With the increasing appeal of the Oculus Rift and the recently announced Project Morpheus headset from Sony, it is hard not to be excited for such an experiential concept. There have been plenty of games and cool tech demos that have been tested with the Oculus Rift from various YouTubers, but today we will discuss which games we would like to see developed with virtual reality in mind.
1) Mirror’s Edge 2
One of the most obvious choices for virtual reality is Mirror’s Edge 2. The first was exhilarating with its sense of speed, its parkour jumping and how crisp the world looked around Faith. Picture this with next generation technology and the Morpheus headset. Also, if previous rumors are true, Mirror’s Edge 2 would be incredible if you can see your friends run alongside you in its open world. The PlayStation Move controllers can also be used for combat with its supposed “1-2-3 punch/kick style combos”.
One downside of virtual reality with Mirror’s Edge is how much movement is needed to proceed through the level and this can lead to feeling nauseous. Whether or not, EA and DICE could tweak it to work with the Morpheus, the potential is still there.
2) A David Cage Game
No matter how you put it, David Cage has created such immersive worlds and narratives to his games. Through Heavy Rain, he truly encapsulated a gripping narrative hooked in which your choices affect what happens to the characters.
Imagine being able to walk around a world created by David Cage’s mind and look at the characters you are speaking to. You could probably see the changes they have been through in the adventure with facial expressions, bruises, cuts, dirt, etc. With the power of the Move as well, quick time events would feel more natural than they have before and interacting with the world would feel more substantial than Beyond: Two Souls and Heavy Rain.
3) Spider-Man (written by Nathan Hughes)
One of the reasons why VR is so popular is because it allows its users to place themselves in a game like never before. How you move, where you look and the interaction the world allows you would enable you — as the player — to immersive yourself in a game in an unprecedented level, achieving an alternate reality from your own. So, what’s the number one dream most gamers had when they were younger? Being a superhero in a big city. While it might easy enough to make a Superman game (which could basically boil down to a flight simulator and beat-em up), it’s the fluid and acrobatic movement of Spider-Man that has me more interested.
A few years back for the reboot of The Amazing Spider-Man, the film had a trailer that briefly showed off the world of the web-head in first person and it was jawdropping. Spider-Man leapt from building to building, crawling on a wall and then upside-down before launching himself with his webshooters. It was breathtaking. Everyone loved the web swinging from Spider-Man 2, so why not just do it all over again but have the view in first person? It’d be one hell of a good VR game.
4) The next Elder Scrolls game
Probably the most wanted experience I would want from virtual reality is being able to visit a large open world set in fantasy. While Elder Scrolls Online is not graphically intensive and Fallout is typically a world you would feel anxious to explore, the world of Tamriel is perfect for virtual reality. Imagine walking through a mountain pass, looking at the distant land below or fighting against a huge dragon in front of you. Think about the prospects of feeling like a soldier with a sword and shield with two Move controllers in hand as you traverse inside of a dungeon.
Also, if the technology improves, I would like to see the accompaniment of interacting with characters through voice like Microsoft’s Project Milo. Making a huge difference through your voice and seeing what is happening around you would be an incredible experience. It is the ultimate dream of an RPG fan.
5) Experiential Games
One of the stand out moments of last year was a little indie game called Gone Home which had the player walk through an empty house. After realizing your family is away, you walk around the house and find out more of their history through their personal items and internal monologues. It was a fantastic experience from top-to-bottom, and while there wasn’t much gameplay to it, that wasn’t the point of Gone Home. It was for looking at the world in a completely new perspective and taking another character’s body.
Project Morpheus is the perfect platform for a game such as this (and others like The Stanley Parable and Dear Esther) as nothing else in the world around you can take you away from the experience. You are completely in and I cannot wait for indie games to take advantage of this technology.
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So, what would you like to see with Project Morpheus? Do you agree with some of our picks? Comment below!
#1 is the obvious choice, and #3 is the most intriguing choice. Though, to be honest, I am not sure if #3 is really a feasible game to make, but hell would it be interesting.