Out of all the latest vr devices that are out there in the market, my personal favorite is the Oculus quest. One of the most appealing feature of this device to me is that it is a standalone headset. This means that I get to move around more freely without being limited like those which requires a wire connecting to a pc. Also, this headset stands out from the other standalone devices with its full room tracking system. This allows you to have 6DoF, giving you a more immersive experience of moving in the vr world. The guardian system that it comes with maps your room environment and provides you with warnings when you are crash into a wall or an object, so you can play safely without having to worry about your surroundings. It also has a decent FoV of 95° and is decently priced at $399, making it very value for money.
MR Headset
Samsung HMD Odyssey+
My most preferred mr device is the Samsung HMD Odyssey+. It has one of the best display performance, using dual 3.5-inch AMOLED displays with 1440×1660 resolution in each eye. It is able to eliminate the screen door effect(SDE) – when space between pixels on a display are visible as fine black lines, hence providing a better visual experience. It also has a great FoV of 110° and 90Hz refresh rate. Its built-in AKG headphones is able to provide you with 360° spatial sound. Combining this with its amazing visuals, I would say that Samsung HMD Odessey+ is able to provide one of the best immersive experience out of all the available headsets out there, hence it is my most preferred mr headset.
Fire Emblem: Three Houses is a Tactical Role-Playing Game for the Nintendo Switch. The main gameplay consists of a single continuous campaign, that may branch into 1 of 4 routes depending on the player’s choices. The player assumes the role of a Professor at a military academy and later a military commander and battles for the fate of the continent of Fódlan.
Elemental Tetrad: 1. Mechanics During each chapter, the player is given a month of in-game time to interact with their students – and later soldiers – in activities that help improve the characters’ combat abilities.
At the end of each month, the player must successfully complete a battle in order to complete the chapter. During this phase, the player controls their allied units on a grid-based system. Each turn, the player may command each of their units to move to another tile within its own range, and to perform an action – attacking an enemy or supporting an allied unit. Defeating enemies awards a unit experience points, through which they may level-up and grow stronger. Once all allied units have moved, the enemy AI takes its turn. As a grid-based and turn-based strategy game, the player is able to – and in many cases must – think carefully not only about the actions their units take, but also the order in which to take those actions.
Through the Lens of Triangularity (#33), the moment-to-moment gameplay often involves a risk-reward trade-off. The outcome of battles is partially luck-based as the hit- and critical-rate of each attack is a percentage chance. In many cases, the player might adopt a less reliable strategy that reaps greater potential rewards, or attempt a more reliable but less rewarding strategy.
Each battle may have a different goal – such as routing the enemy or defeating the enemy commander. Each battle may also have multiple side-objectives – for example, the player may be tasked with protecting NPCs, for which they may be rewarded with better items after each battle. Some battles feature chests, which the player may open to reap additional items. These are typically optional towards the completion of the battle – and by extension the game – but must typically be completed within a turn-limit.
Through the Lens of Goals (#25), the player’s ultimate goal is to beat all the chapters in a particular route and thus complete the campaign. Proximal to each chapter, the player might try to complete both the main and side objectives. Turn-by-turn, the player’s goal is to keep their units healthy while moving towards the battle’s objective. The player may also have other goals in mind, such as feeding kills to a particular unit in order to raise them, building the support levels of units, or during the non-battle phases, trying to achieve a particular build for a particular unit.
2. Story The game has 4 different routes that the player may experience depending on their choices. They might either team up with Adrestian Empire, determined to conquer the continent in order to revoke an antiquated system of nobility, or 1 of 3 other opposing factions that aim to stop the Empire on its warpath.
A consistent element throughout the Fire Emblem series has been the need to fight and kill characters you might be reluctant to in order to progress. This element is particularly well-executed in this game. During the first half of the game, the player may recruit students from other houses into their own. If they fail to do so, the characters return in the second half of the game fighting under opposing banners. While previous games would place the player under similar circumstances, the situation is especially poignant as the player is allowed to bond with them for the first half of the game. Through the Lens of Meaningful Choices (#32), the player’s choices are able to affect the ultimate fate of the continent and characters.
