Occulus Rift Developer Kit Might Give Us Convincing Virtual Reality

Categories: Accessories, Hardware, Headsets | 0 comments

We all want to jump into our games and actually become our characters. The only way we can really do that is with convincing virtual reality. The sad thing is, no one has successfully accomplished this feat quite yet.

However, a promising contender is on the rise, and it’s a Kickstarter project called the Occulus Rift. This is only a developer kit at the moment, but it has a lot of positive backing from some higher ups in the gaming community, and it has received about 5x its funding goal. That being said, I think something is being done right here.

This VR headset is supposed to give you an wide field of view, and have ultra-low latency for moving your head around. This is going to put you behind the eyes of the character you’re playing. Should you be interested in the specs:

Head tracking: 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) ultra low latency

Field of view: 110 degrees diagonal / 90 degrees horizontal

Resolution: 1280×800 (640×800 per eye)

Inputs: DVI/HDMI and USB

Platforms: PC and mobile

Weight: ~0.22 kilograms

This kit, as well as a copy of Doom 3 bfg (first Occulus Rift-ready game) will cost you $300. I am aware that is quite a sum of money, but if you want to be a part of the development of the hardware and software of this supposed “truly immersive virtual reality”, then that’s what you have to do. This project has about 22 days left to go, and if you hop on, you can expect the kit to arrive sometime in November.

Written by Caitlyn Muncy

Raised in a Podunk town in southern Indiana, Caitlyn had an appetite for games at a young age, growing up with SNES, PlayStation consoles, a Gameboy, and a PC. She has branched out into several different fields of art, music, and journalistic endeavors. Apart from being parent to Darth Giblet the hamster, she is currently attending Indiana University for Fine Arts. You can follow her on Twitter.