In the last two years, something called the Oculus Rift has taken the techy geeks by storm. What is that, you ask? Oh, only something that gamers and sci-fi fans have been dreaming about for the last 40 years: a real, live, workable virtual reality headset.
Yes, there have been attempts at the “immerse me in a virtual world” format in the past. Nintendo’s Virtual Boy console was probably the best known—along with fact that it was a badly fumbled construct that lost its parent company millions. But the Oculus Rift, a headset that resembles a pair of old-school chunky ski goggles, is the first hug-your-face creation that actually seems to create a truly 3-D world. It delivers a view that seamlessly tilts and swivels with the movements of your head.
It all started with a teen hacker named Palmer Luckey. He was a kid who loved to break down and rebuild old gaming consoles in his spare time. Like most Tron and Star Trek fans, Luckey really wanted to see some kind of holodeck virtual reality come to life. And so he put his tinkering skills to the test and came up with his own wearable system. Talk about a fanboy dream come true. From there it was reported that small-time online investors were eagerly drooling over the possibilities and tossing cash into a Kickstarter campaign that raised a record-breaking $90 million for research and development.
But then, Facebook stepped in. To a unified geek gasp of “What!?” Facebook snatched the whole splendiferous project up last week for a cool $2 billion.
On first glance, this seems like a strange fit. Why would people need to check their walls in glorious virtual reality? But the Facebook move isn’t necessary as complete a surprise as some flabbergasted gamers might think.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg says that there’s tons of applications for a tech like this in a social media world. “Imagine enjoying a courtside seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face—just by putting on goggles in your home,” Zuckerberg said in a Facebook announcement. “This is really a new communication platform. By feeling truly present, you can share unbounded spaces and experiences with the people in your life. Imagine sharing not just moments with your friends online, but entire experiences and adventures.”
As far as gaming is concerned, Zuckerberg made it clear that video game applications are the Oculus/Facebook team’s first priority and that won’t change. “We’re going to focus on helping Oculus build out their product and develop partnerships to support more games. Oculus will continue operating independently within Facebook to achieve this.”
Does that mean that we will soon be reaping our Farmville crops in a virtual world with hoe in hand? Who knows. But things are indeed a-changing. And it could be that a virtual experience is … virtually upon us.
Recent Comments