Pimax 8K Virtual Reality Headset: How does this change the experience of gaming?

If you're at all interested in anything VR, you've probably heard of the new and upcoming Pimax 8K, the very first 8K virtual reality headset.

Features

      This room scale VR package separates itself from the competition by offering a variety of features that the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift do not yet currently support.  These features aren't absolutely revolutionary compared to the current state of competing VR models, though they offer a vast upgrade in the current technology of the VR experience.

These upgrades are primarily focused around the visual experience of VR and ow the player will better be able to become immersed in the world they are put into.  This includes a 200 degree field of view, a huge upgrade over the 145 degree field of view that the Vive can offer, the current leader in FOV for VR.  Just for frame of reference, the average FOV of the naked human eye is about 220 degrees.

The largest feature for the Pimax 8K is indicated in the very text of its name: it has a resolution of 8K, the very first of its kind.  This is four times the amount of the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.  It has been claimed that due to this 4K resolution in each eye, the "screen door effect" that is commonly complained about in other VR headsets is a thing of the past.

The refresh rate is unfortunately still set a locked 90hz in the Pimax, which is no better than the Vive or Rift, though it makes up for its lack in innovation in refresh rates through its far more superior visual quality and pixel count, one of 16.6 million, nearly 8 times more than the Vive and Rift.  It also claims to have lower latency, and in combination with its higher resolution, drastically reduces the effects of motion sickness that are a frequent issue with VR users, especially those new to the experience.

One of the more appealing factors to this technology is that it will remain compatibly with existing VR software, such as SteamVR and Oculus Home, alongside bringing in its own VR software hub, known as PIPlay.  Not only will it be compatible with prior software, but also hardware, as Vive lighthouse stations for motion tracking and controllers will work perfectly fine with the headset.  As a Vive owner myself, this is extremely desirable, as I don't have to reconfigure my entire VR setup or purchase a whole new set of accessories to have this higher resolution experience.

    Impact on Gaming

The impact that this emerging technology will have on gaming, assuming it is has high quality as it is advertised to be, will be tremendous for the VR market.  Higher resolution headsets mean higher detailed worlds, as well as larger ones.  Due to an increase in pixel density, more things can be fit into a smaller spot, thus allowing for longer ranges of detailed sight to be achieved in VR.  Combine this with the larger FOV and players will have completely new and entirely more immersive experiences than every before, being able to see threats and objectives at better angles, from better distances, and in even greater detail.

This greater detail will also be a huge advantage towards games that have any amount of text in them, as text is one of the most difficult things to make out in VR due to the screen door effect and lack of crispness needed to fully make out the words.  Tutorials that are reliant on text can now be more in detail, signs in VR games can actually have purpose, and different kinds of games that utilize lots of text in their menus or HUD can be pursued with more confidence.

   Use for Developers

First and foremost, Pimax 8K will be fully compatible with the Unity3D and Unreal development engines, allowing for easy integration of the technology into existing or newly developed games.  On top of this, no new hardware is needed for the headset to be used, making existing VR games easily able to be played on the headset using Rift or Vive controllers and base stations.  Developers will not have to learn how to implement the new technology, and instead can focus on making larger, more detailed worlds, as explained above.

The level of realism this headset will begin to provide will allow for developers to craft far more immersive and convincing worlds.  This is especially important when trying to cultivate feelings of beauty and wonder, such as in an exploration game, or feelings of fear and dread, such as in a horror game.  Whatever this new level of immersion is used for, it will bring VR experiences to a new level for developers and gamers alike, and I'm truly excited to see the creativity that is sprouted from this higher technology.

   Do I Want It?

It's basically 4K VR that only requires the purchase of a headset.  What the hell do you think?  Now, having the $500 or so to buy one is another story, but thankfully due to the recent drop in price of the HTC Vive, we can expect the cost of VR products to steadily decline over time and as the technology advances and is evermore perfected.

Skyrim's Masterfully Designed World

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is an absolute masterpiece when it comes to world design.  Not only does it further explore the realm of Tamriel, the main landmass in the Elder Scrolls universe, with all the lore and races present in previous Elder Scroll games, but it also creates its own stories using its own unique landmarks, cities, and scenery.

Cities

The cities of Skyrim are always bustling with life.  Whether it be guards stopping you from entrance to Whiterun in the very beginning of the game unless you state your business, or a murder occurring right as you walk through the doors of Markarth,  Skyrim's cities all contain their own culture and personality, and differ in the ways they react to specific actions taken by the player.  Befriend the Jarl of Whiterun, and you'll become Thane, a higher up in the city.  Want to learn magic?  Go to the College in Winterhold.  Want to become a better thief?  Join the Thieves Guild in the sewers of Riften.  Each city has a different story, which is exactly how Skyrim divides up most of the major quests, each pertaining to a respective city or area.

