With the launch of the Oculus Rift this March come endless possibilities for entertainment. The virtual reality headset is expected to change they way we experience shows, movies, gaming and possibly the way we communicate with each other.
iDigitalTimes spoke to Roblox CEO David Baszucki about the future of VR. Roblox is currently working on offering VR support to its game creation software to give designers another platform to explore. The big draw for VR headset right now is immersive gaming, but Baszucki believes we’re only scratching the surface of VR’s engagement potential.
“We are early in the area of content consumption, which is much more passive, VR movies, VR, sporting events,” Baszucki said. “We are also very early in the realm of VR telepresence [like] you and me having this conversation in 3D VR rather than 2D at a distance. And we’re really early in the area where Roblox is charting uncharted territory, which is the core human experience of doing things together. In Roblox, we might be working [together] at a restaurant or we might be surviving a tornado...All of these have an enormous ways to go as far as just the value and excitement they’re going to offer with Oculus and other VR headsets.”
However, those who pre-ordered the Oculus Rift won’t get the full VR experience when they receive their headset one to three weeks after the launch date. The first batch of Oculus Rifts won’t come with the Oculus Touch controllers, which allows players to have more native hand movements
“Oculus has been somewhat at the forefront and somewhat of a catalyst to this explosion of VR in both publicity and technology we’ve seen over the last year and a half,” Baszucki said. “They’re complemented with really VR being so new and there being such a wide range of experiences and there being be so much opportunity for exploration that I don’t see the initial lack of hand controllers as being that much of a detriment.”
Baszucki believes through a combination of VR and AR technology screens as we know it will disappear. There won’t be a need for your computer screen or your mobile device. We’ll begin to see less TV screens and more VR related options, like projections from our glasses directly into our corneas.
“It’s as big as the elimination of the typewriter, as big as the elimination of the analog phone, Baszucki said. “We’re moving to a whole new way to presenting information for users. Whether that happens five years or ten years is a bit more of a technology issue, how quickly will our technology advance, but rest assured it will happen over time.”
The first batch of Oculus Rift pre-orders arrive as early as March 28. Be sure to check back with iDigitalTimes for your full review of the Oculus Rift headset.
