VR Experiences

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There are a bunch of VR games that I've played on the Vive that I would classify more as "experiences" and not as much "games".  Not that it's a bad thing, it's just interesting.

They're still super compelling and I've loved my time with them but they don't necessarily have traditional gameplay.  It's more about being in a space or experiencing a thing.

I would say all these fall into that category:
  • theBlu
  • Apollo 11 VR
  • The FOO Show
  • Job Simulator
  • Irrational Exuberance: Prologue
  • Universe Sandbox 2
Of these I think theBlu and The FOO Show are coolest.

Apollo 11 VR was a fun few hours experiencing key moments of the first Moon walk mission but didn't have much replayability.  Irrational Exuberance was basically just breaking apart an asteroid that you're inside of while a meteor storm happens around you.  And Universe Sandbox 2 was a cool looking space sim until I actually started trying to interact with it and the game ground to a halt.  Job Simulator is just messing around in a future "museum" that shows what human jobs used to be like in the 2000s.  It's fun for a few minutes but wears out it's welcome.

But theBlu is amazing.  It's the way I introduce people to VR now.  You're underwater and just get to explore the few feet around you but it's enough to really get a sense of the power that VR has to put you in a place.  The whale experience in particular gave me a sense of awe and scale that I could never get from a flat game.

The FOO Show is an interesting experiment.  It's basically a VR talk show where you can walk around the environment with the hosts and explore your surroundings.  This includes picking up objects, playing with them, and throwing them around.  The host talked to some of the creators of Firewatch and the show took place inside the main lookout tower of that game.  It was super interesting and I'm excited to see what they do for the next episode!

I'm sure there are going to be more VR experiences going forward that aren't very "gamey" and I'm totally ok with that.  I've seen how good they can be when executed well and it makes me excited for the future.

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