Upcoming games that may benefit from Rift Support

[unsilentwill]

EDIT: After reading the Asylum thread, which turned out to be a slide-show type of game instead of 3D expereience that didn't meet its stretch goal anyway, I decided to repurpose this old thread to look out for new or recent games that could serious help propel interest in the Rift, and immersion in the games.

This is kind of old news by now, but during Amnesia Fortnight this year a couple of guys from Double Fine made a pretty amazing looking prototype.

[youtube-hd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wZHUh5gtmE[/youtube-hd]

It's up in the air which of the prototypes made could become full games, but I think there's a good chance Autonomous could get a full version, and from the first person nature and 80s-90s lo-fi VR inspired world--powergloves and all, it could be our first experience of real "cyberspace" on the Rift.

Also, there used to be charts and stuff, and a wiki for games we want/need to see on the Rift, maybe we could sticky that to keep our imaginations going until March?

[cybereality]

Nice. Love the style.

[2EyeGuy]

Some things about the interface would have to change for it to work well on the Rift. But I hope they add Rift support.

[Aeroflux]

I never would have figured this kind of game from Double Fine...hope it makes the cut!

[unsilentwill]

Repurposing this old thread to consolidate interest in new Rift-looking games, as I found out about XING, currently being Kickstarted which apparently has already been bothered about the Rift, and had this to say:

We have also received quite a few questions about making this game for the Oculus Rift. We think it is awesome, and want to let everyone know that we are looking into this, and will most likely be making it a stretch goal (hopefully in the near future!)

[youtube-hd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=8cuUXtyD8n8[/youtube-hd]

It sounds like in general, the majority of developers are clueless about what it takes to make a Rift game. We've heard both, that it can be added in a day, to having to be built from the ground up. XING seems more of the former, as there's no visible HUD. We'll all learn more this month from the release of the SDK, and Valve and Palmer talking at GDC about the challenges of Rift development. There's a lot of games recently that would be incredible with the Rift, and hopefully would not be a burden to mod, such as Guns of Icarus, Chivalry, Pathologic, The Void, Zeno Clash (2), Cry of Fear, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, etc. Maybe third party drivers are the way to go, but it'd be nice if studios can gauge the interest from the Rift audience for reviving sales of their game.

In the meantime this seems a like a good place to more or less daydream about new Rift-eque content that you find out there, to help it get more recognition for developers looking for inspiration for games that work well, and for the creators of the games to get their idea into the hands of the soon to be many people excited about new game technology. Which might mean a thread full of kickstarters, but there are some indies like Jon Blow's Witness, Wolfire's Receiver, Day Z, and FRACT OSC (all of which I believe are already getting a Rift), who are as excited about the Rift as we are, and more or less funded.

[youtube-hd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Brd0F7rlXCI[/youtube-hd]
[youtube-hd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCThInmzjXw[/youtube-hd]
[youtube-hd]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpAvlsOhQ6o[/youtube-hd]

It just feels like while consoles are being begged daily to make new IPs, news IPs are overflowing on the PC and in the VR space. In my experience indies are starting to get the hang of Unity and UDK, as well as making amazing mods, and even those prototypes (such as FRACT) prove to be seeds of the very games that will actually make games that we have never experienced before, and to a whole new audience. Hopefully the Rift community and the indie community can combine audiences and thrive together (And I know these mostly look very Mysty, its just a game type I happen to be drawn to, if find anything other exciting concepts and genres please feel free to post.)

[Bishop51]

I think there's a lot of market potential here and huge room for growth but there is some concern that this kind of secondary implementation could have a negative impact on positive Rift experiences. I can tell you from a Rift developers perspective that in many ways it's a bit frustrating to watch up and coming games tack on "Rift Support" like it's an easily implemented extra. I don't mean that in a derogatory way, many developers have good intentions but just aren't fully informed in the minutia of VR's challenges.

You really have to think about the foundation of your game design and experience with the Rift in mind. Not that it will be an insurmountable leap for some games to integrate but it's a lot more work than I think many understand. Every scene, every mechanic, every moment needs to be vetted in the format and I doubt very much that many developers will take the time to do that properly with games not made for the format. Until developers start implementing Rift as the default, not the "compatible with", there's always the danger that you'll give consumers a generally unpleasant VR experience and I'd hate to see that be the dominant noise in the media with regards to the Rift.

