Large tech players like Meta and Apple see the ultimate fate of the XR as a smartphone alternative. One of VR’s major studios argues that if the talent and techniques built over the past decade of virtual reality have not been realized, then much will be lost in XR’s future transition.
Guest article by Denny Unger
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Denny Unger is CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Cloudhead Games, a British Columbia-based VR Studio founded in 2012. It is known for forming basic movement systems such as snap turns and teleportation. The studio is best known for its Action Rhythm FPS Pistol Whip, Aperture Hand Lab, Starseed Cole, and Ementone’s Heart.
Hi! My name is Denny Unger. I’m the CEO (and a professional VR SNOB) of Cloudhead Games. I founded Cloudhead because I saw pure magic and unlimited possibilities in Virtual Reality. Since 2013, we have grown to 60 VR Pros and formed a deep relationship with important OEMs. This year marks its 13th year, and from this perspective I would like to broadly discuss the state of VR, its future, and why not focusing on this incredible medium is so important.
VR growth pain
I’m going to talk about the growing pains of VR, but I think it’s important to point out before I do that, that major competitors spend more on XR development than last year. While VR hardware development has shifted to branching and acceleration methods, the overall fit in a wide range of consumer situations has always been the act of pathfinding. We also want to strengthen the data clearly refers to “games and games” as the leading revenue generator in this market. Productivity and the general “apps” have yet to find their footing, but there is a key reason for this.
The first “VR slump” focused on the slow adoption of glaciers in the PCVR market in 2018 after its revival in 2016. It is based on various points of consumer friction (cost, setup, technical know-how, form factors, onboarding friction, lack of content) and is generally based on studio/software investments, lack of interest from publishers, and technical communities sticking to the next glossy one. Most VR studios hadn’t found the support or margins they ultimately needed to build large projects in this early market. But that same year, Meta (then Facebook) introduced the Oculus Quest: Stand-Alone VR headset. This removed the biggest point of consumer friction and provided an outlet of high quality content curated by the developer. This was further strengthened by significant growth as Quest 2 was launched in 2020 against the backdrop of a world bound by lockdowns and uncertainty. Releases in 2019 Pistol whip He joined this wave of success and maintained a top spot on the list of “highest revenues of all time” earners worldwide.
VR is clearly booming, unlocking the Xbox Series X|s, competing with the console for the first time, paired with some of the best VR content available.
However, since 2022, VR appeared to have climbed the slope of awareness and predicted the unknown, the big cracks of slow and steady storms, a challenging global economy, declining consumer spending, layoffs, game studio closures, and the focus of rapidly changing investments in AI on XR and refund ambitions.
Technical impatience
VR’s extraordinary ambition to permeate all human activities appears to be suppressed by some kind of thing Technical impatience. For many of us working within the industry, XR is taking the right time to resolve this completely transformative new medium twist, bringing both hardware and software to a place that meets consumer expectations. However, mainstream consumers have been very impressed with VR, but remain skeptical due to the key points of friction (comfort, isolation, software ecosystem, utilities, costs). I often compared modern VR wearing shoes and going outside for 30 minutes of X activity. Humans tend to choose the lowest possible energy requirements, especially when it comes to entertainment. So the simple act of wearing a headset is often a frictional summation point, and in some way maintains current XR technology and form factor in Limbo. This is very relevant to future approaches to XR technology.
So, instead of the technology that dominates the world, we all thought it was at this point, so VR resonates most deeply with the market for core gamers, enthusiasts and growing youth segments. And while that market is important, it is in a way the broader mission dominated by VR at the level of Smart Phone adoption. And recent attempts to acquire a segment of productivity markets, and even media consumption, are challenges due to social isolation, long-term wear and mostly barren ecosystem choices.
All this has softened the investment outlook, leaving a lingering question mark on XR’s future for those who can’t see where this is heading. Stay with me here!
In the crack
The big frustration of Modern VR Studios (less every year) lies between their current location and their “unknown grooves” and they have to leap into the past to see the true play of VR. The problem is that VR is very relevant when consumers choose to wear devices that are comfortable for a long period of time, fashionable and “all” (no small order). Devices are the best portals for other reality, entertainment, work, education and everything in between. What you live with, and within.
But where does VR fit when it comes to the arrival of this new era of adaptable reality?
While there was a major focus in the expanded reality, this is just one of the complementary aspects needed for the true “metaverse” future. MR/AR focuses on spatially fixing information, as opposed to deep exploring new reality. In other words, it is part of the complementary “mode” constellations that make up future XR technologies (modal switching of virtual and augmented reality). The MR/AR is fantastic, the emulation feature of the head phone is interesting, it’s not “sexy” and on its own isn’t a perfect photo of XR’s future.
So, what is the main attraction of XR? In some respects, it may be better to think of mixed reality as a “gateway drug” in VR. Here we can say with considerable confidence about how consumers interact with current XR technology. True adoration generally does not come from the spatial widget. It comes from a spatial experience that draws users into a whole new reality that plays them into a deep realm of enrichment. So, while our future certainly includes MR-based applications, XR’s true “killer apps” are spatially recognized, adaptive, and substitutional reality.
The future of modal VR
Please double that statement a little. I have always looked at technology that evolves from AR as a solution to VR movement and discomfort. If consumers ultimately live with “all-day XR glasses,” they can map their workspaces in real time and immerse themselves in VR and MR. It’s not enough to just look at a pinned app with a sink full of dirty laundry and dishes in the background. Consumers will customize their living rooms to be castles, resorts, Minnecraft landscapes and more. While some may think it’s dystopia, true metaverse levels believe in a playing field between what they have and knot, allowing for a landscape of human activity in fantastic environments customized to the user. It will ultimately be entirely on the spot and could become a true “killer app” for future XR devices.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w4h4vzlw_jy
Lifeskin’ video by Reddit user Jesser722
However, as users descend from their slightly hollow (very cool), potentially “auto-generated” heat dreams, they crave a high-quality, hand-drawn VR experience. Masterfully crafted stories, games and virtual reality entertainment are from the human perspective that guide them on a journey of play and discovery.
Not so hidden opportunity
This is why it is so important that today’s VR studios are supported and invested over the next five to ten years. While important domain knowledge and unique skill sets have been acquired over the past decade, the remaining VR studio landscapes face existential risks. Building VR is very different from building traditional media, cracking the code for many things that are not universally adopted as best practices. Its domain knowledge, infrastructure, and experience-free futures guarantee a low-time reinvention of the wheels, which could endanger the moment and lifetime stability of future XR technology. And at that moment, you can cover the overall spectrum of how users interact with technology. It’s a wide, deeper width immersed in an increasingly adaptable reality, and new experiences are just clicking. VR does not live outside its future, it is its future.
If you’re on the edge of XR, investing directly in it, or being unhappy with how long it takes, then we don’t want you to miss one of the biggest booms that humanity experiences, to the immeasurable augmentation and customization of the way we live our lives. The right devices, the right software, the right investment, the right balance, all takes time. And there’s a risk of sounding like an entrepreneur…it won’t take long now.
Why VR?
I founded Cloudhead Games in 2013 because I saw pure magic and unlimited possibilities in VR. This is a technology that literally takes you anywhere, allowing anyone to evoke powerful emotions, perspectives and knowledge that could not be possible in any other medium. VR was trying to change the world, change the media landscape, entertainment, training and education in general. I still very much believe in the raw power of VR, giving the average person endless possibilities and possibilities. It’s just how big it is and despite all the reports of the opposite, it’s on the way.
Over a decade later, I can say that VR is not dead, but I’m just starting out!