Virtual reality is a whole new category of interactive gaming. It’s uses and implications for the gaming world are absolutely endless. What kind of gamer wouldn’t want to be thrown into their beloved game world, to see what their character sees first person, as if it’s happening to them? First person shooters would get incredibly intense, horror games would become even more terrifying, and fantasy sci-fi games would become even more mesmerizing and beautiful.
There is one game, and its uses with virtual reality, that I am incredibly excited about. "No Man’s Sky" is one game I have been incredibly excited about since I heard about the basic concept a few years ago. The premise of "No Man’s Sky" is simple yet incredibly complex. At the beginning of the game you are dropped into a part of space, undiscovered by any other player in the game, ever. You can explore multiple different worlds and galaxies, interact with alien races, and name each and every new plant, animal, and mineral you find on every single new world you discover. However, this game is unlike any other open world game before it. The creators came up with an algorithm that randomly generates galaxies and worlds. Because of this, when a player is spawned in a new part of a galaxy, it truly has never been seen by any other player before. Every player has a completely different experience with this game.
Everything about this game looks absolutely incredible. From the beta testing gameplay videos showing the amazing graphics and different aesthetic elements to the game, right down to random articles that explain how to actually play the game, I have high hopes for everything this game is.
However, when you think about "No Man’s Sky" in terms of virtual reality, the game becomes ridiculous. "No Man’s Sky" up close and personal through some high quality virtual reality, such as the Oculus Rift, would be absolutely mind blowing. To be immersed in strange alien worlds, discovering incredibly diverse plants and animals, while fighting off unknown alien species, all in first person, as if you’re actually there, I imagine would be indescribable.
Some speculation has been circulating that virtual reality and its recent advances are part of the reason for "No Man’s Sky" delayed release. The game was originally supposed to be released in the spring of 2015, but the release date kept getting pushed back. While some delay is pretty normal for any video game, especially one of this size and caliber, rumors have circulated that part of the delay was due to the Oculus Rift. This is a virtual reality system that was recently introduced to the general public – well only if the general public has a ridiculous amount of money to drop on a virtual reality system. Anyways, many believe that a lot of the delays for "No Man’s Sky" were due to the Oculus Rift, and now that this virtual reality system is fully released, "No Man’s Sky" can finally make it’s debut.
Did the developers of "No Man’s Sky" wait to release this game in hopes that people would use virtual reality to explore their alien worlds? How amazing do you think "No Man’s Sky" would be through virtual reality goggles?
I am way too excited about the release of this game, and will be playing it the day it comes out whether or not I have the Oculus Rift to play it on.
