The lack of story allows the player to focus more on manipulating the rules of the game freely, allowing them to think outside the box by treating each game object as simply an object, rather than stay attached to any one character and constrict players’ decisions.

#54 The Lens of Accessibility

Accessibility is integral to any puzzle game. If no one knows how to play your game, no one is going to understand how to solve your puzzles. Thankfully, accessibility is something that Baba Is You excels in. My father, who has zero gaming experience, managed to have no difficulty mastering the controls and the main mechanics of the game!

Unlike many other games, Baba Is You does little to directly teach players how the game works. Rather, it subtly tells the player what to do through its level design.

In conventional games, this level would simply be unsolvable. This is something that the player would realize almost instantly. However, due to the small space provided for the player to move around with respect to the whole level, players know that there is more to it than meets the eye. As the only other thing that within the same walls as Baba is the rule “Wall Is Stop”, it thus serves as a hint that the player can interact with it somehow.

Once the player interacts with the rule by pushing one of the words around, the rule has successfully been broken and the player realizes that it is possible to walk through walls. The player has thus learnt that it is possible to push away a word from a rule in order to disable it.

The goal is obvious, or so it seems. The flag in the middle of the screen attracts players to step on it. However, they then realize that something is wrong. They then realize that “Flag is Win” is scattered around the level, and not together in a phrase. The player then figures out that they must form the phrase “Flag is Win” in order to turn the flag into a “Winnable” object in order to complete the level.

As seen from this example, the way the level is structured creates a problem-solving path that the player is supposed to take, ensuring that the main mechanic of the game is drilled properly. As the mechanic being taught will be used in later levels with increasing difficulty, it is thus important that it was taught properly in the early levels.

#16 The Lens of Risk Mitigation

It would be very frustrating if the player must continuously restart each level and redo a series of steps in order to try out a different strategy upon failing a level. This prevents players from experimenting with new strategies to complete a level as they would rather play it “safe”, and the game designer from creating puzzles that are more reliant on precision or out of the box as they would take too long to figure out.

Especially in later levels, puzzles can seem complex and overwhelming. However, the game overcomes this by allowing the player to process what is going on with every movement they make. The game only updates when the player makes a move, be it moving a character with the arrow keys or pressing the spacebar to “wait”, which allows the game to update. The player is thus allowed to take their time to calculate their next move, or reflect on what happened if something goes wrong.

The player has the choice to restart the level, but they are also able to Undo each move that they make with no limit. In the game, there is no explicit “Fail” state, which means the player is free to experiment around with various strategies by making use of the Undo button.

#81 Lens of Indirect Control

In some level sequences, the game aims to get players to learn a certain mechanic or interaction. However, the game does this without any direct tutorial specifying what the player needs to do. As such, there are many instances where the game must carefully craft its levels in order to guide the player to use the mechanic.

As the game has a vast and powerful rule set, it can be a sandbox with an infinite number of possibilities. However, some possibilities may not be intended by the level designer. There is thus a need to ensure that the game does not allow players to cheese their way through a level. To achieve this, limitations must be put in place within the level itself.

As seen in this level, the rule “Wall is Stop” is locked away on the right side of the screen from the player. This means that players will always be unable to cross the wall as Baba or Flag. They have to make use of the currently available rules in order to win the level.

Celeste is a 2D puzzle platformer where the player controls a girl named Madaline as she ascends a mountain, Mt. Celeste, all while avoiding various deadly traps and obstacles. At its heart, Celeste is a platformer that caters to both the casual players with its rich and engaging storytelling, forgiving controls, and beautiful audiovisuals, whilst also offering platforming veterans some of the most challenging and satisfying platforming experiences of its class.

The Lens of the Elemental Tetrad

Visuals

Celeste makes use of consistent and aesthetically pleasing 2D art that keeps the player engaged through its captivating scenes and visuals. The use of pixel art allowed the game to portray just enough details for the player to recognize elements in the scene, but at the same time leaving much to the player’s own imaginations. The artwork combined with fluid animations, particle systems, and various other visual effects allowed Celeste to keep the player’s attention and interest throughout its levels without ever getting repetitive nor boring.

