Frequent VR users -- does the magic wear off?

[AndreGX]

Yes. I still enjoy it for very specific games, but once the novelty is gone, it quickly exposes how shallow a lot of the experiences really are. Even the great stuff is more "cool" than "mind-blowing" these days, though Half-Life Alyx got closest...for a time, anyway.

With that said, I'm one of those weirdos that will only play BotW in VR now (likely partially because it's anything but shallow.)

 

[oakenhild]

It depends on the game. The game has to be engaging and makes good use of VR. If it's just a slapped together port like the Bethesda games for example, it wears off quick.

Click to shrink...

Yes, this post is spot on.

I've had VR since early in the Rift CV1 days. I just recently played a game that was intense, amazing and I was in awe the entire time I've played thus far (Tetris Effect on the Quest) .

HL: Alyx was another recent game that was amazing, but basically too intense for me that I've put it on pause for a little while (I don't do horror often).

But then there are games where they are ports, and the VR is tacked on. It's almost never a game I stick with as the novelty wears off very quickly and just doesn't feel right.

 

[Deleted member 23046]

Not entirely, but (on Playstation) we lack of more big games like Skyrim or RE7. It puts the VR in another league than "flat gaming".

There is a solid line-up for the PSVR and nice things appearing regularly (if you are ok to spend money on it...), but my wish is to see various PS4 FPS of this gen (Dishonored, Alien Isolation, FarCry Primal etc.) adapted on VR for the next one, due to a more homogeneous market induced by the PS5 power jump and more opportunities for publishers fo release game simultaneously for PCVR and PSVR.

 

[CelestialAtom]

Not in the slightest. VR is the best.

 

[BrickArts295]

Depends on the games. Played Arizona Sunshine, was fine but the VR "magic" was bland. After that I finally started Farpoint and holy hell it looks great.

 

[shodgson8]

Yes I think it does, like most my first time in VR was truly mind blowing and I couldn't stop thinking about it but after a while you start to notice other things that are done well rather than just 'being' in VR.

Something like Half Life Alyx does manage to ignite those early feelings though as so many things are done so well at once.

 

[dd492941]

It wore off a bit for me but I think that is only because I only have a version 1 psvr. I'd love to jump in more however, but I am waiting until psvr 2 as I no longer have a decent gaming rig. I'm hoping that the ps5 makes the psvr 1 games look better as the blurriness gets to me from time to time. I do love a good vr game though.

 

[Serene]

It's more dependent on the game as others have said.

Although trying out the new hand-tracking features on Quest was pretty mind-blowing.

 

[Deleted member 27315]

No.
You just used to be inside the game, and then flat games suck.

 

[MrKlaw]

Had VR since the rift DK1. I still nearly fell over tryign to lean on a virtual wall when I was hiding from combine in HL:Alyx, and screamed when a headcrab jumped me.

Done well its still pressing my buttons

 

[Qikz]

I haven't used it for a long time (only had mine 3 weeks) but so far I love doing even the most mundane things in a VR space. EmuVR and VRChat especially.

 

[RF Switch]

Only owning PSVR you eventually start seeing its limitations more than being immersed, but at the same time I think about how much better it's going to get

 

[Skulldead]

After playing Iron Man this week my answer is no.

Click to shrink...

I have to copy your answer... yeah there always something new and different. Iron man just revive it for me.

 

[mrprime]

I play a lot of flight/driving sims and though it's not perfect and at this point I definitely take it for granted, there's just no going back.

I enjoyed Half Life: Alyx, and have short bursts of enjoyment from other games, but personally I don't really enjoy using VR controllers.

 

[iswasdoes]

Nope, alyx blew me away earlier this year, astrobot blew me away again, and then the Iron Man demo blew me away again

part of why I love the medium is it's constant ability to surprise

 

[neon/drifter]

I still find myself reflexively dodging things or putting my hands up to protect my face when moments of explosions or flying debris occur! I've been playing for about 2 years now?

 

[Klortch]

As other have said I think it really does depend on the game and how it uses VR. I can only speak about PSVR myself, but games like AstroBot, Moss, and Batman VR are games I will go back to and still be wowed. Especially AstroBot--I wish more developers would create games like that where you feel like you're part of the game world.

 

[Rubblatus]

My first VR experience was with the HTC Vive back when they were touring around to different conventions in a semi truck and that shit was wild. The Portal demo, Paintbrush, the blue whale demo, and some mild lab things were all pretty fucking nuts at the time.