It goes without saying that even with its dated graphics, the providence of Skyrim is beautiful.  Many of its aging cities are built on some sort of rock formation with an emphasis of water, be it rivers, waterfalls, oceans, or lakes, present in most all cities.  Accompanied with the sounds of city dwellers, merchants chanting off items or sale, and guards making comments as you pass by, each city is populated, stunning, and alive.

Dungeons

Skyrim's beautiful rolling landscapes would be lacking if not contrasted by the dark and dingy dungeons of the world.  While these areas might be disgusting, damp, and cramped, they are designed exactly in that way in order to emulate a real, ancient dungeon.

Rubble is piled up in every corner, vines crawl over the floor and walls, and trickles of water drip from the ceiling.  Just like every other aspect of Skyrim's world, the atmosphere is amazing.  The use of shiny materials in dim light really gives the dungeons a feeling of moist, aged, molding cave, to the point where sometimes I feel as though I can almost smell it.  While the dungeons may not all be completely unique from one another, especially after having explored a lot of them in the game, they still stand as a true example of how lighting, sound, and materials alone can make a place feel so alive (or dead, in this case, but that's the entire point).

Hidden Wonders

One of the best parts of Skyrim actually lies outside of any major town or quest-line the game gives you.  It's something that is easy to skim over when playing through the game, though you'd definitely notice something missing if it wasn't there.  What I'm talking about are the little gems that are scattered throughout the map that really breath life into the game.  These can be as subtle as skeletons hidden with a stash of gold and a note detailing the moments leading up until their death (like the one guy hidden behind an arrangement of pipes in the underground Dwarven city) to as blatant as a pack of wolves attacking an unsuspecting goat in the wilderness.  Whatever the case, these small events add to the realism of the world, detailing it beyond the big picture and refining the image that the world tries to project onto the player.  While these events or small happenings may be small, they are significant in the fact that they show that the world continues to live and breath and fight and die right alongside the player, whether they are there to experience it happening in the present, or to experience the remains of the aftermath of some event.

Riverwood

One of my favorite areas in any game ever is the welcoming strip of houses in the small little village of Riverwood.  This village is the first you come across in the game (assuming you don't just wander aimlessly after leaving the cave in the tutorial), and for good reason too, as it completely packed with character and stories right from the get go.

Upon entering Riverwood, you see farm animals roaming the street, people going about their daily business in their shops or on their porches, an old lady screaming that she swore she saw a dragon and her son telling her that she is crazy and there is no such thing.  Riverwood is important not only in the aesthetic it brings to the game, but as well as the central hub that it provides the player with.  Players are encouraged to interact with the community in order to trade, craft potions, craft weapons and armor, as well as complete side quests for individuals that helps to build stories between certain characters, even if not a part of the main story line of the game.

This town serves as a perfect example of how both environment and story can set the pace of a game, drive it forward, and immerse the player forever more in the luscious world of Skyrim.

Let's Talk About Lee: Why is a good character essential to Telltale Games and how does Lee from The Walking Dead fit this profile?

Appearances

Lee is the main character for Telltale Games' The Walking Dead: Season One, a story driven, choice based RPG.  The player takes on the role of Lee, guiding along his various decisions he must make throughout the story as he chaperones and protects a young girl, Clementine, from the undead in this post-apocalyptic adventure.  The story of the game adapts itself around the choices you make, with the more difficult choices usually molding the game the most.

Setting up Lee's story

It can be argued that the most interesting thing about Lee is the way that his story unfolds as the game draws out, both in terms of his backstory as well as the one that he lives with the supporting characters around him.

The game begins with Lee riding in the back of a cop car, deep in thought and filled with quiet emotion for some unknown reason.  The particular reason that he was arrested in the first place is unknown to the player until later into the game, where there is an option to confess to Clementine that Lee has killed someone who had slept with his wife.  What's interesting is that even though a player might go a good length of the game thinking that Lee is a decent person (he risks his life multiple times to save his fellow group members and puts his life on the line to watch over a little girl), they keep a suspicion in the back of their mind that Lee has a deeper, darker side to his character, much like how many of the characters in the game might see him.

Characteristics and how they affect the game

Lee's characteristics drastically affect the way tat the game is played, which completely makes sense seeing as the game is story driven and the interactions between the characters is the main driving force of both the plot and the gameplay.

Lee is portrayed as being extremely protective and caring, and as such, the gameplay is structured around his character.  The player is given not only multiple opportunities to express Lee's caring and protective nature (such as saving Clementine or another one in the group from certain death), but also the chance to explore the darker, more revenge driven nature of his character, such as kicking Lily out of the group or quickly killing Lily's father after he begins to turn. 

How Would I Make These Great Titles Even Better?

