If you’ve attended any of the showcase events for PlayStation VR or Oculus Rift, strapped on a virtual reality headset and played a selection of virtual reality games, it’s likely that one of them has made you feel a little queasy.
There’s a real concern that motion sickness caused by playing virtual reality games could dampen the experience for some players, but Battlezone creator Rebellion believes that a few important design principles employed in its upcoming tank shooter for PlayStation VR can help alleviate any issues.
“From a design perspective there are some absolute basics. The frame rate has to be high, has to be smooth. Avoid anything that that makes your brain go ‘hang on, I thought I was in control here?’ Camera shake, or anything that moves your virtual ‘head’ is a perfect example of something very common that is just a no-no in VR,” said Battlezone creative director Jason Kingsley, in an interview with Gaming Bolt.
Kingsley talks about how he set out to make players feel comfortable in their new surroundings to ensure that the experience isn’t disorientating.
“I think the hands-on reaction to Battlezone has been so positive so far because it grounds you really well in the tank cockpit; we spent a lot of time getting the ‘on-boarding’ just right – that’s the process of getting you acclimatised to your virtual surroundings. The visuals, audio and gameplay then work in harmony to give you a really comfortable sense of presence.
During our experience of PlayStation VR across multiple VR games, we did experience sickness, and even some symptoms that you may associate with drug use, such as anxiety, giddiness and a dry mouth. You can read about them in the article ‘The highs and lows of virtual reality gaming.’
However, it seems that developers are now becoming much more accustomed to the new technology and therefore becoming more adept at creating experiences that don’t make users feel so sick.
Rebellion obviously understands how to create that fine balance between grounding players and still giving them the full virtual reality experience as Battlezone was one of those titles that we’ve played that felt naturally immersive.
We’re certainly hoping that other developers follow suit.
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