Narrative & Storytelling

Platformers, especially difficult ones, typically suffer from not being able to generate enough motivation from the player to push through challenging levels. These platformers are often prone to losing the player’s interest as difficulties increases. Celeste was able to keep the player engaged and motivated throughout most of the game by featuring an interesting and unique narrative and storytelling.

Controls & Mechanics

One of the most important aspects of designing a platformer is making the controls feel good. Unresponsive controls, floaty jumps, sloppy physics, and imprecise movements are some of the biggest reasons why certain platformers just aren’t fun to play.

Madeline’s controls are tight, precise, and responsive. It was extremely easy to put her exactly where I wanted with fluidity and accuracy. This allowed some of the toughest challenges in Celeste to feel challenging but not frustrating. Failing a level was almost always due to the approach taken and never the fault of the controls.

The Lens of Skill

Celeste requires little prerequisite platforming skills to be enjoyable. This was accomplished by incrementally teaching the player the movement mechanics that are available to them. Celeste also uses various hidden tricks to assist the player without their knowledge. For example, the game implements a hidden “Coyote Time”, where for a short during after the player has left the ledge of a platform, the jump button would still trigger as if the player was grounded.

When the player is really in need of assistance, Celeste features a difficulty toggle with various gameplay modifications that will make the game more accessible for casual players. This includes the reduction of game speed, extra mid-air jumps, and freezing the game for the player to input a dash direction when executing a dash.

The Lens of Flow

The goal of the game is always made clear to the player at every level. The overarching narrative remains fixed, and getting the player from one area to another is always purposefully driven.

As the player progresses and climbs farther up Mt. Celeste, they also inevitably gain a better feel for the game mechanics by having beaten prior challenges. This allows the level design to become progressively more challenging.

The Lens of Visible Progress

The levels in Celeste gradually changes as the player progresses. These changes include different visual style of level design, more difficult challenges/puzzles, and even an increase in the intensity of the soundtracks used.

Game rules are sometimes also changed when the player makes it farther up the mountain. For example, towards the submit (and subsequently the end of the game), the gravity is reduced and the player is allowed higher jump distances. This allows for new and different challenges to be added throughout the game.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate is a 2018 crossover fighting game where players combat with their unique skills to smash their opponents off the stage. The game offers both multiplayer and single player mode, but I will be focusing more on the (main) multiplayer mode. This game can be played both by chaotically pressing all the buttons, or with a careful and precise combination of skills. It caters to all age groups.

Lenses

The Lens of the Elemental Tetrad:

• Mechanics: The goal of the game is to smash off your opponent as many times as possible, by using skills and powers of the character you chose. Each character has a unique set of skills which caters to different players’ playing styles.
• Story: Super Smash Bros. Ultimate offers a new single player adventure mode called World of Light, where all characters except for Kirby die after being attacked by a series of Master Hands. Although the story is not as intense as other story-driven games, it’s still a fun adventure mode which serves to explain how the spirits of Spirits Mode (which is Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s newest feature) came to be.
• Aesthetics: Visually, the game is very vibrant and “cartoony”.
• Technology: Information is not readily available but Nintendo has used primarily assembly, C, and C++ in coding their games. The game is played on Nintendo Switch.

The Lens of Surprise:

Throughout the gameplay, there will be random power ups which players can compete to get. This spices up the game as there may be an unexpected turn of events due to the random power ups.

The Lens of Pleasure:

It is very satisfying to see your combination set of skills work and throw off the opponent off the stage, and players get a sense of constant excitement to see what events will happen next and how they should react as they anticipate for their opponents’ attacks.

The Lens of Action:

The game encourages a lot of combination of skills as a strategy, and the freedom and flexibility of choosing a set of skills (by choosing characters) which suits different players.

The Lens of Goals:

The goal is to win the game, by being the player who fell of the stage the least, and kick the most enemies off the stage.

The Lens of Fairness:

Each player is given the same set of characters to choose from, starts at the same time, given the same restrictions and instructions, such that each player has roughly the same chance to win the game.

The Lens of Skill vs Chance:

Although skills can be very useful in the game to get the proper strategy to win, there is still a fair bit of randomness which gives chance to players who do not possess equal skills. The constant random pressing of all buttons can also sometimes randomly lead to the ultimate move to kick off the opponents.

