Immersion is easily virtual realitys biggest strength over what you might call flat gaming.
Often, that hinges on intuitive use of motion controls - and in VR, hand movement is integral.
Some VR games support traditional controllers but, honestly, theyve never done the format justice.
Direct hand and finger tracking is promising yet limited, making motion controls an adaptable middle ground.
While they cant replicate our exact hand, grip and trigger buttons add significant physicality when holding objects.
But this poses another problem.
With games using the same controllers for object interaction, how do you convey object weights differently?
Picking up items is one thing, throwing them accurately is another.
At face value, Disc Ninja and Fusion two very different games.
However, both share a gameplay commonality of throwing objects to achieve your goal.
As such, I queried each teams design philosophy, so I could better understand what’s going on.
Accordingly, Immersion aimed to balance arcade-like ease of use and simulation.
There are issues though.
However, that can lead to situations where virtual hands arent in the same place as your real hands.
As for object weight, Rosłoński cites the aforementioned hardware limitations.
Ultimately, he confirms these factors makes the visual element of handling objects crucial.
Its a solution thats seen wider adoption, as Sony is prominently supporting haptic feedback within PlayStation VR2.
He calls this method interesting for experienced players, but warns this can be confusing for newer users.
Finally, Hoffman detailed Fusions unique position as an expanded release, factoring in feedback.
Being told the paintballs felt too heavy, Tunermaxx revamped them to become more weightless.
Trajectories became harder to anticipate.
As such, Hoffman recommends pushing paintballs forward, like in a shot-putt motion for the best results.
But as hardware evolves, Im certain object handling will too.
Until then, developers are making commendable efforts and, personally, Im excited to see whats next.
