Virtual reality - 10 ways to move, do not cause discomfort
Inspired by the interest of the Geektimes audience to such a popular and currently unwinding phenomenon as virtual reality, I decided to bring to your attention one more article, which discusses the characteristic features of content creation for VR-systems, focused on gamers.
***
Looking at games for virtual reality and evaluating them, in our judgments, as a rule, we start from our experience and tastes in the field of traditional computer games that we used to play.
Each of us for many years has already developed its own genre preferences, certain requirements for graphics and gameplay, and it is difficult to surprise us with something both visually and gameplay, especially when 360 ° VR-content is shown in two-dimensional form.
')
However, now I would like to talk not about global differences that characterize virtual games as a separate branch of the gaming industry, but only about how to implement the actor’s movements in the virtual reality space (locomotion) as an important component of the gameplay that has its own characteristics .
The discussion will focus on displacement systems in projects for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR.
Since virtual reality games are essentially computer games, with the advent of the first VR systems, many independent studios and developers rushed to create VR modifications to existing projects, trying to immerse the first enthusiasts into familiar worlds and fill the empty niche of gaming VR content. , which simply did not keep pace with the manufacturers of VR-systems.
The first “rakes” that the creators of adaptations attacked were the traditional system of movements using WASD + Space and a rough binding of the choice of direction of movement to the camera, which adversely affected the vestibular apparatus of players, relegating other defects to the background, such as visual distortions and delays .
During the acceleration, which we perceive with the vision and organs of the inner ear, we expect a corresponding deviation of the body and the reaction of the vestibular apparatus, which we have become accustomed to over the years. And if during a sharp visual acceleration you don’t feel the corresponding reaction of the body, your brain will begin to give SOS signals, to which your stomach will respond with enthusiasm.
And then a reasonable question arises: how do developers, who, like us, used to think in stereotypes, intend to solve these problems? Is there really no place in virtual reality for such popular genres as shooters and action games, not to mention the rest? What we already have today that does not cause nausea and headache?
***
PILOT CABIN
The first method does not need to invent. It has been around for a long time and perfectly fits in with the sensations of a player who is in a virtual cockpit of a car, airplane, submarine or spacecraft.
An additional bonus will be all kinds of chairs, steering wheels, steering wheels and joysticks with feedback that fit into the overall picture of what is happening in the virtual world.
In the cockpit of a robot-fur, it can unusually shake, but in games with smooth accelerations and the absence of abrupt changes in direction, there should be no nausea.
By driving a vehicle using an existing controller, the player can, regardless of the direction of movement, change the direction of his gaze by turning his head.
Room walk
Aware of the difficulties in implementing nauseous movements, Valve and HTC have developed a special Lighthouse tracking system for the HTC Vive VR system, which tracks the player's movements in a helmet over an area of ​​3 x 4 meters.
This does not completely untie the hands, but gives a certain freedom of natural movement in limited areas, which positively affects the degree of immersion.
The player moves freely around the room, tangling in the wires and touching the furniture, naturally examines the virtual world, turning his head, and interacts with the outside world with the help of special controllers.
MOVING PLATFORM
This method was implemented by the developers of the multi-user VR-shooter Hover Junkers, masterfully writing the gameplay into the capabilities of HTC Vive.
Players are on a floating platform the size of a room, which gives them the opportunity to naturally move both within the vehicle and in the game world - such a slightly upgraded version of the previous method.
CONTROLLERS - WALKWAYS
This method of movement can not be considered the most popular and promising, although it fits perfectly into the picture of the simulation of movement and was developed specifically for VR systems and games.
Since such devices are quite expensive and will not be able to get widespread, developers are not profitable to develop games with the capabilities of this controller. Although its use can be considered the most complex in the pursuit of full immersion in action in the first person.
Run 20 kilometers on Skyrim, shooting in Battlefield and CS: GO. Tightened and lean players. Lepote!
FLIGHT
Who among us at least once did not fly in dreams. Virtual reality will not only give us this opportunity in the game Eagle Flight, but also make it as natural as possible.
In the image of an eagle hovering over the empty quarters of Paris, players will be able to smoothly change the direction of flight, turning their heads.
Despite the performance of higher-level avian figures, such gameplay should not conflict with the vestibular apparatus, and one of the possible bonuses will be a thoroughly strengthened neck during gaming sessions.
TELEPORTATION
Since it is difficult for our body to believe that we are running or jumping, at the moment when many senses indicate that we are sitting in a chair, teleportation can help with movements for short distances in active games, the effect of which does not cause nausea. .
The player instantly overcomes the desired distance, not shocking the senses by shaking and rassinhron, and the enemies are destroyed from a stationary position.
A similar system of movements is implemented in the high-budget shooter Bullet Train from Epic Games, as well as in the spy shooter Budget Cuts, from Neat Corporation.
VR COMFORT
Another way to “make friends” of our senses with movements in VR games from the first person was thought out by the Cloudhead Games studio during the development of The Gallery: Six Elements adventure puzzle.
