Think of it as the 1.0 version of the Holodecks in Star Trek, no photonic energy being used yet
Pretty much, the plan is to get these 4D theme parks built in major cities throughout the Americas, which means that while my hometown is probably a bit too small to have one of these, we shouldn’t have to drive more than a day to get to one.
The technology is basically a compilation of the absolute latest in realtime CGI and virtual reality, with a rough sketch of the game world built physically. Then, through the lens of virtual reality, vastly enhanced into the impression that you’re no longer just playing a game, but rather being part of one.
One of the big things here is that you can actually feel the world as well, not like what you have with the Oculus Rift where you are only seeing and hearing, they even have physical props enhanced digitally to aid with this.
So when it comes to theme-park style entertainment, is this the future of such attractions or what?
While it’s a cool idea, it’s got some severe limitations. Mainly issues centered around the play-space. Only being able to play within a specific physical environment of fixed size, and probably with no way of moving or changing large set-pieces on the fly, severely restricts level design and replay-ability.
Zokk has a point in that there are certainly limitations here, but I’ve found that people who are inspired to create something often find ways around those limitations to accomplish things previously thought impossible. I, for one, look forward to being astonished with what people can do with this technology.
How would you prevent props from clipping through the walls if they’re not there physically?
In the video, there was a clip of someone holding a grey box that appears as a lantern with the helmet on. I don’t think it would be possible to place force feedback devices on everything (and if it was possible would be ludicrously expensive).
While it’s a cool idea, it’s got some severe limitations. Mainly issues centered around the play-space. Only being able to play within a specific physical environment of fixed size, and probably with no way of moving or changing large set-pieces on the fly, severely restricts level design and replay-ability.
I think a key point here is that it’s far better than anything we have today, yes devices like the Oculus will allow for infinitely sized worlds, but without the sensation of touch, smell, or taste (especially if you did such a thing as physical climbing).
Eventually, you’ll have a force feedback suit laced with haptic devices (and combined with a 360 degree harness) to allow for the same experience at home without the limits, but initially such a thing will likely be too large of an investment for the average consumer (which more likely your first experiences might be at a cutting edge arcade).
We could make a see through substance that you could wear around you.That would become stiff when you are near objects in the fogscreen and become soft when you are away from them.This would provide the images with the feeling of being solid.
There are materials that can have their properties changed as an electrical current is passed through it, but there’s a number of challenges that need to be dealt with first
People can breathe through it
It’s easy to put on and take off
It’s flexible enough for fast motion yet durable enough to hold extreme poses (just as with climbing).
It can do accurate and ultra-fast 1-to-1 responses in accordance to what is going on in the game.
The neat thing about The Void is that they’re applying today’s technology for what is the most advanced VR experience to date (waiting for tomorrow’s technology means you can’t expect something like this for a while yet).