Thanks to deep world-building, the player is unlikely to piece together the truth behind the world’s history and the unfolding events unless they have played through all 4 routes. Through the Lens of Curiosity (#4), the mystery of character motivations and in-universe lore provide a good incentive for the player to both progress in the story and to replay the game.
3. Aesthetics The game’s art is beautiful, with detailed character models and combat animations. Of particular note is the game’s music. There are two renditions of each battle theme – normally, a more melodic rendition will play, but during combat animations between two units, a more rhythmic version of the same track would play to accentuate the intensity of combat. The use of recurring motifs also gives the game a strong musical identity.
4. Technology The game runs on the Nintendo Switch. Compared to previous 3DS titles, the more powerful device allows for the more detailed models as described above.
The Lens of the Player (#16) One common dynamic that arises in the Fire Emblem series is resetting battles. Because death is permanent in old games (and on “classic” mode in newer games), players would often restart an entire battle if any of their units were to die. This game allows the player to optionally turn back time a set number of times per-battle, allowing them to run back a poor decision. The player is also warned whenever their unit moves into the enemy’s attack range, removing the need to check and memorise enemy attack ranges. These comprise Quality-of-Life changes that help to enhance the player experience compared to older titles.
Short Description of Overcooked! 2 (Versus Mode, 2v2)
When the Nintendo Switch was released in 2017, along came the game Overcooked!, a co-op arcade action game about chefs scrambling to get food orders out of unique kitchens. The refreshing and original concept of the game made it a hit. In August 2018, a sequel of the game was released, and it was met with considerable fanfare as well. The game play is like that of Overcooked!, whereby cooks in a kitchen get tasked with many orders and they must accomplish as many of these orders as they can. The chefs must not only pick out ingredients from crates, they still must chop them up, remove them from chopping boards, cook these ingredients and ensure that they do not “overcook”. After which, the cooked ingredients must be placed onto a plate with other cooked/raw ingredients to make a complete food item. This food item then needs to be brought to a tiny window to be served before the order is considered completed. The game play usually involves 4 players, 2 players cooperating with each other to beat the other 2 players who are on the opposing team. It is possible for just 2 players to play the game as well, however, I will be focusing on communicating ideas for a 4-player game play, specifically the Versus Mode.
Overcooked! 2 Versus Mode 2v2
Game Analysis of
Overcooked! 2 (Versus Mode, 2v2)
While playing the game, I feel a sense of anxiousness because I can see the orders piling up very quickly and as a result, I become flustered. It is necessary for each pair to work well in order to complete more orders than the opposing team. While I play the game, I am most focused on the orders list, and sticking strictly to only the things I am delegated to do. If I am supposed to take the ingredients, chop them up and serve the done dishes, I will stick to doing these tasks and nothing else. This prevents a conflict of responsibilities between my teammate and me.
Overcooked! 2 involves arenas which are static, whereby the kitchens remain the same throughout the 3 minutes of game play. It also features dynamic arenas, which morphs every 15 seconds or so, for players who are itching for an additional level of challenge. With the dynamic arenas, players must think on their toes, because the tasks the player will be able to accomplish changes according to how the arena morphs. When I got stuck on one side of the arena, I was only able to toss the ingredients to my teammate and she had to do all the chopping, cooking and plating, then she had to toss the completed food items to my side for me to serve. This is occasionally frustrating, because we ended up tossing completed orders into the water or molten lava, which render the food items useless. Hence, we must redo the same order again which reduces the chance of completing the order request satisfactorily. However, this makes the game even more addictive, as the additional layer of challenge invites players to come back to compete for an even better score if they know that they were delayed due to mistakes.
