Over the past week I've been working on adding Oculus Rift support to the Frenzy engine and game. This part of the development concerned me, because while the technology and theory is well proven and not very difficult to integrate, the actual practicality of VR in certain types of games is an entirely different story. Would movement have to be restricted or changed to make it a great experience(read, non-nauseating)? Would there be advantages or disadvantages to players using VR as opposed to screen output? How much would performance suffer as a result?
Truly there was only one way to find out, and since the goal from the start with this game was to expand upon the typical pc platform, I plunked down the cash and rolled up my sleeves and got started. After a weekend of what was at times a bit trial and error, I had Frenzy working flawlessly in the Oculus Rift!
So how did Frenzy fit in with VR? I can say, without doubt, it was spectacularly fun and frighteningly immersive! The issues I worried about most(movement) were non-issues. I was able to create a system in which the player has his eye orientation and body position factored seemlessly. The player controls his body angle with the mouse, and he has the freedom to look around in any direction from that position. You move according to that body angle. There were no limitations, other than how much, or I should say, how fast can you go and your senses handle it - totally up to the player. I played a number of rounds without ill effect at all. Using the mouse and keyboard of the base game, it was a breeze to move around and play. I will say that the experience was so incredible, that I'd probably never want to play on a monitor output again!
Advantages, disadvantages? I'd say that having that extra freedom of being able to look around in relation to your body angle is a distinct advantage, and I'd say that advantage is somewhat negated given the FOV is considerable less in VR than a widescreen monitor. Aiming, etc, seems to be about the same, though in VR you've got the added dimension of depth which takes a little getting used to, but is definitely an advantage. I'd venture to say that the VR player will likely want to slow his mouse output to prevent sudden, nauseating body angle changes, which could be a disadvantage, nor maybe not. Overall I'd say that having played in both venues, that with VR you have a slight advantage overall - but probably not enough to override skill factors.
Next will be adding HUD and menu layers, and controller support. I'm sure many will opt to use controllers, though for my money, as an old-school FPS player, nothing can beat the keyboard/mouse combo. Stay tuned....