DOOM

DOOM is an intense, highly fast paced, bullet hell of a first person shooter.  It's a complete gore fest.  The explosions are vibrant and the kills are sweet.  The landscapes are hellish, literally, and the ambiance is terrifically horrific.  The gun play is quick, fun, and intense.  The game overall is a masterpiece, but is it perfect?  Of course not.

Just as every form of art, while it has objective guidelines that be used to determine the game's strengths and weaknesses, it is ultimately a subjective experience.  Being as such, it is open to suggestion by all who experience it, regardless of their level of enjoyment or satisfaction they got from the game.  I love this game, personally, but I still have a few things I would love to see added.

One major refinement I'd love to see incorporated into DOOM is the revival of their multiplayer community.  I think one of the reasons that DOOM's multiplayer failed is the same reason its single player campaigns have been so successful: predictable enemy types.  In the single player section of DOOM, enemies are instantly recognizable from a far, and once you learn their patterns of attack and defense, you can begin to develop a strategy of attack once you identify the threats you are presented with.  In conjunction with this idea, each weapon you are equipped with is strongest in a particular area, and can be used in combination with other weapons and situations in order to create the perfect strategy to take down your enemies.  Compare this with an online multiplayer base with an infinite number of unpredictable players, play styles, and means of attack and defense, and DOOM simmers down to a gory first person combat arena, that while may be fun for a while, doesn't have enough real substance to hold up.  Adding some sort of objective based situation may allow for patterns in play style among a diverse set of players to emerge, allowing opposing players to formulate strategies around these typical behaviors, allowing for an organic infusion of the best of both single player predictability and multiplayer's intensity and unique experiences offered each time around.

Mirror's Edge

Mirror's Edge is another fast paced title, this time with a focus on parkour and first person platforming, rather than combat.  You play as a parkour expert, running from the police throughout the urban jungle, swinging from poles, jumping from roofs, and running along walls to get to your destination as quickly as possible.  While the game features some combat, a majority of it is spent running away from foes rather than confronting them head-on.

This is exactly a place where I think Mirror's Edge squandered some gameplay potential.  While I understand that the aim of the game was to focus mostly on platforming and the movement of your character, I think it would have given the game a whole other layer of substance if the developers had incorporated a largest combat system into the game.  If they made weapons more frequent rather than the occasional gun fight you'd be forced to get into, the game may not be entirely focused on parkour alone anymore, but could attempt to weave combat into the mix of movement as well.

There is a level that I think perfectly demonstrates the potential of this mixed mechanic.  It takes place in some underground facility, and you must jump from pillars perched up high above the ground to find the optimal point to snipe your enemies down with this huge, powerful rifle.  Had the developers carried this idea out further through the levels, I think the game would gain a whole new element of gameplay, though I do understand how this might drown out the main theme of parkour and platforming the developers were attempting to reach for.

Law Breakers

Law Breakers combines the best of both worlds of insane, flexible movement with gung-ho style gun play and rush-based shooting mechanics.  You are pit up against another enemy team, allowed to select a single hero with unique abilities and attributes that can assist in your team securing whatever objective you need to capture.  These abilities range from double jumps to jet packs, from sliding stabs to grenade launchers, creating a vast and diverse set of characters to choose from.

When I first played Law Breakers, I thought the game was fun as hell, but after a while, I began to grow frustrated.  An issue with the game seemed that while it featured some 14 or so different heroes to choose from, I found myself, as well as others, picking from an even smaller and more select pool of the available heroes.  This causes many of the games to feel rather stale, as though I was playing the same thing over and over again, just on different levels of skill, and consequently, different levels of frustration.

I think the major reason for this is the lack of balance in the game, both through the heroes and how they counter one another, as well as the level design and game mode choices.  A central theme of Law Breakers is the various sections of anti-gravity wells that are scattered throughout each map, typically centered around the objective players aim to capture.  This is all fine and dandy until you start giving certain characters more of an advantage in these low gravity, highly important areas of attack and defense, such as a jet boost or double jump.  This immediately creates an imbalance around the center point of the game, and if the other team wishes to balance the odds, they are better off resorting to playing similar characters themselves, thus restoring some sort of balance among the objective zone.  Imbalance in games, especially games of a competitive nature, isn't always necessarily a bad thing, but it is extremely difficult to implement properly.  Law Breakers choose to have their imbalance centered around the primary objective, something that all players on both sides should have an equal chance at capturing, with the only variable being their skill and mastery of their chosen character.  But when you begin to give advantages to certain characters in that objective zone, it's no wonder that you see the same characters getting picked over and over again.

Similarly, no two heroes REALLY counter each other, which is something that other hero based shooters such as Overwatch needed to master in order to truly play properly.  This lack of countering heroes leads players to consistently pick the easiest characters to do well with, or the most powerful characters, and since their only real counter is a duplicate hero of the same power and stats, little diversion in the players' characters occurs.