I remember watching Ready Player One and thinking, “How cool would it be if they actually added this idea to real life?” and guess what?
It felt like my prayers were heard when Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) made their way into the gaming industry. There was a rise of VR headsets on consoles like the PlayStation 4 that made it possible for you to immerse yourself in the game that you’re playing.
However, to make the most out of your experience, you’ll need to keep your console or the smart device you are using connected to a reliable internet connection, so that you can play and enjoy content as seamlessly as possible.
For instance, Tekken 7 had a VR feature that allowed you to play online with other people, but what’s the point if you have a spotty internet connection and keep getting disconnected from the game?
Therefore, it is a wise idea to keep your device connected to a fast internet connection, like the one offered by Xfinity, so that you don’t have to face the horrors of being disconnected over and over again. Feel free to reach out to Xfinity Customer Service, and they will hook you up with an internet plan that suits your needs.
Coming back to VR and AR, here are some of the creative ways both technologies have revolutionized the gaming industry.
An Immersive Gaming Experience
VR allows you to enter the game world entirely, which at times makes you forget about the real world because of how immersive the entire experience is.
You can interact with the game through your head and body movements, and if I mention the PlayStation 4 again, the PlayStation VR headset comes with the Move Controller that lets you integrate your hand movements into the game, making games like No Man’s Sky and Hitman easier to play.
AR integrates elements of the game into the real world, which is quite the opposite of what VR does. An example of this is Pokémon Go on mobile devices, which lets you see your Pokémon in real life when you are about to catch them or are battling with other Pokémon, making the gameplay very immersive.
Introduction of New Genres in the Industry
Because of VR and AR, a lot of new genres have been introduced to the gaming industry. For instance, there are VR games that place you in a horror setting as you progress through the game, allowing you to test your wits when the game throws numerous jump scares at you.
There are also a lot of action games that allow you to dodge and shoot, which can be seen as great exercise, as these games test your aim and your reflexes. I remember watching a video where a gamer replicated Deadpool’s funny fighting style in VR, and that is when I realized how immersive VR gaming actually is.
Just like that, AR has also led to location-based games being created where you can use your phone’s GPS to turn reality into a game board as you play. This encourages players to explore their surroundings and interact with numerous digital objects.
Again, this is something that can commonly be seen in Pokémon Go, where you have to interact with Poké Stops and look for wild Pokémon to catch.
Enhanced Role-Playing Experience
Once you immerse yourself in a captivating VR game, it blurs the line between you and the character that you are playing as.
It’s like you live a different life and follow the character’s story to see what unfolds next. VR and AR allow players to create stories and narratives that keep unfolding as you progress through games. This helps you break free from the conventional idea of gaming with just you, a controller, a console, and your screen.
Another thing to take into account is that when you play a game on a console, you are only confined to a flat screen as you control your character.
However, once you put on a VR headset, you can directly interact with virtual objects and objectives in the game as if they were present in real life. You can move about with freedom, something that you can't achieve as you play a game on a console using a flat, non-interactive screen.
If you’ve ever seen the VR version of Among Us, you would know that the game allows you to play with other players from all over the world, which I believe is a great way to get to know other people. You can form a network with those players, and those networks can eventually blossom into online friendships, which is something quite common in the gaming industry.
If I were you, I would get a VR headset right away to experience the future of gaming. It’s the kind of experience that you just can’t miss. And with VR headsets becoming more affordable with every new release, it’s the perfect time to get one for yourself.
