Think you know what it’s like to be a VR gamer because you own an Oculus Rift?
Pah, you aren’t even close. If you want to go full Lawnmower Man and dive body — and soul — into the pantheon of the cyber gods, you need to kit yourself out with much more than just a headset and a pair of motion controllers.
Today’s modern VR world is rife with all manner of accessories and augmentations that transform you from a digital lamb happily ambling about the virtual world, to a cyberspace assassin who sees no difference between a living room and a far-flung virtual battlefield.
Augment your optics
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Most VR systems offer basic haptic feedback in their controllers, but a little vibration under your fingertips doesn’t make you feel like you’re part of the action. For that you need something a bit more…involved.
The Kor-FX fits the bill nicely. It lets you feel the hits in game, using the experience’s own audio to deliver punches, kicks, explosions, and bullets right into your body. What’s the point in putting your digital life on the line if you can’t feel the shotgun blast you’re heroically taking to the chest?
If that’s too tame for you, then there’s always the Hardlight suit. From all those hours gaming you’ve no doubt got a rockin’ bod, so it’s important to make sure you can admire it in the in-game mirrors, too. The Hardlight suit makes that possible, and guarantees you’ll feel every inch of the action as you take the fight to those t-shirts wearing serfs.
When you’re looking to unwind at the end of a hard gaming session, make sure to slip into your full feedback body suit for some private time with your virtual partner.
Feel the wind on your face
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As a gamer who’s well ahead of the curve, you’re aware of how important it is to remain on the cutting edge, because if you’re not looking into the abyss as you win another chicken dinner, you’re not a real gamer. The latest innovation to hit the virtual space brings one of the most important sensory organs into the equation — smell.
Although technologies like ProjectNourished would have you believe the tech is only good for smelling steak while eating cardboard, as if you’re living a boring spin-off of The Matrix, we know where this technology is most important — smelling the fear on your opponents, and making sure they smell you too.
While you’ll be smelling the virtual gunpowder as you pump another slug into your alien adversaries with a Feelreal mask, those VR peasants falling at your feet in rapture and death will get a taste of the custom cologne you’re wearing for the occasion. You’ll need to make sure you contact your olfactory representative to guarantee everyone has stock of your chosen musk, but making sure that’s the last thing your enemy’s smell before they drop dead is as important as your next choice of gun skin.
Turn your hands into lethal weapons
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All the above accessories will get you most of the way into your favorite VR game, but it’s useless if you’re just standing still, pressing buttons or touchpads to move around. For those of you who haven’t made their millions at the pinnacle of professional gaming and don’t have cash for a custom-tailored VR space, you’ll need a way to interpret your leg movements into the game itself.
You could opt for something like the Virtuix Omni, or the Infinadeck, but let’s be frank here — those systems limit your movement. They either surround you with a safety barrier like you’re some kind of child, or put you on a cord that prevents you falling over. Like a child.
If you’re happy to admit that, fair enough. For those who want to take a stride in the right direction and open up their gaming possibilities, you need a pair of VR shoes, like the Vortrex . With a pair of those you’ll be able to run, jump and crouch all within your limited roomscale space, making sure that you’re the top of the VR foodchain.
Of course, the accessories themselves will only take you so far — but when you’re seeing, feeling and perhaps even smelling, the virtual world around you, you’ll have every opportunity to be a wolf in a field of lambs. Don’t let your guard down.
Source: Digital Trends