Cooperation is key in Overcooked! 2. In order to complete as many orders as possible, 2 players must communicate throughout the 3 minutes of game play effectively, especially when the arena is dynamic, or if the arena allows for the opponent pair to steal completed orders/ingredients from you and your teammate. There is synergy when the players work together because of how the game mechanics work. If players decide to work on completing orders alone, from getting the ingredients to serving the completed orders, it would be too slow, and the points earned would be affected. The optimal scores are achieved the Overcooked! 2 Versus Mode only through cooperation.
Despite the high-level of cooperation required between teammates, the competition element of the game is not ignored. In the Overcooked! 2 Versus Mode, teams of 2 compete against each other to see which team can earn the most points in the same time period. Some game arenas are also pieced in a way that allows players to steal the completed food items of their opponents, making the game play even more challenging. All 4 players are playing within the same arena and their actions can affect one another. Players can block opponents from getting certain ingredients by standing in the way of their opponents. The competition aspect of Overcooked! 2 makes the game more entertaining; players must not only strategise on ways to cooperate with their teammate and compete against their opponents.
Finally,
the game has an intuitive and bright visual interface to complement its
intention of being a party game. The intuitive interface is a necessary game
aesthetic as it prevents the complication of the fast-paced game. Players can
glance down quickly to check the time left and their current scores, which are
placed at the bottom right and the bottom left of the screen respectively. This
saves time, as placing these elsewhere might require players to glance around
for a couple more milliseconds, affecting the players’ momentum. Also, the
bright colours used to paint the whole game provides a cheerful atmosphere, uplifting
the essence of fun. The background music used is upbeat, which complements the theme
effectively. It also speeds up towards the end, as the game clock approaches 0.
This adds on to the adrenaline that the players feel towards the end of the
game, as they eagerly clear as many of the remaining orders as possible.
In conclusion, Overcooked! 2 is a fantastic game. It is a good example of how real-world scenarios can inspire interesting and refreshing game plays that work. Even though it does not have a detailed narrative, nor does it have stellar graphics, it stands out because it is an effective party game. Its inviting and fun atmosphere, and the relatively short duration keeps players entertained for hours. In a generation where we are so disconnected by technology, maybe it is time we consider how we can adapt technology to help us connect, just like how Overcooked! 2 has achieved it.
There are countless VR devices that are currently available on the market, and each with its own pros and cons. There are those that require wires, and those that don’t. There are those that requires a phone, and those that don’t, and this list goes on. I personally believe that the best VR experience definitely woould be one that does not require any external wires, or devices, and one with an extensive support of different controllers and softwares.
Here are some of the notable VR systems in the market:
Device
Pros
Cons
Oculus Rift S
Accurate motion tracking Full software library
DisplayPort only Requires physical wires
HTC Vive
Immersive experience Wide support for different controllers Supports “whole-room VR” with use of external sensors
Expensive Requires physical wires
Nintendo Labo Toy-Con
Great design Engaging physical construction and play
More expensive than standard first party games
Playstation VR
Immersive experience Works with non-VR apps and games Motion control support
Requires separate PlayStation Camera Less powerful hardware
All of these are spectacular VR Headsets and has its own perks, and all of these are targeted at slightly different audiences. Lets say you already have a Playstation and prefer it over a PC, then the Sony Playstation VR Is hands down the best headset you should get.
I would choose the Nintendo labo Toy-Con variety Kit over the rest. Yes, it may not have the most impressive hardware, nor the most immersive VR experience as compared to those listed above, it does intrigue most with its unique hands-on approach to DIY VR.
Going into further detail regarding the Nintendo Labo, the Labo uses the existing Switch device, and its JoyCon Controllers to provide different experiences using separately purchasable Kits. Currently there are 4 kits: VR Kit, Variety Kit, Robot Kit and a Vehicle Kit.
The VR Kit provides a more traditional VR experience where one would have a headset, but with different customisable experiences.
