My favorite VR game of all time is Obduction from the wizards at Cyan. I’m also squirming on the edge of my seat in anticipation of the forthcoming arrival of Cyan’s Firmament, which is slated for release… at some yet-to-be-revealed time.
Both of these games are built (or are being built in the case of Firmament) using Unreal Engine 4 from Epic Games. In the case of Obduction, the Unreal Engine provides a visual experience that’s as close to actually being in an alien world as one could hope for. At least, that’s what I thought before…
…I just received an email from my chum Charles Pfeil who is retired and now spends his days happily pottering around the golf course (the lucky b…oy).
In his message, Charles said: “Hi Max, I have a friend who told his fiancé that when virtual reality became an environment that one could live in, he would do so. She accepted this and they got married. I don’t know if she thought such a thing would never happen or if she was thinking of joining him. Check out this link to see how much closer we are getting.”
This video shows a tempting taster of the capabilities of the forthcoming Unreal Engine 5, which is slated to appear on the scene sometime in 2021. Unreal Engine 5 features a new technology called Nanite, which can handle over a billion polygons (triangles) in each and every frame. In conjunction with the Chaos physics system and state-of-the-art light bouncing, even the shadows are pixel accurate.
You really should watch the above video in which the Unreal Engine 5 is revealed from start to end. My heart still racing after experiencing this 2D version of a flying scene and imagining it in VR. I cannot wait to experience VR worlds created Unreal Engine 5 — how about you?
The Matrix. It is amazing how science fiction books and movies so often predict the future accurately – with a bit more drama than what actually happens, of course.
You say there’s more drama in movies like the Matrix — you haven’t seen my life — i DREAM of a quite day in the Matrix…
I’ve been fascinated with video game rendering since video games were invented. I usually stink at playing the game and frequently prefer to watch others play so that I can enjoy the video. This one is pretty amazing. So many features and attention to the small details — real eye candy for me! The one thing I don’t like is how the view jerks around in a most …unreal… fashion. Just not the way my head/eyes/body track movement naturally when I’m walking behind someone, for example. Very mechanical looking, and in a bad way. Not sure I’m explaining it well, but it is very noticeable to me. Hopefully that is a function of this being a demo. Regardless, this is sweet!
Like you say, it’s a demo — when you are in Obduction, there’s no jerking around — it’s just like strolling around an alien world. You might want to invest in an Oculus Quest — not as good as a Rift, but no cables or external sensors — you can justify the expense by telling yourself it will be educational for the kids LOL