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Xbox is working with a 'broad array of VR providers'
Microsoft is entering the virtual reality conversation with a one-two punch: partnerships with both Oculus and Valve VR. The Oculus Rift will be bundled with a wireless Xbox One controller, native support on Windows 10 and the ability to play Xbox One games in a virtual cinema via Xbox-to-Windows streaming. Valve VR joins the Rift on Windows 10, a partnership that Microsoft announced during its Xbox E3 conference, suggesting a focus on gaming in Valve's virtual worlds. But, Microsoft's VR plans may be bigger than just two other companies, Microsoft General Manager of Games Publishing Shannon Loftis suggested during an interview at E3 this week. Read her thoughts on VR, gaming and Windows 10 below.
One of the first Valve VR games is inspired by '80s fantasy films
The Gallery: Six Elements is a magical fantasy exploration game created by Vancouver Island studio Cloudhead Games for Valve and HTC's new virtual reality headset, the Vive. It includes motion controls and a soundtrack by Elder Scrolls composer Jeremy Soule, and at first glance it's a truly gorgeous 3D, puzzle-solving experience -- the game's first trailer, released today, shows that much. The Gallery was successfully Kickstarted back in April 2013, where it was pitched as an Oculus Rift game. Perhaps sensing a hit, Valve jumped on Cloudhead early on in Vive's development, Creative Director Denny Unger says. "Valve has been stellar," Unger says. "They brought us into the process very early and genuinely listened to what we had learned about the VR space since its 2013 rebirth. Valve shared a common goal with Cloudhead Games in that they saw a vision for VR that was tantamount to the holodeck. This is the closest we've ever been to breaking down the boundaries and letting users physically step into virtual worlds. It is the fracture point all sci-fi geeks have been waiting for. It's here and its incredible."
This is what game devs are saying about Valve's prototype VR hardware
We've seen quite a bit the Oculus Rift, but another major player in the coming virtual reality revolution has eluded us: Valve. Save for adding an experimental VR mode to the Steam Client Beta, the company's experiments in the space have been kept largely under wraps. That changed this week during Steam Dev Days, however, when select developers were given a peek at the company's R&D efforts. Some of those developers are even talking about their experiences, though their descriptions are still pretty vague. Tripwire interactive's David Hensley, for instance, tweeted this week that wearing the company's VR hardware prototype was like being in a "lucid dream state." In fact, Hensley compares it to the holodeck featured on Star Trek, thanks largely to the advanced physical tracking Valve employed in its demo. Users could reportedly walk around a confined space and have their movements (including simple actions like crouching) mirrored in the virtual world. "It's hard to explain just how immersive it felt," Garry Newman (creator of Garry's Mod) wrote on his blog. "Imagine being in a room and looking around seeing and hearing things in that room. That's what it was like." As impressive as the full-room tracking experience sounds, the prototype's other improvement are just as notable. According to Newman, Valve's headset offers a less nauseating experience compared to his time with Oculus' Rift, though he doesn't seem completely sure why. Hensley credits it to a higher resolution image and lower latency than Oculus dev kits available today, noting that he's heard it's comparable to the Crystal Cove prototype shown at CES (though he admits he hasn't used both units). Unfortunately, we're not likely to see these improvements in the public anytime soon -- Valve's efforts seem to be largely experimental, as the firm has already stated that it doesn't plan to release hardware of its own. Still, it sounds like an great example of where the technology could be headed in the future, even if that future is rather far flung.