For example, the VR Kit has 6 different projects, the VR Goggles, Blaster, camera, Elephant, Bird and the Wind Pedal. The variety of projects that one create with just a switch and the kit is one of the reasons why i would love to try out the Nintendo Labo (If anyone would like to sponsor me this do let me know, so that I can provide a more thorough review)
Image from https://labo.nintendo.com/kits/vr-kit/
Furthermore, playing this with kids will be a joyful experience and one where they will be able to learn and further appreciate VR technology.
Mixed Reality
What caught my eye for Mixed Reality devices was the Volvo x Varjo XR-1 system shown during lecture. I personally felt that the application of mixed reality in such a situation is really useful.
i am really looking forward for this to be available to drivers as it would be essential for existing drivers to be able to experience different situations in simulation.
Yes, the driving school has taught us how to drive, but one thing it is unable to do is to put us in dangerous situations without endangering any lives.
In a VR Headset, I usually look out for the common factors that make a headset distinguish itself from others, like higher DOF, FOV, refresh rate and more importantly for me, an non-tethered headset, which brings a feeling of freedom.
It is of course, difficult to find a good device that does all of the above and still remains affordable. A common few headsets that receive much popularity are the Oculus Quest and HTC Vive.
As such, it is a surprise even to myself, that one of my personal favorites for VR is the Nintendo Labo VR.
1,280 by 720 Resolution, 60Hz Refresh, 3 DOF. Not the most amazing specs you’ll see.
While it can be coined as “VR but not exactly” by many people, the main reason as to why it catches my attention is the idea of learning and creativity.
Not many people have the opportunity to experience VR, especially kids. With a Google Cardboard-like experience, many people can get their first VR experience, beginning from “building” their own VR headset.
From there on, they can shape their own VR experiences by building a variety of different extensions through the many Toy-Con projects available (elephant, camera, blaster…), or simply experience compatible Nintendo games through the lens of VR. Players also have the option to make their own mini VR games.
Looking at its specs, it is clear that this is not the most outstanding VR device and it definitely can’t compete with other specific sets like the Playstation VR (though Labo is more affordable than many). However its main selling point lies not in its tech, but how it makes VR more understandable through its play experience.
From building to basic programming, the Nintendo Labo makes VR more accessible to people and the idea of VR more tangible. Rather than letting VR seem like something futuristic and daunting, it gently introduces people into the VR space. Especially for kids, this helps with the learning experience and is a great first introduction to VR, which can hopefully ignite an interest in them.
Everyone has different thoughts on what is the best system, and a cool extensive list of VR devices and their specs can be found here.
MR Devices
While I’m not exactly familiar with MR tech (affordability being an issue of course), upon research, one of the headsets that catches my eye is the Microsoft Hololens 2, a popular pick for many.
A pricey piece with 52 FOV, about 3h battery life, and more power than its predecessor.
With a stylish design including a flip-up visor and improved fit, it’s cool to see how the device has been advanced for user comfort and experience. Tracking (gesture, gaze, hand) and various sensors increase the possibilities that the HMD can bring, and I’m interested in seeing how the experience is as compared to the Hololens 1.
Here is a list of VR headsets that I think great with their main parameters:
Product
Type
Connection
Resolution(per eye)
Refresh Rate(Hz)
HTC Vive
Tethered
HDMI, USB3.0
1280 x 1440
90
Sony Playstation VR
Tethered
HDMI, USB2.0
1080 x 1200
120
Nintendo Labo VR Kit
Mobile
—
960 x 1080
60
Oculus Quest
Standalone
—
1440 x 1600
72
Among these VR headsets, personally I like HTC Vive most.
HTC Vive can provide the best immersive experiences with their eerily accurate room-tracking technology and smooth graphics. [1] Although it is tethered, which makes it less flexible when comparing to other types of VR equipments, I still think that the sense of immersions should be the most important thing when evaluating VR equipments. In my opinion, the biggest selling point of VR technology itself is exactly the immersive experiences provided. That’s why consumers would like to bother buying a VR headset instead of simply sitting in front of their own PC or a mobile phone.
