StyM
12-01-2016, 10:52 AM
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/vr-locomotion-developer-solution-roundup,33108.html
Locomotion is one of the most glaring problems plaguing developers who work on VR games. In traditional video games, movement mechanics are pretty much locked down: You either have a keyboard and mouse or a gamepad. In the case of the former, you?ll use the arrow keys or the WASD keys to move forward and aft and strafe from side to side.In modern games, you make use of the mouse for aiming, targeting, or navigating menu items. Gamepads come with consoles, so developers always have a standard control scheme to work with that doesn?t change much from game to game.
You won?t find many VR-supported games that use keyboard and mouse configurations, but there are many VR games that take advantage of traditional gamepads. There?s nothing stopping developers from supporting the classic two-thumbstick artificial locomotion method that almost every first-person console game relies on, and in fact, some games do support that method. For example, Adr1ft offers the traditional control method, but that game is also playable on a 2D screen. Had the developer built the game for VR only, it may have chosen a different locomotion method. Most built-for-VR games shy away from linear lateral movement to maximize the audience that is comfortable playing it.
In VR, the concept of standard locomotion controls is turned on its head. Most of the time, traditional game controls don?t work well in virtual reality games. Lateral movement with a thumbstick or a keyboard can trigger motion sickness in a lot of people. Your inner ear controls your sense of balance and spatial awareness (vestibular system), if what your inner ear perceives is different from what your eyes perceive (vestibular mismatch) you can lose your balance or get dizzy. A vestibular mismatch can even trigger nausea or vomiting in extreme cases.
Vestibular mismatch problems became apparent in the early days of Oculus VR development. VR developers quickly discovered what triggers motion sickness, and several devs started working on solutions for the problem. So far, we?ve encountered no less than a half-dozen different locomotion mechanics. None of them are perfect, but each one has its merits. If nothing else, the variety of options illustrates the ingenuity of the VR developer community.
Locomotion is one of the most glaring problems plaguing developers who work on VR games. In traditional video games, movement mechanics are pretty much locked down: You either have a keyboard and mouse or a gamepad. In the case of the former, you?ll use the arrow keys or the WASD keys to move forward and aft and strafe from side to side.In modern games, you make use of the mouse for aiming, targeting, or navigating menu items. Gamepads come with consoles, so developers always have a standard control scheme to work with that doesn?t change much from game to game.
You won?t find many VR-supported games that use keyboard and mouse configurations, but there are many VR games that take advantage of traditional gamepads. There?s nothing stopping developers from supporting the classic two-thumbstick artificial locomotion method that almost every first-person console game relies on, and in fact, some games do support that method. For example, Adr1ft offers the traditional control method, but that game is also playable on a 2D screen. Had the developer built the game for VR only, it may have chosen a different locomotion method. Most built-for-VR games shy away from linear lateral movement to maximize the audience that is comfortable playing it.
In VR, the concept of standard locomotion controls is turned on its head. Most of the time, traditional game controls don?t work well in virtual reality games. Lateral movement with a thumbstick or a keyboard can trigger motion sickness in a lot of people. Your inner ear controls your sense of balance and spatial awareness (vestibular system), if what your inner ear perceives is different from what your eyes perceive (vestibular mismatch) you can lose your balance or get dizzy. A vestibular mismatch can even trigger nausea or vomiting in extreme cases.
Vestibular mismatch problems became apparent in the early days of Oculus VR development. VR developers quickly discovered what triggers motion sickness, and several devs started working on solutions for the problem. So far, we?ve encountered no less than a half-dozen different locomotion mechanics. None of them are perfect, but each one has its merits. If nothing else, the variety of options illustrates the ingenuity of the VR developer community.