The developers noticed that while playing a first-person VR game, people react badly to all kinds of rotation and acceleration.
Therefore, after a series of studies and experiments, the developers presented a special control mode, VR Comfort Mode, which allows you to explore locations even in a chair that does not rotate without unpleasant sensations and dizziness.
The hapless turns of the character are realized through abrupt shifts of the picture (mini teleportation) with short fixation-points at regular intervals, something like the dancers do during the spins, fixing the gaze at one point.
Small changes in the direction of movement are determined by the head turns, and during the cessation of movement, the “intake mode” enters the case, in which head turns do not affect the body turns, but allow you to look around.
Flying Chamber
This solution can hardly be called a displacement system, it is rather a way of tracking the character that we are used to watching in a variety of third-person console games in the form of a camera hovering from behind — above the main character / scene.
Since in this case the player no longer identifies himself directly with the main character - he does not see the world through his eyes and does not repeat his actions - the problem with the desynchronism disappears by itself if the camera does not twitch.
The player observes the process from the side, controlling the character, and has the opportunity to look around, getting into the atmosphere of the game and the scene.
RAILS
This method of movement is one of the most primitive, and is mainly used in attractions, as well as in puzzles from the first person.
The player follows the proposed routes, performing incoming tasks, can look around, turning his head, sometimes he can choose the time and direction of his movement.
TRADITIONAL MANAGEMENT
The way inherited by the VR industry from the classic computer games, which, although it has a number of significant drawbacks described above, will nevertheless be used or with minor changes will be used during the formation and development of virtual gaming.
The most comfortable implementation of such a system of movement can be seen in unhurried Exploration-games with world exploration and interaction with surrounding objects.
The choice of the direction of movement here can be carried out both with the help of the controller, and with the help of head turns.
As you can see, the developers are only at the beginning of the journey to implement a convenient and painless way to move the player in the virtual world. This process is directly related to proliferating controllers and the capabilities of the human body.
Over time, new genres and individual projects will make their own adjustments to the development of this area, creating new schemes and management systems.
It remains for us to state only one thing, it becomes more and more interesting! :)
PS Due to its specificity, I did not mention the controls in The Climb climbing simulator, as well as the standard for all kinds of arcade arcades standing still.
Article prepared specifically for the portal GoHa.Ru.
***
Looking at games for virtual reality and evaluating them, in our judgments, as a rule, we start from our experience and tastes in the field of traditional computer games that we used to play.
Each of us for many years has already developed its own genre preferences, certain requirements for graphics and gameplay, and it is difficult to surprise us with something both visually and gameplay, especially when 360 ° VR-content is shown in two-dimensional form.
')
However, now I would like to talk not about global differences that characterize virtual games as a separate branch of the gaming industry, but only about how to implement the actor’s movements in the virtual reality space (locomotion) as an important component of the gameplay that has its own characteristics .
The discussion will focus on displacement systems in projects for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR.
Since virtual reality games are essentially computer games, with the advent of the first VR systems, many independent studios and developers rushed to create VR modifications to existing projects, trying to immerse the first enthusiasts into familiar worlds and fill the empty niche of gaming VR content. , which simply did not keep pace with the manufacturers of VR-systems.
The first “rakes” that the creators of adaptations attacked were the traditional system of movements using WASD + Space and a rough binding of the choice of direction of movement to the camera, which adversely affected the vestibular apparatus of players, relegating other defects to the background, such as visual distortions and delays .
- It should be noted here that plunging into the virtual world and identifying our real “I” with the game avatar, our brain expects complete synchronization of all the information coming to us from the main sensory systems of the body: sight, hearing and vestibular apparatus.
99% of our playing time, in first-person games, take all sorts of movements, running and jumping, and very often - unnatural, like all sorts of lateral displacements, kangaroo movement, etc.
Sometimes, to enhance realism, developers add camera shaking while running or other effects.
During the acceleration, which we perceive with the vision and organs of the inner ear, we expect a corresponding deviation of the body and the reaction of the vestibular apparatus, which we have become accustomed to over the years. And if during a sharp visual acceleration you don’t feel the corresponding reaction of the body, your brain will begin to give SOS signals, to which your stomach will respond with enthusiasm.
- Interestingly, the lack of "training" of the vestibular apparatus is able to play a joke with you not only in virtual reality - you can be "swayed" and during real lengthy movements by car, at sea, on attractions, etc.
And then a reasonable question arises: how do developers, who, like us, used to think in stereotypes, intend to solve these problems? Is there really no place in virtual reality for such popular genres as shooters and action games, not to mention the rest? What we already have today that does not cause nausea and headache?
***
PILOT CABIN
The first method does not need to invent. It has been around for a long time and perfectly fits in with the sensations of a player who is in a virtual cockpit of a car, airplane, submarine or spacecraft.
An additional bonus will be all kinds of chairs, steering wheels, steering wheels and joysticks with feedback that fit into the overall picture of what is happening in the virtual world.
In the cockpit of a robot-fur, it can unusually shake, but in games with smooth accelerations and the absence of abrupt changes in direction, there should be no nausea.