Besides the delivery of a variety of thrills and chills via its room-tracking technology and touch-enabled controllers, HTC Vive can sit comfortably on user’s face, adding padding and softness to the headset and allowing user to wear it for longer. Valve’s experience with Steam and the wealth of options and social features within is another reason that I would like to recommend HTC Vive.
Here is a list of MR headsets that I think great with their main parameters:
Product
Max Field of View
Resolution
Screen Type
Pixel Density(ppi)
Price
Samsung HMD Odyssey Mixed Reality
110°
2880 x 1600
Amoled
615
$499
Acer Windows Mixed Reality
100°
2880 x 1440
LCD
706
$285.99
Lenovo Explorer
110°
2880 x 1440
LCD
unknown
$265
Among these MR headsets, I like Samsung HMD Odyssey Mixed Reality most (not only because it’s the most expensive one).
From the chart above, we can easily see that HMD Odyssey has the largest max field of view and resolution, and its screen type is Amoled instead of LCD. Additionally, Samsung has cut down on screen-door effect (SDE) with new technology that doubles the 616 pixels-per-inch (PPI) provided by the native resolution.
HMD Odyssey has been tweaked with a wider nose guard and eye box, and making it easier to wear for anyone with prescription frames.[2] This is also why I would like to suggest HMD Odyssey most among those MR devices in the market.
I decided my favorite VR and MR headsets thinking about as if I was going to buy the actual headset; therefore, I based my decisions on price, image quality, experience and usability. As other classmates have written in this forum, I have to say my favorite VR headset is the Oculus Quest. At first I thought the Oculus Rift S was better; but after considering some tradeoffs, I prefer the Quest.
Firstly, Oculus Quest is easier to start with, I liked the fact that you do not need a VR capable PC, you just need your smartphone to start using it. For me, being able to share the VR experience with my friends and family is important as I enjoy playing games or living new experiences with them. In addition, carrying a laptop everywhere I want to go with the headset isn’t really what I’d like to do, so portability is another important factor for me.
Secondly, the Quest has two 1600×1440 OLED Panels at 72Hz. The Rift S has a better image quality; nevertheless, I think some games with not really photorealistic graphics will look the same, in my case, I prefer more cartoony games so I still prefer the Quest.
Thirdly, while both the Quest and Rift S have 6 degrees of freedom, I believe the fact that the Quest is wireless even gives you more freedom to move and even not feeling the wires on your body enhances the level of immersion you have while playing.
Fourthly, Oculus Quest has a manual IPD adjustment; therefore, it’s easier to adjust it to your facial features for a better experience.
On the other hand, some downsides to the Oculus Quest are that if you need to play VR PC games you better get the Oculus S as the graphics and the overall experience are better. Also, for me it’s pricey, but I think If I had money I would probably buy it for just the $399 it’s worth.
In my opinion MR is all about being able to expand your current reality to have even more information or objects in your field of view, but I believe being able to mix this without even noticing you are wearing something is really important. That is the reason why my top pic are the Nreal light Mixed Reality Glasses.
The thing that caught my eye about this MR Glasses is that they almost look like regular sunglasses. In addition, they just weight 88 grams. Also they are USB-C compatible, they have 6 degrees of freedom and simultaneous localization and mapping.
Furthermore, for a MR device, the 53 degree FOV is considered to be really good. Other features include voice control and built in 3D sound speakers.
A downside of it is that you need to use another device: the Computing Unit which runs Android and the controller for the lenses. but if I had money I would definitely still buy this lenses for $599 to try them just because of their design and weight, considering that they can also be used with prescription lenses which is really important for people like me who wear glasses!
My preferred VR device is Sony PlayStation VR. The main reason I pick Sony’s VR device as my favorite is that it has the highest refresh rate which is 120Hz while the refresh rates of other devices are usually 60Hz to 90Hz. According to my experience, the refresh rate has a strong influence on the playing experience of games, especially for shooting games. Moreover, low refreshing rates of VR devices may cause nausea in certain conditions. However, a high refresh rate also requires stronger hardware. The resolution of it is also less than the devices produced by other companies. Nevertheless, for me, it is okay to have a less resolution in the trade of a higher refresh rate.
