Palmer Luckey Brands James Cameron 'Incorrect' About Virtual Reality

IGN:

"Inventor of the Oculus Rift, Palmer Luckey, has responded to James Cameron's less than enthusiastic reaction to the potential of virtual reality tech in the entertainment industry."

[SaveFerris]

Full immersion in VR is a work in progress until the graphics and sensory feedback match real life. It won't happen overnight, but it will happen.

[Gh05t]

Okay... what does that have to do with what JC said to begin with. He tried Oculus and said he didnt like it or the CURRENT technology of VR. What you are talking about isnt the current technology. So if/when what you are talking about happens JC can always say that is cool.

In fact wasnt James point that it will take a long time to mature and that until then its just not that big of a draw?

[OhMyGandhi]

What's your point? Just because the technology isn't there right now means that they should give up? What James Cameron said was absolutely ridiculous and short sighted. His entire career has consisted of him trying to find unique ways to enhance immersion of many mediums. His statement is hypocritical in far too many ways.
He gave us 3D technology for use in movies, something that has proved far too many times to be extremely gimmicky and 3D televisions, following the craze, have little in the way of 3d content, and have subsequently been rendered useless.

[Erik7357]

I frankly am not a HUGE fan of it either and I agree with cameron...while it's fun with little tech demos and things that just came out like "My Roommate Sonic" and other things...thats it for me...in terms of playing games after a 1/2 hours you get tired/headache/motion sickness from it and you end wanting to go back to the monitor. After a hour it starts to get uncomfortable too...

So to me it's just a novelty.

[Perjoss]

There are already some really interesting advancements in development concerning VR, like an eye tracking experiment that only renders the small area of the screen(s) where your eyes are focusing on in high res, the surrounding area is rendered at a much lower resolution, and because you're not looking directly at it you don't even notice.

Having the luxury of not having to render the entire image at full quality allows developers to focus higher fidelity visuals on the small area that you are directly looking at.

Eye tracking is a big deal and when/if they nail it they can apply it to many things, like monitors and TV screens (for console gaming) not just VR.

[christian hour]

@saveferris

It actually doesnt need to be all that photorealistic to fool our brains. Our brains are easily tricked, like they're super dumb when it comes to processing visual information. Thats how sleight of hand or implanting false memories with simple words work. In fact only about a fraction of what you see at any given time is "real" (about the size of a penny).

If you spend enough time wearing glasses that mirrors the world or turns it upside down, your brain will eventually adjust, and then when you take them off, hellooo vertigo, nausia, dizziness etc.

I'd hate for all VR experiences to be photorealistic, when I take dmt or shrooms or acid I love how reality distorts, and I'd love to have some of that visual trickery played on me in VR, or to explore some crazy cartoon world like in roger rabbit :)

There's even this amazing theory that how we perceive reality is not really what reality is, its more akin to a GUI on an OS, and the true world is hidden underneath. I tend to watch TED talks and read articles on the human brain and our perception all the time, probably because I've had a mental illness my entire life so the workings of the brain fascinate me, theres still so much more we don't know.

Long story short, our brains are dumb as fudge, it doesnt need to be photorealistic to achieve immersion. It just needs to be aesthetically pleasing and obey certain universal laws (be that our own universal laws, or ones set down by the game itself)

As for james cameron, he's just trying to downplay it since he invested so much with 3d. The funny thing is, VR would be perfect for avatar since, ya know, its kind of about a biological VR machine. Pretty much. And pocohantas/ferngully/dancewith wolves/thesmurfs/any industrialVSnature story we've heard since industrialisation was a thing.

[N4g_null]

Movie directors will jump on board as soon as it is deemed popular. They say a lot of things until it actually make money. All this means is we won't be seeing vr movies any time soon from that guy.

Other wise oculus and hololens are actually a bright future in display tech.

[Volkama]

Harsh words.

"Oh Reginald?
...
I disagree!"

[xer0]

Shots fired!

Looks like Palmer got all shirty with the negative comment.
+1 to James Cameron.

[Dan_scruggs]

He's not wrong. There is a lot of VR out there right now and the vast majority of it just isn't ready for the spotlight. Nothing was more cringe worthy to me than the Project Morpheus demo on Jimmy Fallon a year ago. The controls were clumsy and awkward and the graphics were utterly laughable. If Oculus thinks itself the future then I need to see a solid lineup of games or "experiences" and so far I've seen nothing but short mostly underwhelming demos. So if Palmer truly thinks Cameron is wrong then it's up to him to prove it.

[donthate]

It is a work in progress, and the quality you get from Oculus Rift will be far beyond what Project Morpheus is offering.

A bad showing by Project Morpheus is more a reflection on Sony than Oculus.

Oculus has been extremely open, and Sony has been extremely closed.

The fact that Oculus requires at least a Geforce 970 is a testament to their high graphical demand.

But yeah, it will take some time to get it mainstream. High cost, and lack of understanding for the product will take some time to gain traction. Once released, it could take 5-10 years unless HoloLens like technology takes over instead.

[christian hour]

@dan_scruggs how does a bad showing of morpheus haev anythign to do with occulus?