By driving a vehicle using an existing controller, the player can, regardless of the direction of movement, change the direction of his gaze by turning his head.
Room walk
Aware of the difficulties in implementing nauseous movements, Valve and HTC have developed a special Lighthouse tracking system for the HTC Vive VR system, which tracks the player's movements in a helmet over an area of ​​3 x 4 meters.
This does not completely untie the hands, but gives a certain freedom of natural movement in limited areas, which positively affects the degree of immersion.
The player moves freely around the room, tangling in the wires and touching the furniture, naturally examines the virtual world, turning his head, and interacts with the outside world with the help of special controllers.
MOVING PLATFORM
This method was implemented by the developers of the multi-user VR-shooter Hover Junkers, masterfully writing the gameplay into the capabilities of HTC Vive.
Players are on a floating platform the size of a room, which gives them the opportunity to naturally move both within the vehicle and in the game world - such a slightly upgraded version of the previous method.
CONTROLLERS - WALKWAYS
This method of movement can not be considered the most popular and promising, although it fits perfectly into the picture of the simulation of movement and was developed specifically for VR systems and games.
Since such devices are quite expensive and will not be able to get widespread, developers are not profitable to develop games with the capabilities of this controller. Although its use can be considered the most complex in the pursuit of full immersion in action in the first person.
Run 20 kilometers on Skyrim, shooting in Battlefield and CS: GO. Tightened and lean players. Lepote!
FLIGHT
Who among us at least once did not fly in dreams. Virtual reality will not only give us this opportunity in the game Eagle Flight, but also make it as natural as possible.
In the image of an eagle hovering over the empty quarters of Paris, players will be able to smoothly change the direction of flight, turning their heads.
Despite the performance of higher-level avian figures, such gameplay should not conflict with the vestibular apparatus, and one of the possible bonuses will be a thoroughly strengthened neck during gaming sessions.
TELEPORTATION
Since it is difficult for our body to believe that we are running or jumping, at the moment when many senses indicate that we are sitting in a chair, teleportation can help with movements for short distances in active games, the effect of which does not cause nausea. .
The player instantly overcomes the desired distance, not shocking the senses by shaking and rassinhron, and the enemies are destroyed from a stationary position.
A similar system of movements is implemented in the high-budget shooter Bullet Train from Epic Games, as well as in the spy shooter Budget Cuts, from Neat Corporation.
VR COMFORT
Another way to “make friends” of our senses with movements in VR games from the first person was thought out by the Cloudhead Games studio during the development of The Gallery: Six Elements adventure puzzle.
The developers noticed that while playing a first-person VR game, people react badly to all kinds of rotation and acceleration.
- Really. In games, where the direction of movement is determined by turning the head, and by the nature of the gameplay it is necessary to examine the location, the head begins to spin pretty quickly, even in games with unhurried gameplay.
Therefore, after a series of studies and experiments, the developers presented a special control mode, VR Comfort Mode, which allows you to explore locations even in a chair that does not rotate without unpleasant sensations and dizziness.
The hapless turns of the character are realized through abrupt shifts of the picture (mini teleportation) with short fixation-points at regular intervals, something like the dancers do during the spins, fixing the gaze at one point.
Small changes in the direction of movement are determined by the head turns, and during the cessation of movement, the “intake mode” enters the case, in which head turns do not affect the body turns, but allow you to look around.
Flying Chamber
This solution can hardly be called a displacement system, it is rather a way of tracking the character that we are used to watching in a variety of third-person console games in the form of a camera hovering from behind — above the main character / scene.
Since in this case the player no longer identifies himself directly with the main character - he does not see the world through his eyes and does not repeat his actions - the problem with the desynchronism disappears by itself if the camera does not twitch.
The player observes the process from the side, controlling the character, and has the opportunity to look around, getting into the atmosphere of the game and the scene.
RAILS
This method of movement is one of the most primitive, and is mainly used in attractions, as well as in puzzles from the first person.
The player follows the proposed routes, performing incoming tasks, can look around, turning his head, sometimes he can choose the time and direction of his movement.
TRADITIONAL MANAGEMENT
The way inherited by the VR industry from the classic computer games, which, although it has a number of significant drawbacks described above, will nevertheless be used or with minor changes will be used during the formation and development of virtual gaming.
The most comfortable implementation of such a system of movement can be seen in unhurried Exploration-games with world exploration and interaction with surrounding objects.
The choice of the direction of movement here can be carried out both with the help of the controller, and with the help of head turns.
As you can see, the developers are only at the beginning of the journey to implement a convenient and painless way to move the player in the virtual world. This process is directly related to proliferating controllers and the capabilities of the human body.
Over time, new genres and individual projects will make their own adjustments to the development of this area, creating new schemes and management systems.
It remains for us to state only one thing, it becomes more and more interesting! :)
PS Due to its specificity, I did not mention the controls in The Climb climbing simulator, as well as the standard for all kinds of arcade arcades standing still.
Article prepared specifically for the portal GoHa.Ru.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/391003/
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