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Comment by devx | Hacker News Reader

I'd love to see Valve have the "defacto OS/console" for Oculus Rift. Oculus Rift will enable truly "next-gen" gaming, and Valve would be very smart to ride that trend, and grow with it.

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I certainly hope not. The day I have to wear a f--king headset is the day I stop gaming.

Who said anything about "have to"? They're marketing SteamOS as the "do what you want with it" system. Why would they force you to use an expensive peripheral?

I responded to the typical Optimus Rift "future of gaming d00d" fanboyism.

I don't think it'll ever become mandatory, but don't you think that VR and deeper immersion is eventually where gaming is going to go? The technology still needs a lot of time to improve, but if the kinks can get worked out and if they're less likely to make people dizzy/nauseated, I imagine VR headsets will dominate the market in the next few decades.

Frankly, no, I don't. The immersion is more than canceled out by the additional hassle, not to mention that many people (including myself) that this sort of 3D either doesn't work for or causes intense motion sickness.

So parent's comment was "it will be great once the tech improves" and your response is "no it won't because the tech currently sucks"? I think you're missing his point.

No, not at all. I am saying the CONCEPT sucks. It's not really a technology issue, since to overcome it we would need to be at like literally jack-in-to-the-brain, bypassing the optic nerve levels of tech. At which point we will probably have something better to do than play Half Life 3D.

Well, I simply disagree. Once the technology improves, I really think it's going to become the first ever instance of true virtual reality. I think once they do a very seamless overlay that encompasses your entire vision, motion sickness may not be a problem anymore for most people.

If your only experience is with the developer kit then you're not really equipped to make a judgement on it. Motion sickness is caused by a combination of the demo in question and the fact that the screen is pretty low quality.

Also, I'm not sure how this sort of 3D can't work for someone unless you're either blind in one eye or have some sort of issue with stereoscopic vision in general. Sounds like a configuration issue.

I do have issues with stereoscopic vision. My right eye is about 20/25, and my left 20/40.

I would hope not, actually. Many people are nowhere near hardcore enough to spend the money and time for Virtual Reality Gaming over regular gaming.

OK Debbie Downer, what evidence is that based on? Even when I've shown non gamers the general impression is very positive...

Downer? Just because VR nowadays is a nice experience doesn't mean that casual gamers like, say, myself might want to save a few hundred bucks by sticking with a TV set. It's a nice add-on. It doesn't have to revolutionize the world of gaming forever.

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