Virtual reality games

Who would have thought that games would take a turn into the virtual world. Virtual reality in gaming has become a reality recently. There is a device called the Occulus Rift that you put on your face and it is designed to simulate a virtual world. The Occulus Rift does this by tricking your eyes into thinking you are actually there. The Occulus Rift also has motion tracking sensor inside of it which tells the game camera view to move around. So if you move your head to the right or left your character's view in the game does as well. It is a pretty cool thing to experience in real life. I personally have not used the Occulus Rift before, as it is really expensive. I have however seen many videos on the internet covering it, and I watch many YouTube gamers play Occulus Rift games. They have said that if you have never used the Occulus Rift it is truly like you are there. There is a simple game where you are on the edge of a cliff and you are looking down below at your feet at the edge of the cliff and just that has freaked out many playing it, your brain processes what your eyes are seeing and it literally makes you scared or in fear because naturally your brain is programmed that standing on the edge of a cliff isn't necessarily the safest place to be. The Occulus Rift is a very popular piece of hardware to incorporate into many game developers in the horror genre. You can probably guess why. Occulus Rift was recently bought by Facebook why have taken the Occulus off the market until they release a new model. The new model that will be available next is called the development kit 2, and will not be the full version. The price to pre-order the development kit 2 will be $350.00.

The image above is what the development kit 2 will look like. Some of the problems with these early virtual reality devices are that they are not for everyone, and for sure not entirely consumer friendly. Many people report of being nauseous after using the Occulus Rift. Some of the youtubers that I have watched play with the Occulus have also complained that they cannot play on the Occulus more than a given time without feeling sick or dizzy. This may be the first step in virtual reality in gaming, but it definitely needs improving. Of course this is a long stretch from being true virtual reality, but I have no doubt that someday people will be able to transport both their mind and their body into a virtual universe. Imagine you in control and truly being in the game. I do admit I am sort of jealous to those who can use their Occulus Rift's but I am sure I will be able to experience virtual reality in gaming someday. I hope things don't go too far like in The Matrix though. I really don't think I want to stick a big plug into the back of my head to play virtual reality games. I will probably just stick with the Occulus Rift.     

The gaming industry now vs then

The market for the gaming industry is at an all time high. I know it and see it every day. Console gaming has been a rapidly growing start for many new gamers around the world. Consoles were most likely the reason the gaming industry is doing so well today and why video games have gotten a very high rate of exposure. I found out about video games through consoles. In Today's market, video games are on many platforms, and even multi platforms. For me there is one platform that I think highly surpasses the rest. PC gaming. It is no surprise that a machine as versatile as the modern computer would make a heaven for any gamer looking to see games in a whole new light. PC gaming has allowed for a whole new world in gaming because of its modding ability and many companies accept that mods do increase sales of their game on PC, so many accept it with open arms. And then we have Steam. If you aren't familiar with it, Steam is an application for PC that allows you to buy and download games directly to your hard drive. Now many people would say that this is worse than having a hard copy of a game, but Steam does one thing that your local GameStop or Wal-Mart cannot do. Steam is able to sell games that are listed at $60 and halve them or even more. Steam has games on sale all the time. Now that money isn't a factor people don't care about having a hard copy, and many enjoy the ease of just hitting purchase and then wait an hour for the game to download and play right from home. I will tell you I personally will choose PC gaming over consoles any day. Consoles are good for sitting on the couch and casual gaming. But for a hardcore gamer like myself, PC is the way to go.  

When we look back at how gaming was a while ago, every game was hard copy. And many games were just put on one console. Back then there really wasn't that much competition in who was the top dog. Now we refer to this as the "console wars" where gamers will pick and choose their favorite system to play the new up and coming games. Brands like Sony and Microsoft are the two main competitors now, will poor Nintendo struggling to stay afloat against the tidal waves of the bigger companies. Something we see far too often in the gaming world is "console exclusives". Games like HALO are only available on Microsoft's console called the X Box. Other games to be only playable on Sony's Play Station. And of course what would Nintendo be without Mario, or Smash Brothers. And speaking of Nintendo another thing to point out about gaming now is that everything is going hand-held and portable. The market for gaming devices you can take on the road, or camping, or wherever you can go that isn't at home, has dramatically increased. But gaming at home is still running strong. I have no doubt in my mind that gaming will keep us spinning our heads and making us watch intently at what the world of video games has in store for us in the future. I think I know what my topic for next week is going to be now. I will be talking about virtual reality in gaming. That is going to be fun...