That sense of awe with scale and presence never truly goes away. But that weird floaty post-roomscale VR high I'd get coming out of a session has tapered off a lot. You know; where it feels like your brain is trying to remember how depth works outside of the helmet, how you accelerate when you walk, and how objects have weight again. Half-Life: Alyx was able to trigger that sensation consistently after each session (And The Northern Star is still one of my stand-out moments in all of gaming), but after that you have to reach as far back as Budget Cuts as the last game that was able to completely fool my senses like that.

 

[DigSCCP]

I have to copy your answer... yeah there always something new and different. Iron man just revive it for me.

Click to shrink...

I think this is one of the coolest things about investing in emergent technology : you get to experience every new attempt developers bring to the table.
In some ways it why people describe Astrobot as a Mario 64 moment.
In VRs case I believe that this moments will last longer due to its immersive aspects.
At one point this feeling will stop for sure but I think we still have a long and fun road in front of us before it happens.

 

[ericsp17]

It hasn't for me yet. Like play Half Life 2 where headcrabs are these minor obstacles to get by. Then play Half Life Alyx where headcrabs are a frighteningly real force of nature. Its some next level shit to me still. I'm curious where both the tech and the games go from here though. It does still feel like the early days of vr.

 

[Quample]

Probably put around 1000 hours into my Rift CV1 since launch. It still amazes me to this day, but the constraints of the hardware tend to make a lot of the experiences feel "samey" because they inexorably share those weaknesses. Some of those are visual, like fixed focal point, god rays, screen door effect, and then there is stuff like ergonomics, wires, limited interaction capabilities, etc. But certain games like Alyx managed to bypass some of those issues through design by knowing the limitations of the hardware and mitigating them as much as possible.

The magic is still there for me, although at this point I'm more intrigued about the future of VR and how all of the upcoming improvements will better bottle that magic.

 

[Ashok]

No, the magic of VR doesn't wear off, it's just a medium for content. The content itself does quickly become boring tho, once you finish Alyx and a handful of other bolted together VR AAA games like DOOM 3, Alien: Isolation, Resident Evil 7 (PSVR), Fallout 4, and Skyrim, as everything else in VR space pretty much pales in comparison. And you become more aware of VR's limitations with time, but it only makes me MORE excited about the future when we have headsets that can fuse the best features of the Quest, Index, Vive Pro, and WMR headsets into one single Gen 2 product.

 

[Dreaver]

I always have the feeling the (majority?) of VR games are very gimmicky "mobile" games, that either get boring really quick or are very short.
I'm very interested in VR, this always kept me off (I don't buy a lot of games). How does everyone here experience that?

 

[Birbos]

No it doesn't wear off. I've been using VR since the first Oculus Rift Devkit. Has not worn off at all for me.

 

[MerluzaSamus]

Developers are getting better at doing VR games... So the magic is still here.

 

[Voyevoda]

Not to me. My eyes get used to it, but the magic is still there. All's good !

 

[Bruceleeroy]

Hasn't worn off for me and I've played pretty much every major VR release. Shit is dope.

Click to shrink...

Same. RE7 blew my mind. Astrobot blew my mind. Superhot blew my mind. Tetris Effect blew my mind. Beat Saber blew my mind. Walking Dead is BLOWING MY MIND. It just seems to get better and better and I haven't even tried HL Alyx

 

[cnorwood]

I've had VR for 4 years and no. I might have times where I go back to 2d gaming but its still my favorite way to game. If every game just had a VR camera it would be leaps and bounds better than playing the same game in flatscreen.

The only "Magic that wears off" is how it tricks your mind, VR rollercoasters and VR cars don't affect me like they used to.

 

[Tankshell]

The good thing about the VR Wow factor is that it will keep coming back with every new advancement in the technology. I can't wait to hit a much higher FOV and resolution, that will definitely wow me all over again.

 

[Gestault]

You're gonna hate this answer, but "yes and no." Some games are pretty evergreen, and when you're in the moment, you're REALLY in the moment, but you do sort of start seeing through the "magic." That's mostly down to trends in VR game design.

Mind you, I'll still be upgrading my VR headset down the line. It's great for what it is, similar to owning a steering wheel.

 

[Liquid Snake]

Not to hijack the thread, but to people who've played lower-end options like PSVR and also high end VR headsets connected to a beefy PC, is there a HUGE difference in immersion with better tech and higher resolution?

 

[Deleted member 27315]

Moss,

Click to shrink...

Every time when I try the demo, I am saying at loud "oh my god" when in the church looking the main book.

It's not only that you feel "in" , but you can feel and appreciate everything else much more. The senses are sharpened. Music feels more immersive. You can appreciate the graphics more, the textures, polygons etc. I can't even imagine how better the ue5 demo could look in vr. You can even feel that a place have a specific smell. For example I had a new chair in my room and when seeing around a car's chair I thought the smell was from there.

