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10 Games That Would Instantly Be Improved With VR

10 Games That Would Instantly Be Improved With VR

Everyone is excited about the Oculus Rift, Project Morpheus, and all these other VR headsets that are slated to be coming out soon. But few of these VR platforms have any recognizable games on them. Most of what we have seen so far are simply demos. I think it’s about time we look at some of our more recognizable games through the lens of VR. The following ten games are all games that use the first person perspective to enhance the experience, while at the same time not requiring you to participate in a great deal of movement, like a first person shooter would. Hopefully that would allow these games to be improved with VR without bringing you out of the virtual reality experience.

Flower

Flower

In the past few years we have seen the rise of games that are less based on conflict and more based on atmosphere. Flower was one of these games, having you relax in a zen environment as you control a gust of wind blowing flower petals around a field. I can only imagine that the immersion of the game would be enhanced if the field was all around you, rather than in front of you. As you collected flower petals, you could look around the landscape and up to the sky, really enjoying the serene atmosphere while still being taken for a wild ride on the wind.

Child of Eden

Child of Eden

Child of Eden and its predecessor Rez were both meant to be synesthetic experiences. You were meant to see and feel music, rather than just hear it. Rez accomplished this through the use of the (ahem) Rez trance vibrator, and Child of Eden accomplished it through the motion of using the Kinect to control the game. But there is still a detachment from the game environment that prevents you from having a true synesthetic experience, if only because the game is still being played on a monitor. Using a VR headset and headphones, you could hear the music around you, see the world change as the beat does, and even feel the vibration of the sound using the trance vibrator.

Pokemon Snap

Pokemon Snap

Not every game on this list is current-gen. If VR becomes a thing, I immediately want to see a sequel to Pokemon Snap come out. The VR headset could be used like a set of binoculars or like a camera viewfinder. You can raise it to your face in order to center the perfect shot, and then press a button on your controller to take the picture. This would produce a far more natural picture taking experience than simply trying to center your camera with an analog stick.

Antichamber

Antichamber

Antichamber is a game about perspective. This strange non-Euclidian game puts you in corridors that go in circles and yet somehow lead to someplace new. There’s a point in the game where you have to look through a window in the middle of a room in order to change the room that you are standing in when you walk backward from it. Imagine experiencing all this in VR, though. Imagine being in a room with a door in the middle, with nothing on the other side, and yet when you open the door and walk through you find yourself in a completely different location. Non-Euclidian space really has to be seen up close to be appreciated.

Mirror’s Edge

Mirror’s Edge

Why yes, I am a masochist. Mirror’s Edge has long been criticized for causing motion sickness, and part of the reason it causes motion sickness is because there is a disconnect between the stationary body looking at a stationary screen and the rapidly moving images that make you feel like you are jumping from rooftop to rooftop. However, if the game were played in VR, it’s possible that it might actually induce less motion sickness. Bear with me here. People get carsick because in their frame of reference the car is stationary while their body feels like it’s moving. So if they look out a window, it sometimes makes things better, because now their eyes are telling them they are moving as well. If you were in VR, you still wouldn’t be moving your body. However, you would be removing all stationary sight cues as well. So perhaps your brain would receive less conflicting sensory information this way… or maybe it would just make it worse. I don’t know. Either way, Mirror’s Edge on a VR platform would be cool.

Any Racing Game, Really

Any Racing Game, Really

Any game that puts you in the cockpit of a vehicle is a perfect fit for a VR platform. Let’s face it, you probably aren’t going to be purchasing a VR treadmill any time soon. So games like first person shooters really do cause a bit of a disconnect, as you sit on a couch and fiddle with a controller while your VR persona walks through a battlefield holding a rifle. But racing games have you sitting in a car seat the whole time, and if you have a racing wheel, you can pretty much simulate the whole experience of being in the driver’s seat. Of course, this might be less appealing to anyone who uses a behind-the-car view in racing games, but for people who use first person view, this can’t be beat.

Star Fox

Star Fox

Speaking of cockpits, wouldn’t it be awesome to fly around in your own Starfighter? Since Lucasarts probably isn’t going to make another X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter , and Ace Combat doesn’t quite make it to the stars, our best bet is, unfortunately, Star Fox , that IP that Nintendo is finally picking up again after years of neglect. It’s very unlikely that we would ever see Star Fox in VR, but the sheer awesomeness that is sitting in the cockpit of your own personal Arwing is hard to beat. Gamers would line up to put on a visor and ram their craft’s lasers down Andross’s fat face.

Minecraft

Minecraft

Minecraft is already a game that takes advantage of the first person perspective. People make Minecraft roller coasters all the time just to show off their grand works of art. But frankly, I wouldn’t mind simply building in first person, or perhaps wandering around someone else’s creation in first person VR. Heck, someone made a topographically accurate reproduction of the entire Earth. Now that’s something I want to experience in beautiful low res virtual reality.

Fatal Frame

Fatal Frame

Not all VR games have to involve wearing the headset at all times. Fatal Frame is a horror game famous for its use of a camera as a weapon. When looking through your eyes, ghosts are invisible, but when looking through a camera, you can see all the restless spirits around you. So my thought is, make the VR headset a camera stand-in. You can bring it up to your eyes to ready the camera, and their motion sensing capabilities could recognize this. Then, much like I suggested in Pokemon Snap , you would use the controller to take the picture and attack the ghost. This would be even cooler because you could turn around to see ghosts attacking you from behind!

Five Night’s at Freddy’s

Five Night’s at Freddy’s

Did I mention I’m a masochist? Five Nights at Freddy’s is the ultimate VR game. Why? Because what you are doing in real life almost perfectly simulates what you are doing in VR space. In short, you are sitting your ass in a chair, looking left, and looking right. In reality, Five Nights at Freddy’s is really a game about looking at stuff. You look at cameras to figure out where the animatronics are. You shine your light to look down the hallway. Everything you do is looking. So these gameplay mechanics can be perfectly simulated in a VR space because there is no movement required. That, and the jump scares will probably make you jump out of your seat in VR, and I just want to see that posted all over Youtube.

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