That being said, I understand the reticence to take that risk on an unproven market. Hopefully the more insane of us will help pull others along into full commitment

[unsilentwill]

Very good point, and something the entire staff has been saying since day one. The question is then, is it worth it for all these third party drivers and stretch goals if the game isn't built from the ground up? I can see both sides of this. I could imagine going through a "rift ready" game and suddenly a textbox is half an inch from my eyeball instead of floating comfortably, and that ruining the immersion, but... there's so many new games, (not to mention old PC and N64 style games) I want to be in, and it seems like way more work to redo the entire game structure for a Rift, Hydra, Omni, et all, although obviously that's where I'd prefer the direction of gaming to go in the future. Maybe VR remakes of classic games are more in order in the next 5-10 years instead? (By the way, I'm currently developing a game using old mechanics, but ground up for the Rift and Hydra)

I'm happy to delete this thread if it's encouraging people to think about VR in the wrong way. My only point is in the meantime of full VR take over, the Rift could be another step, an improved monitor that people could get used to with their old content, instead of having to redo the whole 20 year of 3D history of gaming to use.

[nateight]

[extremely insightful stuff]

I love this post - it echoes my own feelings that Rift support probably is something you can tack on in a day but really does need to be a primary consideration from the earliest stages of development to be effective. "Rift Support" as a stretch goal is frankly insulting - I anticipate settling into a sort of simmering outrage over the next several years as games treat the Rift as a fashionable way to get some free press while plainly not having an inkling of VR's strengths. It's a can of worms, yes, but there is an established solution to this issue that has worked pretty well in practice:

[Okta]

This is parallels to what happened to 3d movie's in general. After Avatar's big impact every second new movie come out with a nasty post production simulated 3d release. The result is under whelmed audiences confused about what is supposed to be so good about the fuzzy disorientating movie they just paid extra to see.

In saying that though its not a completely fair comparison as the 3d in games can be tacked on after successfully for the Rift if done with care. And i want a large library of games to check out with the Rift .

The other problem is that the Rift is just a display with head tracking. There is no VR control scheme implemented so there cant really be any true "built to purpose" VR games until a standard is settled.

[2EyeGuy]

I'm not so opposed to tacked-on support. Even third person games like Tomb-Raider Anniversary, I enjoyed playing on the VR920. Most games already try not to move your head around too much, and try not to have a HUD that's too intrusive. It's not the same as being designed for it, but it's still good.

[GeraldT]

wow - there are some really cool games you discovered!! I agree with Bishop on games that implement support afterwards, but I that does not mean I am not looking forward to trying those out.
I guess many games can be made Rift compatible with a bit more effort than just a day or two. Thank you for those titles, they at least were an inspiration

[Paladia]

I think there's a lot of market potential here and huge room for growth but there is some concern that this kind of secondary implementation could have a negative impact on positive Rift experiences. I can tell you from a Rift developers perspective that in many ways it's a bit frustrating to watch up and coming games tack on "Rift Support" like it's an easily implemented extra. I don't mean that in a derogatory way, many developers have good intentions but just aren't fully informed in the minutia of VR's challenges.

Considering the Rift is unproven and has so far just sold 10 000 copies, no AAA title will be designed for it. It's market is way too small for it, thus far.

[Dakor]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2XkTIYhQC8[/youtube]
it's not realy upcoming.. but it's new and should be mentioned xD
You have 1 key for every finger of your hand and you move the hand with the mouse.. And guess what, no support for hydra or something
the controls are awful.. I have no idea what those people thought when they released this -.-
BUT: With some mods (Rift/Hydra) it could be at least a bit fun and not a pain in the..

well.. I'd like to play a sequel to dishonored with the the rift since loved Dishonored. And obvious titles like HL3 (or Hl2 ep 3? ) and Portal 3..
Some kind of Silent Hill game would be great as well

[STRZ]

Some kind of Silent Hill game would be great as well

Not Silent Hill, but they're working on making DayZ (standalone) Rift compatible, here's what the dev says:

Q: Will DayZ be Oculus Rift or TrackIR supported?'