My first gaming console

The first video gaming console that I owned was a Nintendo 64. I have one that looks like this:

 There wasn't much to go wrong with the Nintendo 64. I will still play it today because of its replay value and fantastic line of games that came out for it. Just typing this out right now brings a smile to my face because of the memories and great times that came from this console. I remember looking under that Christmas tree that year and seeing that used console. I still have it today. Games like The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time , Super Mario 64, Turok Dinosaur Hunter, Turok 2: Seeds of Evil, Quake 2, San Fransisco Rush, Starfox 64, Paper Mario, Duke Nukem 64, and Rampage 1 & 2 are just a few games I can list off of the top of my head that made my childhood a freaking blast! I can remember playing a Turok game called Turok: Rage Wars and I was really little at the time. I remember playing a game against the AI and I could hear noises but I was too scared to go and look so I sat at my spawn point in a little hallway the whole game. I find this hilarious because I must have been doing a team death match or something and the AI were roaming around the rest of the map killing each other and looking for me, and I was sat spawn camping, or rather spawn hiding. I think I tried taking a look into the big room outside of my spawn once or twice but I do remember being extremely scared of that game. Later in my years I remember owning my friends in that game. I was a pro at that game. A part of me wishes I could go back and relive all those magical moments. It makes me sad that those days are gone where me and a few friends would sit down and play some of those awesome games, or if I were to play them by myself. I also have some bad memories with the Nintendo 64. I remember playing 007: Goldeneye against my cousin Collin. It was just me and him in a death match. I was a lot younger than him and the console and game were were playing on at the time was his so he had obliviously played the game before, and he faced me who never played the game in my life. Well if trolling was a word in the modern language at the time thats what he was doing... What I remember him doing to me was setting up trip wires and bombs and telling me to come to where he was at. I tried meeting up with him and as soon as I got near he would lead me right into his tripwires killing me. I remember after he did it a few times I had a fit and started crying. That shows how good of a babysitter he was. But whether the memories are good or bad my first console called the Nintendo 64 will always have a very special place in my heart.    

Why I like video games.

The reason I chose this topic is because video games are a big part of my life. Video games have gotten through some tough times in life. Video games are also a great way to pass the time. If I am ever bored I just play a video game. If I am ever sitting and have nothing better to do then I play video games. The coolest thing to do with video games is play them with your friends! Don't get me wrong, single player games are fun as hell, but nothing beats sitting down in the living room with three friends playing classics like Duke Nukem 64, or Turok. I miss those days honestly. Back then gaming was something magical, now gaming has become such a huge industry that everyone has their genre. Video gaming is so competitive today, I am not saying that is a bad thing, but gaming has changed. As gaming changes so does the market too. I am up for change though, I love when a new game comes out and its like nothing anyone has ever seen. Many people like the new video games because of their graphics, but I could care less. In my opinion graphics mean little on how you enjoy the game. Video games are a way to get sucked into another universe. The immersion and way you can live another life as someone else is just awesome! Many people use video games to escape from their lives they have. Personally I will from time to time, but I will not let it distract me from my work, or things I have to do in life. I enjoy many kinds of games, may it be a first person shooter or an RPG, which is short for role playing game. Video games have inspired millions of people around the world, including me. When I was younger I always would go outside and pretend I was the character that I saw in the video game. So many memories in my life were from video games. For some reason I can remember one of the first memories I have of video games was from the game Super Mario 64. I must have been in either kindergarten or first grade. But my friend Cody must have been playing it when I was over at his house and then in class we had to make hand puppets, and for some reason I made my puppet Bowser. Bowser was the villain of all the Mario games. That game made my imagination run wild apparently, because the bowser I created was no ordinary Bowser. I made my own version of Bowser called Egyptian Bowser!!! I remember that I had Cody try and defeat it at my house after I made it. I don't remember how the battle went down or what toys we were using but I do remember the puppet. That memory makes me laugh and smile every time I think about it. Now that I think about it video games could have made me the creative person I am today. There were so many instances in my childhood where I would pretend to play as bosses like in a video game, and I would have my friend try and defeat me. I guess at the time my parents couldn't afford many games for me to play so I must have just played them out in real life after I watched my friends play them for hours on end. But the earliest games I do remember playing were games on my mom's first computer called the Mackintosh, this was before Apple was even a big competitor to Microsoft. I remember the game being about like going around in a submarine finding things or something like that. But I remember vividly one of the features of the game being able to feed these fish in a fish tank. It bugs me because I wish I knew the name of the game. It would be so cool just go go back and play it again. Oh man it would bring back so much nostalgia. Video games are so powerful and such a big part of my life. That is why I like them, and why I always will.