Don’t Starve is a survival game where the player aims to survive as many days as they can by managing three conditions: Hunger, Health and Sanity. The player is able to choose from several characters, who each have their own unique advantages and disadvantages.

Game play: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9-Wjz_Gn-8
Game’s website: https://www.klei.com/games/dont-starve

Lens #7: The Lens of the Elemental Tetrad

Mechanics

• Rules: If the hunger bar or the health bar reaches 0, the character will die and unless the character had activated a resurrection item, the player must restart the game from Day 1.
  Apart from maintaining the health and hunger bar, there are many other dangers that the player needs to avoid or be prepared for in order to survive.
• Player actions: Players are able to craft items from a menu and collect items from the map in order to prepare themselves.
• Goals: The primary goal of the game is to set the highest personal record for the number of days survived. There are also several other goals, like exploring the entire map and solving the puzzles scattered around the map.

Story

• Back story: Maxwell, the ‘king’ of the The Constant (the playable world), has dragged the player into his world and has forced them to survive within it.
• The story is not told throughout the game. The player knows the back story and will only know the next part of the story if they manage to complete the game. Hence, players are kept in suspense as they try to survive and complete the game to find out what has happened to their character.

Aesthetics

• The game has a whimsical, dark look.
• The animals, environment and music of the game becomes creepier as the Sanity of the character drops.
• At night, the game heightens the player’s fear of darkness throughout suspenseful music and complete darkness.

Technology

• The character can be controlled fully through mouse and/or keyboard inputs.

Overall, I believe that the game has managed to use each aspect of the Elemental Tetrad to build upon one another and improve the player experience. The technology of the game is simple, which reflects upon the simple goal of the game. The story and aesthetics build suspense and desire for the player to complete the goal of the game. The mechanics and aesthetics works together to strengthen the player’s fear. For example, the rule of the game is that if the player does not find a light source at night in a certain amount of time, a monster that cannot be killed will be spawned and the character will likely die. The light sources that the players must equip will also run out over time. This creates suspense and a real consequence which, paired with the atmospheric tension, heightens the fear that the player experiences when night comes.

Lens #4: The Lens of Curiosity

The player is able to develop many different strategies for each challenge and character in order to survive the game. After each iteration of the game, the player will often wonder how they can tweak their current strategy to survive longer and be more efficient in the next game. Leaving out a tutorial also makes the player more curious as to what comes beyond the current day. The map also has many mysterious items which hint towards a puzzle waiting to be solved.

Lens #31: The Lens of Challenge

The game does not provide a tutorial on how to survive in the world. The player has to experiment and probably die several times in order to gain some experience and survive past the first month. The environment of the game is also constantly changing over time, bringing new challenges to the player. For example, the game has 4 seasons that they cycle through. In Winter, the main challenge is in staying warm and surviving the winter boss. In each iteration of the game, the map also changes. Hence, the game is ever changing and the players will have to figure out how to survive in each iteration. The player also has to figure out by themselves how they can progress forward from the current map. This challenge inspires the players to continue playing and break their own record.

Lens #41: The Lens of Punishment

The game often punishes the players if they do irrational actions. For example, if the player randomly attacks animals or monsters, they will often find themselves dead and having to restart the game. If the player carelessly uses their torch to burn an item near their camp, their entire camp will go up in flames and all the items built will turn to ashes, resetting the progress that they have made. This constant punishment manifests a sense of caution and tension in every action that the player makes. This tension adds to the suspenseful element of the game and makes the game feel thrilling.

Lens #49: The Lens of Visible Progress

The game has a ‘Morgue’ tab that keeps note of the amount of days survived for each iteration of the game. The player will be motivated to continue playing and break their record as they can see the improvement in the number of days survived. The progress of the game can also be observed from the player’s ‘camp’, (the place where they have built most of their items), as the players can see their camp growing and looking more organised as time passes. The number of days that they have survived in this iteration can also be seen easily from the screen, giving the player satisfaction and motivating them to continue playing. All these factors allow the players to see how much they have improved over time and encourages them to continue playing and improving to beat their record and complete the game.