More Than Gaming, Playstation VR Provides an Experience

Just like the internet back in the day, VR isn't a trend that the public can just sit back and expect to pass. It's here to stay — and grow, and develop — and while no one knows for sure what form or medium VR/AR will take in the end, it's safe to say that there's a lot of noise out there concerning headsets, cameras, programs, gaming systems, and accessibility.

Recently at SXSW, I had the chance to experience Sony PlayStation VR, and as someone who's tried her hand and head at countless different kinds of VR gear, I was just as impressed as I was when I tried out Project Morpheus at E3 2015. It didn't come as surprise, then, when I learned that Morpheus was actually PlayStation VR's codename at the time.

Full disclosure: I am a major PlayStation fan, because it's the only console I've been able to experience gorgeous casual games like Journey, or compelling story-driven games like Life is Strange. I'm not a fan of first-person shooters, and a puzzle game has to be really clever in order for me to reach the end. But for me, gaming is a form of relaxation more than anything else.

What makes PlayStation VR different than other headsets is that the games themselves automatically come with PlayStation's awe-inspiring resolution and high attention to detail, and since many are designed with VR in mind, there's no weird distortion, blurred vision, motion sickness, or any of the obstacles that come with the increasing array of other VR headsets out there. That's not to say there probably weren't major challenges while developing PlayStation VR, it's just that they've paid extra-careful attention to the hurdles, studying the neuroscience of VR in order to apply their findings to the product.

In traditional games, obstacles and enemies are often taken for granted as a type of necessary evil. Vanquishing or defeating them becomes almost a job — a repetitive task that is part of the end goal of the game itself. But for casual gamers like me, VR offers an increased sense of scale, as well as a more visceral relationship to the environment. Instead of just electronically controlling components of a computer program on a screen, I'm participating, not just playing. So even for those who aren't gamers by definition, PlayStation VR affords opportunities just to experience something that may not be otherwise possible.

When trying out Into The Deep (working title), I had the chance to become a professional diver, submerge myself deep underwater, and in a cage while a large, very realistic-looking and menacing shark ripped the metal railings off my cage, slowly tearing apart the only barrier between myself and the sea. There was no gameplay involved: I did not control the cage or the shark. I only turned my head in terror as I waited to see what would finally happen. (Take a guess.)

This ability to look around, interact, and just take in the environment, rather than trying to rush through a game in order to achieve some sort of unspecified end goal, is exactly what affords VR designers the unprecedented opportunity to pay more attention to detail in order to enhance the player's experience. It's also what gives the player the "experience" itself, thereby elevating the practice of gaming into a type of newfound metaconscious activity that relies on inherent human curiosity, which isn't exactly encouraged in the real world — at least not for adults.

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