A: Well I met the Oculus Rift guys at Pax West and tried it out and it was freaking awesome. They were big fans of DayZ and ArmA so we want to do everything we can to ensure that happens. However, ArmA and DayZ suffer from a very complex entity so achieving a locked framerate at 60FPS is very difficult because you can't guarantee what is going to happen and you need that constant 60FPS to make the Occulus Rift work. So the challenge isn't to technically support it (because we already do support TrackIR), the challenge is optimising the game. You don't want to optimise too early so we need to do all the innovation and then we do a lot of optimisation so we will see how it goes, but we love it and having played with the Occulus Rift myself I can hands down say that it will make DayZ a thousand times better and that's not an exaggeration. I don't know how many people have tried the Occulus Rift but if you get the chance to then do it but like I say we are going to have to do a lot of optimisation.

[youtube-hd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_SKBJaJBcI[/youtube-hd]

Like you can see, they already have a experimental VR like gameplay mode

[Bishop51]

Now DayZ is a game I would LOVE to play in VR! I mean, it's got a lot of the issues already resolved in terms of pacing and body persistence. But man, talk about inducing PTSD! I'm not sure I'm brave enough to handle that.

I wasn't saying games can't be successfully "ported" to the format, just that I doubt very much that many publishers will take the time necessary to vet all the issues associated with the port. And that's not because they don't care but rather they have the wrong assumptions going into it. Good VR takes time and careful consideration. Thankfully, for some of the bigger titles out there, we'll have a dedicated mod community in place to tweak them.

[Pingles]

I think Dice has the right idea: Go ahead and port your current projects to the Rift but start research on how to TRULY take advantage of the new point of view of the player.

I am actually looking forward to making game menus controlled by the Rift. I think my project might very well end up Rift-exclusive.

[STRZ]

Now DayZ is a game I would LOVE to play in VR! I mean, it's got a lot of the issues already resolved in terms of pacing and body persistence. But man, talk about inducing PTSD! I'm not sure I'm brave enough to handle that.

I wasn't saying games can't be successfully "ported" to the format, just that I doubt very much that many publishers will take the time necessary to vet all the issues associated with the port. And that's not because they don't care but rather they have the wrong assumptions going into it. Good VR takes time and careful consideration. Thankfully, for some of the bigger titles out there, we'll have a dedicated mod community in place to tweak them

Sure you're brave enough, it's only a game

Sims like ArmA and spin offs of those sims, or the racing sim tiltles, space sims like Star Citizen etc. have it much easier to triumph in the VR space because realism, good and believable physics and scale is already the core of the game design. For people like us who generally prefer those realistic titles over arcade and console like gameplay, even if it's in front of a monitor, this evolution of hi-fidelity gaming becoming a benchmark for VR is a very good thing.

Games designed around VR from the ground up, taking you into bizarre phantasy worlds, sort of fictional simulations with maybe really thought out fictional laws of physics is the next step then.

Or real world activities which are limited by real world boundaries and barriers could benefit from VR in extraordinary ways, while still maintaining the core essence of what makes those activities attractive in the real world. People who are good in those real world activities could translate their skills straight into VR. That's something my "game" project will be based on, trying to unify a exotic activity which is almost about 20yrs part of my life with computers and VR. And with VR it's finally possible

[phillypro]

this is already a cool thread for introducing some really unique and cool looking PC games i had no idea existed....

keep it coming!!!....someone else....drop some game names for us with video

[Okta]

I have watched a lot of DayZ videos but have never played it as i dont own Arma, so i figure ill wait for the independant release. My observation is that its mostly a PVP game (unless there will be a solo or coop mode?) . The zombies seem little threat compared to other players. And that wont work with the RIft. You will get sniped from large distance by people on 1080 monitors and wont be able to compete in general. If there is coop or solo it will be great with the Rift though.

Regarding the 60fps. I gather that is not critical but just makes for a nicer experience because of the even frames L/R ?

