Game is not the same as challenge or fun. Games are experiences where player immerses himself, but different than his ordinary and everyday life. Playing means interpreting roles in contexts other then usual, with specific rules of its own. Video Game is contemporary technological form of game, where player can identify himself in virtual roles and in virtual environments created, managed and represented by means of computational and optoelectronic systems. Video Games have to be intended as virtual interactive experiences. They can engage players in drama, serious contents, stories, artistic representations, not only challenges.

Look at the historical evolution of Video Games from Pong to What Remains Of Edith Finch. Games started just as challenges, later gained storytelling through cut scenes, but only as dressing for challenges; just in recent years some games are putting aside challenges and focusing on storytelling and contents embedded in gameplay. Yes, I know, that’s oversimplification, but now there is no time to go deep in Video Games history!

I want to talk about the last frontier of entertainment: VR.

I’m VR enthusiast, especially for what it’s going to be in the next future. Today it may seem just hi-tech curiosity, coming with many technological limits. Nevertheless I can already feel all its potential. Total immersion in stories and experiences where player identifies himself in virtual roles and environments, in contexts other than his ordinary and everyday life: thanks to VR all this is going to be true, perhaps more true than reality!

I have found the first absolute evidence while playing The Invisible Hours; seven hours of deep immersion in compelling story and virtual world you would never leave, new kind of entertainment never experienced before. I felt as one of the first spectators watching Melies short movies at the beginning of the XX century, a strong feeling of surprising innovation. And it’s just the starting point. Such kind of experiences can be more interactive, just a matter of technology and processing or in-game AI. Obviously it’s hard today melting together motion captured actors, storytelling, VR and interactivity based on in-game AI, but i think it’s going to be reality in the next future.

Taking off VR headset and getting back in front of flat screen it’s already now painful for me! VR has renewed my child excitement for games! I’m desperately searching for new appealing VR experiences. Production pace of VR titles started slow, but now is growing more and more. Nevertheless gaming industry and market are always a step behind and most of consumers and developers are shortsighted. Many gamers are doubtful about today VR devices and games, they prefer waiting for next generation. I think they are really wrong, they are missing an exciting pioneering era of experiments and innovation! Actual industry trend is translating to VR the same traditional challenging mechanics created for flat screens: FPS (Doom), puzzle games (I Expect You to Die), combat games (Tekken), platform (Moss), sport simulations (Gran Turismo) etc. Good, but they don’t make the most of VR potential; even if I’ve to admit that Dream Match Tennis VR or Racket Fury: Table Tennis are two good experiences: real tennis and real ping pong in your living room!

Batman Arkham VR, Skyrim and RE7 are better narrative experiences, but the latter has ugly story and doesn’t allow for hand controllers. When playing Skyrim, you can see it is an ordinary game adjusted for 360° view, except for the hand controlled sword and bow giving you small feelings of immersion. Batman impressed me for its good immersiveness; review here. New technologies should imply new expressive languages, ideas, mechanics, gameplay. Thanks to VR, evolution of Video Games should take a further step towards immersion in absolute, total artistic and narrative experiences. Replicating the same mechanics created for flat screens is not bad but reductive.

While playing good Lovecraft-inspired game on flat screen, Conarium (2017, Zoetrope Interactive), I thought: this game would be better in VR! Many so-called walking simulators, great games centered around story, exploration and content, like What Remains Of Edith Finch, Firewatch, Journey, The Unfinished Swan, The Vanishing Of Ethan Carter, Abzu etc. they could give their best in VR. I would suggest developers to remake their masterpieces and to develop new similar games directly for VR devices in the next future. Recently I tested the great potential of VR as educational medium. The Chantry kept me immersed for three hours while discovering intriguing historical facts about smallpox vaccine.

There are several VR systems today for every wallet : PSVR, Oculus, HTC Vive ad others. I hope to see technological improvements as soon as possible: wider view angles, higher pixel definition, better graphics, lower blur, wireless headsets (but with no loss of quality, otherwise cabled headset are better); more and better sensors, controllers and interfaces allowing for simulated walking, manipulation by fingers and complete body detection. And obviously more and more interactive, complex, refined, immersive games. We have to wait: next generation of consoles and headsets is coming in two or three years.

Bound VR is an amazing dynamic interactive artistic experience you have not to miss. I played even Deracine (From Software, Japan Studio), pleasant and meaningful experience but too static. The Exorcist VR has good incipit, great atmospehre in the first episode, but it loses its way in the following episodes. Creed: Rise to Glory is a complete mess, failed simulation of boxing. Red Matter, Robinson: The Journey and Eden: Tomorrow are very good VR sci-fi experiences. Detached is an amazing EVA simulator in deep space, coming with great physics simulation of inertia; btw it offers very hard challenges and weak story, you’re adviced. Sairento VR is one of the best VR action for sure, you can do backflips, run on walls, use swords and shurikane, etc. just like a real ninja in first person view; I bought even 3D Rudder for a better experience! Blood & Truth is good, but Sairento is better. I tried Astrobot, but it’s not my cup of tea; the same for Moss. Superhot and Beat Saber are overstimated. Groundhog Day: like Father like Son is an epic fail from Tequila Works, a complete unplayable mess. Ace Combat 7 VR add-on is not so amazing as I was expecting, but it’s still good.

I hope to see more story-driven and narrative games for VR in the future. I experienced just PSVR, not PCVR. Most of people says that PCVR is better than PSVR, but I don’t know how much better. I tried Oculus Rift at Milan Games Week , I have noticed not so much difference in comparison to PSVR, but I played just one game. Maybe Oculus (Rift or Quest) will be my next purchase!

So, what the answer to the title of the article is? VR revolution? Yes, ongoing just now, don’t waste time, take your headset and enter such exciting gaming experience now!

L.F.