My preferred MR device is Windows Mixed Reality Headset (HC102) produced by ASUS. The reason I like it is that it has the lightest weight compared to other devices such as HP’s(898 g) and ACER’s(848 g) without comprising on screen quality. It still has a screen with 2.89 inch size and 1440*1440 resolution per eye. However, the field of view of it is 95 degrees horizontal Fresnel-Aspherical which is slightly smaller than others which are usually 100 degrees. With a lighter weight pressing on their shoulders, users can act more flexibly and have MR experience for a longer time. Last but not least, in my opinion, the outward appearance of it also looks better compared to other devices.
My ideal VR headset would be the powerful Valve Index VR Headset assuming that money wasn’t a factor due to its high-end price.
Valve Index VR Headset
This beast of a headset has a display with 1440×1600 per-eye resolution, a 120 Hz refresh rate (with experimental 144 Hz mode) and an approximately 130 degrees FOV. It also has motion controllers with individual finger tracking as well as built-in speakers with excellent audio meaning there is no need for secondary headphones.
Although this headset’s specs make it one of the best VR headsets on the market, its steep price tag, difficult initial set up, and restricting PC-tethered experience makes the high-end headset unwelcoming to casual gamers and newcomers to the VR ecosystem. Having used this headset in a VR arcade recently, I was extremely amazed at how immersive the experience felt so I undoubtedly have to choose this headset as my favorite. If I ever purchased the headset, I would personally be comfortable with the tethered experience; however, I could always just set up a pulley system to hold the wires within my room to avoid accidental tangling if necessary. If I was planning to spend a long time in VR and had the money, I would definitely get this headset since it is extremely comfortable, offers amazing visuals, and the device’s battery life would never be a concern like with standalone headsets.
Preferred MR Headset
My ideal MR headset would be the sophisticated Microsoft Hololens 2 MR Headset, although it is pretty much an enterprise exclusive.
Microsoft Hololens 2 MR Headset
Being lightweight and well-designed, the Hololens 2 headset is an expensive premium product designed with a strong enterprise-focus. With a larger FOV and a more comfortable fit than its predecessor, it is mainly useful for visualization and training purposes within the workplace. If I had the resources and had to choose an MR headset, I would definitely pick this powerful headset due to its intelligent visual overlay and eye/hand tracking. Although this product will probably never make it into the hands of low-budget consumers, I believe that this product has a lot of potential to greatly improve the training process within businesses.
AnimVR is an animation tool shown during SIGGRAPH 2018 that released later that year on Steam and their site. In the program, you can draw from scratch, set the keyframes, color, and storyboard, just as a start.
It looks like a great tool for anyone in animation, as it can be exported to a standard device. But, you might ask, why in VR?
AnimVR was made with VR in mind to help make an easier transition into creating 3D production content. When something is already made in the desired platform, there is less of a need to fix it up for a new platform. Now, it is easier than before to create animated 3D films and shorts.
That being said, the reviews are mixed. The main complaint is that the controllers tend to register strokes when drawing, even though the users never inputted the command. Some other complaints are that the tutorials are almost non-existent and not helpful, leaving the user to attempt to learn the program by themselves.
However, seeing that AnimVR was publicized at SIGGRAPH 2018 and also has some larger studios using the program, such as Aardman Productions (of Wallace and Gromit fame), there is potential to this program. And it seems that there are continual updates to this program, at least to fix bugs, but also to try and streamline the creation process.
Since it’s the 1st of its kind, in terms of an animation program pre-made on a VR platform, there are bound to be bugs and missteps. But I think with time and continual updating, there could be something outstanding to work with here. Below are links to the company site, Steam game, and SIGGRAPH article: https://nvrmind.io/ https://store.steampowered.com/app/508690/AnimVR/ https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/3226552.3226553
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