[Zhin]

I have watched a lot of DayZ videos but have never played it as i dont own Arma, so i figure ill wait for the independant release. My observation is that its mostly a PVP game (unless there will be a solo or coop mode?) . The zombies seem little threat compared to other players. And that wont work with the RIft. You will get sniped from large distance by people on 1080 monitors and wont be able to compete in general. If there is coop or solo it will be great with the Rift though.

Regarding the 60fps. I gather that is not critical but just makes for a nicer experience because of the even frames L/R ?

I´ve played tons of DayZ and I disagree.
You are correct in your observation that the core threat-mechanic is PVP. But while snipers are a very really danger at all times, not even a 4k-screen will save you from them. Combat in DayZ really boils down to awareness of your surrounding. Dragged out firefights usually takes place in thick bushes or in a CQB-enviorment.
Since I havent tried the Rift yet I can in no way be SURE that it will give you a tactical advantage. But if it works as intended I think it will.

[knuf]

"Memory of a Broken Dimension" has a beautiful innovative visuals. Looks like a cyberpunk/noir crossover :

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxvrRXoUjJA[/youtube]

http://dev.datatragedy.com/projects/moabd/

"more information around GDC in March"



+ nice informative article uncovering basic ideas behind the game plus interview with the creator :

http://interactivevisions.wordpress.com ... ion-pcmac/

[Kerry]

This Xing game really would be a perfect game to play on the Rift.
Here's longer game play footage;
http://youtu.be/Sgb24HffUDY

[STRZ]

DCS World with Rift support and interactive cockpits would be very nice, though, adapting the UI to VR probably won't happen, like many sims/games who won't adapt their Ui for VR, you'd have to use it with a monitor and slip into the Rift once you're in the cockpit and have done your setup.

I highly recommend the video to check it out, it's a very good vehicle combat simulation which is barely known to non enthusiasts of the genre because it's not mentioned in those video games magazines. It's like what iRacing is for fans of virtual motorsport to those who like combat flight sims.

Cockpit showoffs start at 26:00

[youtube-hd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBGLb98zkFQ[/youtube-hd]

http://www.digitalcombatsimulator.com/de/world/

There's also already a big thread about the Rift in the DCS community forums.. http://www.forum.lockon.ru/showthread.p ... d8&t=93477

[unsilentwill]

If it's not apparent, I've found most of my dream Rift games from Rock Paper Shotgun. Here's another:

[youtube-hd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=t3H6nPvC-PQ#![/youtube-hd]

More info: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2013/03 ... ore-145124 and can be downloaded for FREE here: http://en.spaceengine.org/

[youtube-hd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bqEnCkLPyDQ#![/youtube-hd]

Lucky for us it's still in development. I hope most of its graphics are 3D models and volumetric, and something that would be incredible is custom IPD, so that I could be my size floating through space, or the size of Jupiter and accidentally swallow earth. This is where we get into literal dreams coming true territory. I'd spend my off ours somewhere between Neptune and Saturn. They haven't heard from me in a while since I said goodbye and started whistling Space Oddity.

Edit: I'm late to the party! http://en.spaceengine.org/forum/11-1124-1 They already know about the Rift, but like most devs don't have a whole lot of information/a product. However, the game is heavily moddable. Learning a lot just browsing the forum, seems like the 3D effect is literally nothing in space, but it'd be more useful on planet. And yet we all seem to agree the benefit of FOV, scale, and presence make this a worthwhile endeavour, hopefully soon!

[mahler]

Repurposing this old thread to consolidate interest in new Rift-looking games, as I found out about XING, currently being Kickstarted which apparently has already been bothered about the Rift, and had this to say:

We have also received quite a few questions about making this game for the Oculus Rift. We think it is awesome, and want to let everyone know that we are looking into this, and will most likely be making it a stretch goal (hopefully in the near future!)

They seem to have indeed done this. It is now a stretch-goal ($25.000)

[mscoder610]

Bumping this thread one more time for Xing. I really like the look of the game from their updates. They posted a new update today to announce that they'll put out a small sandbox demo before the Kickstarter period is over, just to give people a preview (and as a computer spec check type of thing).
Their kickstarter is already funded ($18k/$15k), but Oculus Rift support is a $25k stretch goal (with 13 days left).