One of the most interesting things I've seen done with occulus is having stark differences between the different screens for each eye, e.g one might have writing on the wall in the left eye, while the right eye will jsut recieve a plain wall, and then it's up to our subconcious brain, our moods, our thoughts etc, that will ultimately decide whether our brain decides that writing is there or not...

Now, imagine waht that could do for the horror genre :) I love how dumb our brains are, and I love when people fuck with em, so naturally I love occulus rift XD

[Timesplitter14]

The problem with VR is that it limits gameplay immensely. Anything fast-paced doesn't work well, and any movement not made with the head feels weird. Cutscenes don't work, and HUDs don't work either. Even just walking in VR feels a bit off because you're not actually moving your legs. The only games where VR really works are games where your character is actually seated, like space sims.

Even the hand controller thing doesn't really work in many cases. If you swing a sword with your hands and it hits something, the sword has to stop in the game, but your actual hands won't stop. This is a problem.

It does have potential but I doubt it'll ever become "the norm". It'll only work for specific experiences that are more visuals/story-based than gameplay-oriented.

[Epicor]

There is surely room for VR games and traditional games. Not all type of games work with VR but thoae that do greatly benefit from it. I for one am extremely hyped for Morpheus!

Ps. Normally in games swords are not dynamic meaning that they don't act as you described (think about pretty much any hack and slash) so VR game would be no different than traditional game. Maybe not truly authentic but still fun for sure.

[883]

VR could be applied to so many genres that are essentially being neglected in the holy grail like quest to achieve "presence" and therein set VR apart from all other gaming. While achieving presence will be tremendous if done right, I believe that VR headsets could be wonderful (if done with just a little care) for so many traditional games that ARE NOT first person driven. It could be pretty amazing to feel like we are literally looking into a 3rd person gaming world. The technology could be used to not only make it feel like one has a GIANT television but take it so much further - more like a window or an viewing point in the world.

Who wouldn't want (at least) the opportunity to make the gaming environment feel like a real world/set in plain view? I would love to feel like I am literally sitting there watching the events unfold (under my control) in a game like The Last of Us or The Witcher. I believe some of the awkward/unnatural elements come as a result of this fixation on ONLY creating software that presents the user with that sense of presence. If the gamer believes the experience can be/is allowed to be, something other than first person control, the options for VR gaming increase exponentially.

[yewles1]

"SUT UP!!! MY PRODUCT WORKS!!! NYAH!!!"
Basically...

[Epicor]

Who to believe: a guy who's bread and butter is in VR or a guy who directs and produces TRADITIONAL format movies, for which VR possesses a threat (also a possibility but that demands too much from an old fart like Cameron)?

[Gh05t]

Believe about what? James Cameron said he didnt find it interesting for himself and that it would take a long time to come to maturity... which is an opinion.

One shared by many people not just JC.

[morganfell]

Remember that is just one interview with Cameron. It isn't the first time he has commented about VR...

http://www.hollywoodreporte...

[Mustang300C2012]

How exactly does VR pose a threat? U mean it is going to take over going to movies and everyone putting VR goggles on?

[Epicor]

People have only limited free time in their hands. VR is going to impact traditional movies in one way or other I believe. Do you know what we would do more if we didn't have video games nor internet: we would probably go to movies, watch tv and read books more. Different types of entertaiment are all competing for our free time.

[Patrick]

I would have to side with the larger majority of developers and gamers that have tried it and loved it saying it's a game changer, not to mention all the companies spending alot of money to create headsets and games and experiences because they know how good it is. Im excited to try it as soon as it comes out. Been waiting a long time for this.

[Mustang300C2012]

People can hype about it until they are blue in the face. If it doesn't get accepted in mainstream and used it will bust. VR isn't new just the tech behind it and it still after all these years seems like it won't ever be accepted to the masses. It shares the same issues that 3D had and it is limited.

[Donnywho]

His response was faster than the overall progress of virtual reality.

[Gh05t]

Starting to feel like most people commenting didnt actually read the original article with the context of James Cameron's opinion.

[Perjoss]

VR hasn't even launched properly yet and people are already asking for image quality that can fool you into thinking you're looking at the real world. Lets give it a chance to stand and walk before forcing it to run yes?

[DragoonsScaleLegends]

Personally I thought the Avatar movie was nothing amazing or original and I sure as hell am not paying over $300 for a gaming accessory.

[phoenixwake]

"Shyaaa! Like the guy with the $5,000 VR headset needs to listen to some movie director. C'MON!" - Gob

[Vermigs]

This just in - Inventor has bias for his own creation.

Who would have thunk. Personally, I agree with Cameron, its just not my thing and it will take time for it to become a more mainstream piece of tech.

[darx]

I can't believe the amount of $ wasted on VR, they could have just gave me the money.

[Tzuno]

Look at the photo and realize how stupid a person looks with that "thing" on his face.

[GordyNYC]

You will see that a lot of the traditional media conglomerates will try to disparage VR as they see it as a real threat to their businesses. Take the Time magazine cover as an example of this.