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‘Echo Arena’ is competitive, virtual reality frisbee in zero gravity
When we saw Lone Echo at Oculus Connect 3 late last year, it solved one of virtual reality's biggest limitations by ignoring humanity's most common form of locomotion: walking. The game takes place entirely in zero gravity, asking players to navigate its virtual world by pushing off bulkheads like an astronaut or using hand-mounted jets to fly around like Iron Man. It worked shockingly well and easily became one of our favorite games from the show. Intel must have thought so too: It just made the game's multiplayer component half of its new VR esports league.
Walking in virtual reality is hard, so 'Lone Echo' got rid of it
First generation virtual reality may have nailed sense of presence, but one major limitation keeps it from feeling truly immersive: Walking. The endless landscapes of the digital world are hampered by the confines of reality -- your playspace is only so big, and if you walk too far in any given direction, you're going to hit a wall. Most games get around this with teleportation mechanics, allowing the player's avatar to jump to far-off locations. Ready at Dawn Studios' Lone Echo took another approach: turn off the gravity, and eliminate the need to walk altogether.