Of course some games feel more immersive than others.

 

[Deleted member 27315]

Not to hijack the thread, but to people who've played lower-end options like PSVR and also high end VR headsets connected to a beefy PC, is there a HUGE difference in immersion with better tech and higher resolution?

Click to shrink...

No.

It's the same immersion you perceive from life when you compare one degree of myopia with two. You are still immersed.

 

[JigglesBunny]

Hasn't yet after 4 years using it almost daily.

 

[Son_of_Oden]

I dusted my PSVR off just some days ago and no the magic definitely doesn't wear off.
Even though I already played through REVII I still screamed like a little girl when Mia jumped at me with a knife or had my heart racing when Jack ran around the house calling for "Eeeeethan?!?" Amazing!
The feeling of immersion for me is indescribable and my brain still doesn't really realise that all of this is not "real".

btw.: a good friend of mine get's sick from VR pretty easily and he claims it's due to the "crappy resolution" of PSVR and that "he can see resolution also on TVs very good" and so his brain can't really cope with it.
Is there really some described condition or is he talking out of his ass because he's one of the few who can't enjoy the beauty of VR?

 

[noyram23]

Kinda but it's more like i'm looking for a more refined VR experience, that's why I just bought Rift 2, from PSVR, and i'm in love again.

Not to hijack the thread, but to people who've played lower-end options like PSVR and also high end VR headsets connected to a beefy PC, is there a HUGE difference in immersion with better tech and higher resolution?

Click to shrink...

Personally there is and there are a lot of VR game that's just available on PC. HL Alyx and Asgard's Wrath are definitely worth the jump.

 

[bounchfx]

yes and no
yes in that I don't want to go through the lengthy setup process of getting my vr and room ready to play

no in that it's still fucking awesome as hell. can't wait for more hardware updates

 

[StreamedHams]

I'm still wowed by the overall presence in VR, regardless of the game. But certain games that properly show scale are absolutely incredible.

Wipeout collection, Battlezone, RE7, Astrobot, and many others are just consistently great.

The VR missions in Ace Combat 7 are wonderful, but there's a loss of detail in the mountains where it's not an convincing as I think it could be.

MS Flight Simulator, if it offers VR support, will likely get me to get a PC headset.

VR is the future for me, and the main driver behind me getting a PS5, depending on how PSVR2 is implemented.

 

[noyram23]

I dusted my PSVR off just some days ago and no the magic definitely doesn't wear off.
Even though I already played through REVII I still screamed like a little girl when Mia jumped at me with a knife or had my heart racing when Jack ran around the house calling for "Eeeeethan?!?" Amazing!
The feeling of immersion for me is indescribable and my brain still doesn't really realise that all of this is not "real".

btw.: a good friend of mine get's sick from VR pretty easily and he claims it's due to the "crappy resolution" of PSVR and that "he can see resolution also on TVs very good" and so his brain can't really cope with it.
Is there really some described condition or is he talking out of his ass because he's one of the few who can't enjoy the beauty of VR?

Click to shrink...

It's true, PSVR has a 'crappy' graphics due to weaker system overall and that can definitely affect your VR legs.

 

[LinkStrikesBack]

btw.: a good friend of mine get's sick from VR pretty easily and he claims it's due to the "crappy resolution" of PSVR and that "he can see resolution also on TVs very good" and so his brain can't really cope with it.
Is there really some described condition or is he talking out of his ass because he's one of the few who can't enjoy the beauty of VR?

Click to shrink...

Talking out his ass. Resolution won't make you sick. They're probably confusing it with frame rates, which can mess people up if it's low and why even psvr has a minimum FPS or Sony won't allow it on the platform, but again, Sony already thought of that.

 

[Deleted member 27315]

btw.: a good friend of mine get's sick from VR pretty easily and he claims it's due to the "crappy resolution" of PSVR and that "he can see resolution also on TVs very good" and so his brain can't really cope with it.
Is there really some described condition or is he talking out of his ass because he's one of the few who can't enjoy the beauty of VR?

Click to shrink...

No it has nothing to do with resolution. The more you feel you are in there, the more motion sickness you get. Motion sickness is a thing when your brain seeing you are moving and your body is not.

Your friend don't know that, and he have to find a explanation. The most obvious one seems to be the resolution, but it's not actually.

 

[Mechaplum]

The magic of 3D models didn't wear off, why should VR?

 

[pswii60]

I've been watching Hugo (strange way to start this thread) -- and one scene describes the first motion picture was a just a train leaving the station; people would actually scream because they thought they'd get run over. This sounds ridiculous today, but it didn't back then.

