Most of what we have been exploring with Virtual Cities initiative, starting with Virtual Dubuque, has been about how 3D city replicas can be used to understand cities in a deeply immersive way – rather than the abstract experience of Google Earth, or the photos from Street View, we wanted to make the virtual city experience more accessible, customizable, data-rich environments that convey a more holistic understanding of what it’s like to actually be in the city.
I’ve been experimenting with a wide variety of design concepts for Oculus Rift environments, and wanted to share one of my test builds. You can download it here.
Oculus Rift completely changes the game. The very instant I stepped inside of our Revit model, I realized just how different the ‘in-world’ experience was from the drawings we were producing! It was a night and day difference.
Second Life is a killer app for Oculus VR. Now, before you skip ahead to post a comment about how SL has been overrun by furries and 14 year olds, take a moment to scroll through these screenshots, and watch some of the machinima below.
I wish I had more time to write out a more extensive review of the Rift, but here are my first impressions: You absolutely feel as if you are transported to another place, to the point where it’s almost scary.
Architecture in video games matters, and there is a right way and a wrong way to approach it. Games are chock full of buildings, but there is a tremendous deficit of ‘Architecture.’ Here are some thoughts on the importance and potential of architecture in game design and virtual worlds.
“WOW!” Seems to be an almost universal reaction to a first experience trying on the new Oculus Rift VR headset. Seeing a players first experience with Rift is always interesting to see, as the player gradually becomes immersed, suspending their disbelief, and becoming part of the virtual environment.
I love being a freelancer. I’ve been lucky enough to get away with it off for 9 out of the past 10 years, and wouldn’t have it any other way. However, it hasn’t always been easy – especially the first few years. There were so many hard earned lessons and missed opportunities that could easily have been avoided had I known better at the time. That’s what this post is all about.