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/178 ... sts/431640

[Baristan6]

I would like to see Arma 3 support the Rift. Would be amazing with Rift + Hydra... If they could get the FPS stable @ 60.
Have 3 Alpha lite steam keys to give away. PM me with email or steam account name if you want one.

[ChrisJD]

I was just reading through this weeks Kickstarter Katchup on RPS and saw Consortium.

Looks like a great title to play on the Rift. Unfortunately I don't see any guarantee of Rift support, although they do have a dev kit ordered.

This is their second attempt to Kickstart. The fisrt one had the goal set to 200k. They cancelled that one and started this one with the more modest goal of 50k. From the sound of it, if they get the 50k it'll get the game finished, the other 150k they really wanted to get is for more features. My guess is that if it gets close to the funding goal they'll reveal stretch goals, one of which will probably be Rift support (seems to be a fashionable stretch goal at the moment).

One to keep an eye on if nothing else.

[Kerry]

One more bump for Xing!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/178 ... and-beyond
They have 43 hours left and almost reached the stretch goal for Oculus Rift support

Here's the demo:
http://xingthegame.com/demo.html

[mscoder610]

Yeah a couple of days ago I didn't even think Xing would be close to the Oculus stretch goal, but now it's $1233 away with 16 hours to go:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/178 ... and-beyond

[Drewbdoo]

Xing to me is an example of maybe why you shouldn't have rift support as a stretch goal. I don't have much interest in xing on my monitor. But I'd be super super excited for it on the rift. If it hadn't had been a stretch goal I wasn't sure they might meet a day before their kickstarter stops, they'd already have my money. As it is, I decided to see if they'd make that goal before getting the game.

[mscoder610]

I somewhat agree. From the Xing comments some people are definitely banking on Rift support, and might not have pledged if it wasn't an option (so they'll probably be disappointed if it doesn't get there). It does seem to be a common trend now though - even The Gallery has Hydra as a stretch goal, even though now it seems like a majority of the people here would want to try it that way.

I think you could pledge and then cancel it if the Kickstarter's about to end and the goal hasn't been hit, but that's a bit contrary to the Kickstarter idea I'm sure.

[Machinima]

That being said, I understand the reticence to take that risk on an unproven market. Hopefully the more insane of us will help pull others along into full commitment

Initial uptake will be slow for sure, at the moment all you have as a consumer base are the dev kit owners, and only slice of them will be interested in The Gallery for a variety of reasons. However going forward, and with the commercial Rift, the install base will grow (hopefully substantially) and I think you will in a great position of being one of the first "designed for VR" games, in a sense for a few years perhaps you will have a captive audience providing one of the few showcase games of VR done right from the ground up.

[knuf]

Memory of a Broken Dimension:

He released a demo and it is just another world.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.ph ... tcount=108

[Omarzuqo]

Drunken Robot Pornography. Safe for work.

http://store.steampowered.com/app/209060/

[youtube-hd]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0xpbjskhrk&hd=1[/youtube-hd]

It's a first-person bullet-hell game with and incredibly misleading name featuring 30 store tall robots.

[knuf]

Memory of a Broken Dimension:

first review of the demo - "Brace yourselves for one of the most exciting and, quite frankly, extraordinary experiences you’ll probably have this year!"

http://indiestatik.com/2013/04/01/ive-b ... ou-can-too

[unsilentwill]

You already posted that. And it was posted with a video before. But I don't care! I need to play it with the Rift.

[knuf]

it is made in unity, so there is quite a chance...

[Nedo]

Some kind of Silent Hill game would be great as well

Not Silent Hill, but they're working on making DayZ (standalone) Rift compatible, here's what the dev says:

LOL! Talk about Heart Attack! DayZ with Oculus, to be honest i think i would play it mostly with closed eyes ! ;-D
Slowly i start thinking, Oculus = Project Brainstrom, only a question of time before we see first casualties

[littleme02]

I would love to have rift supporting this

[youtube-hd]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQd7CYCodFo[/youtube-hd]