Click to shrink...

No it definitely sounded ridiculous back then if anyone actually said that other than the 3D marketing machine.

As for VR, the "novelty" might dampen a little but the immersive benefits don't.

 

[Ryengeku]

NO

 

[cnorwood]

As other have said I think it really does depend on the game and how it uses VR. I can only speak about PSVR myself, but games like AstroBot, Moss, and Batman VR are games I will go back to and still be wowed. Especially AstroBot--I wish more developers would create games like that where you feel like you're part of the game world.

Click to shrink...

Basically this, VR is a similar change from 2D to 3D (much further in my opinion) 3D is cool but what if Super Mario 64 was not a good game but just a few levels just showing you that Mario can move in 3D, but no plot, only a few good mechanics, and ok graphics at the time. If the vast majority of n64 and ps1 games revolved around the fact that they are in 3D and not a good game with 3D graphics it would not sold as fondly. As it stands for me after having a PC VR for a few months after having a PSVR is that there are only 2 amazing VR game companies, Valve and Sony. Half Life Alyx is amazing and I was having a great time until my touch controller started drifting. Stress Level Zero made one of my favorite VR experiences with Boneworks, but I also have an Iron VR stomach so I don't really get sick in that game. Superhot was Amazing too, However those games still lacked the level of polish found in HL Alyx and many Sony games, same for the Walking dead. Sony on the other hands have multiple VR goats on their hands RE7, Astrobot, Blood and Truth, Firewall (when you are in a match), Farpoint, Rush of Blood, Wipeout, Driveclub, Gran Turismo Sport, soon Dreams and I also liked Monster of the Deep and Deralcine. These are all held back by the mediocre PSVR headset which is terrible for multiple reasons. The hardware is there, especially with the Quest, but the software needs to catch up. VR may create new titans with entirely new gameplay methods but it would still be nice if we had some high investment current day software. This will probably happen next gen after PSVR2 blows peoples minds.

 

[wafflebrain]

It varies person to person but overall yes the first month or so with it was massively more insane an experience for my brain than it is nowadays. That said I find taking breaks from it for a few weeks can sorta reset your mind's adjustment to it. I can still get visceral reactions with it though, case in point I flinched and squealed at almost every headcrab that launched itself at me in Alyx, and that was across a 15 hour campaign. But like many things dependent on perception one's mileage for adjusting to the immersion factory is a very ymmv thing.

The first few months I had with the dk1 were like being on a psychoactive bender, it was incredibly intense, and that was on a shitty 720p panel with plenty of motion smearing whenever you turned your head. I can't imagine the kind of mind fuck it would be for a first time user playing something as visually intense as Alyx on something like an Index as their first VR experience. Here I was years back flipping out over looking at furniture in Second Life's old VR mode :P

 

[GhostofWar]

The problem is as things get better it's hard going back to older things. I'm really struggling to get into anything else since halflife alyx, I had walking dead before alyx but never finished it, and I just can't get back into it after playing alyx. So it's going to take something to improve on that to get that wow factor again as the bars been raised.

 

[Son_of_Oden]

Talking out his ass. Resolution won't make you sick. They're probably confusing it with frame rates, which can mess people up if it's low and why even psvr has a minimum FPS or Sony won't allow it on the platform, but again, Sony already thought of that.

Click to shrink...

No it has nothing to do with resolution. The more you feel you are in there, the more motion sickness you get. Motion sickness is a thing when your brain seeing you are moving and your body is not.

Your friend don't know that, and he have to find a explanation. The most obvious one seems to be the resolution, but it's not actually.

Click to shrink...

Yeah, I know that normaly resolution doesn't lead to motion sickness and I told him that a thousand times already and his reply is always "but I can do the worst amusement park rides without getting sick"...
I think I'll stop discussing with him about this topic.

 

[345]

i get the thrust behind the question but it's the wrong way to think about it IMO. yeah, the first time you're stunned on a technical level wears off, and using VR itself ceases to become a novelty. you get used to putting on the headset.

but seeing amazing things in VR will continue to be amazing! like, i've seen lots of amazing things in my life but that didn't stop me from being blown away by the sagrada familia last year IRL. similarly, i've been into VR since 2013, but half-life alyx absolutely took my breath away with some very simple shit like just putting a huge strider up close to me. i wasn't thinking "wow, VR is crazy", i was thinking "wow that's a big-ass robot thing, i don't want to get stepped on." you don't get desensitised to the immersion.

 

[Crossing Eden]

I went to a vr party this weekend and it still blew my mind that it's still so immersive. It's "worn off" in the sense that i'm used to using it but still such an immersive experience.