We have come a long way since we first started adventuring into VR. The beginning days of Oculus and HTC were rough with heavy screen door effects and lower resolutions. Especially if you consider the earlier developer hardware that wasn’t even 1080p, or you can go even further back to Virtual Boy (a stereoscopic VR-like solution from Nintendo that launched in 1995).
Now, in 2023, headsets are lighter, more comfortable, and have higher-resolution displays to help escape those screen door effects. But how far are we from the level of VR depicted in Ready Player One?
In Ready Player One (book or movie), VR is so immersive that it’s indistinguishable from reality. People can spend hours, days, or even weeks living in virtual worlds. Where they can work, play, and even fall in love using VR.
The idea sounds so intriguing, but we’re not quite there yet (sadly). Current VR headsets still have many limitations to overcome before we can get there. For one, the resolution isn’t quite good enough to create a truly realistic experience. And the field of view is still too narrow which reduces the required immersion. But technology is still advancing rapidly. It’s only a matter of time before we reach the level of VR depicted in the movie/book.
One of the biggest challenges to creating truly immersive VR is the need for high-powered computing. Current VR headsets require a powerful PC to run them (preferably with RTX-level graphics, etc) and the portable headsets (like the Meta Quest 2) are still far behind because they don’t have access to these resources. But as computing power continues to increase, VR headsets will become smaller, lighter, more affordable, and much more powerful. And more powerful computing means more immersive (and more realistic).
Another challenge is the need for haptic feedback. Haptic feedback is what allows us to feel things in VR like the haptics of an Xbox or PlayStation controller. Without it, VR experiences can feel flat and lifeless. Thankfully, there are a number of companies working on haptic feedback technology (like bHaptics). It’s still in its early stages, but there are products already in the market. That, and the headsets are beginning to build in haptic feedback, including the upcoming Meta Quest 3 that will be launching later this year.
Over the next few years, we’ll see VR headsets that are more immersive, more affordable, and more accessible than ever before. And when that happens, the possibilities for VR will be endless as the competition is going to grow just as fast.
It won’t be long before we will be using VR just about everywhere we go. Home, work, school, hospitals, and more. The possibilities for VR are endless. And as technology continues to improve, VR will become an increasingly important part of our lives.
However, when it comes to Ready Play One, we will still have a way to go even then. As that level of immersion is going to require tricking our brains into forgetting that we are even wearing the headset. At least, until we are ready to log off. This would still be considered science fiction for now, but we have the potential to change that in the near future if we continue to push for it.
For now, as amazing as things have gotten, I’d say it’s easiest to compare the evolution of VR to that of video game consoles. Currently, we are at the level of the Super Nintendo (SNES) console. However, when we reach an achievement level in VR that is comparable to what the PlayStation 1 (PSX) brought to the console industry, we will finally be able to truly immerse ourselves in VR worlds.
