[VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

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[VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Blackhawk »

When I got the RIft-S a few weeks ago, I only had a couple of games that were compatible, so I started looking at the offerings out there that were free. That's one of the nice things about VR right now - it still isn't mainstream, so there is a lot of experimentation going on. People are making small things and just handing them out. Some are games, fully interactive. Others are just a concept - drive a flying car through a city. Others are simply experiences - ride along on a bomber mission over Berlin, walk around an exact photographic reproduction of an archaeological site. Most of them are short, some are fairly rough or limited. But pretty much every one I've tried has been free.

I thought I'd start a thread for these. Feel free to hop in.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Blackhawk »

Today I tried Caliban Below, which costs nothing. It was short, maybe 15 minutes, and mostly involved moving through an area while a narrator occasionally chimes in. It's dark, atmospheric, and creepy. Victorian horror creepy rather than modern horror creepy. The story didn't have any big surprises, and while the reveal was cool, it wasn't a big surprise. The controls were teleport only. The textures were a bit low-res, but the art direction was good. But that's the thing with VR - half of the fun is the experience itself, and that I really enjoyed. This would be a good mental warmup for running a D&D Ravenloft campaign. The atmosphere was dark, classical, and immersive. It had that, "I'm here" feel to it.

For 15 minutes of my time and $0 of my money, it was well worth it.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Isgrimnur »

History.com - 10 Virtual History Museums and Experiences to Explore From Home
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Blackhawk »

Yesterday I fiddled around with Aircar. It is, I'm guessing, either a tech demo or a practice piece by a developer looking into VR. It's simple. You're piloting/driving an air car around a cyberpunk city. It's Flight Simulator set in Blade Runner. There are a couple of secrets, but other than that there isn't really any gameplay other than flying. But what they do they do really, really well. It looks great, between the holographic neon and the rain pouring down on your canopy. It's easy enough to fly (but not too simple), and it is extremely well realized for what it is. The air car itself is really well done, the cockpit being detailed and believable.

It isn't much to play, and is probably only good for fifteen or twenty minutes of cyberpunk tourism, but it does a great job of doing what it sets out to do, which isn't bad for free.

Warning: Play sitting down, at least the first time. Like one of the reviews said, "Sit down or fall down." And this is not a game for those prone to motion sickness in VR.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

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oooh following.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by DOS=HIGH »

I'm not sure how well the controls are adapted to the Rift\Quest but Valves 'The Lab' is still probably the best intro to VR.

I don't know the compatibility with other systems but Sidequest has some free and cheap stuff for the Quest which can be downloaded from the official Oculus store now. You just need to go to the apps page and click the 'Oculus App' button on the top right to take you to the apps Oculus store page. Puzzling Places is a 3-D puzzle game using photogrammetry. I've done one of the 100 piece puzzles and look forward to trying the others. The 200 piece ones will no way get through a standard battery charge unless your some kind of savant. They could definitely charge money for this app, and I hope they add some more puzzles soon.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Blackhawk »

DOS=HIGH wrote: Fri Feb 19, 2021 4:27 am I'm not sure how well the controls are adapted to the Rift\Quest but Valves 'The Lab' is still probably the best intro to VR.
The controls are pretty much perfect on the Rift-S, and I absolutely agree. When I've introduced family to VR, I've started them with the Oculus tutorial, then sent them to The Shop. For those that haven't tried it, it's a showcase of Valve's VR ideas set in the Portal universe. There's a central hub with a series of different places you can visit, each of which is a different experience or game. The whole thing is free, and it's a blast. I just with I had a space big enough to really explore the Secret Shop!
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Blackhawk »

SteamVR. It's one of the easiest to find, most already have it installed, and it is all free. It's the core of any VR game you play on Steam. When you launch SteamVR directly, it loads you into a 'home', a 3d space that you can customize. That in and of itself is fluff, which is why most people ignore it and never see the cool stuff that's hidden inside. What's relevant is that while you're in there, you can bring up a menu (Y button on Rift-S) that allows you customize it. One option there is 'Environments' which loads you into different 3d spaces. Those spaces can, if you so choose, be saved as your new 'home', but that's not all that's in there. There aren't just various dream houses - there is a lot more. A few come pre-loaded, but you can browse hundreds more on the Steam Workshop (look under both Destinations and Environments - they changed names at some point, I believe.) What you'll find is, yes, various houses, but you'll also find small games, guided tours, photogrammetry* (photorealistic 3d recreations of real-world locations), recreations of video game environments in VR, and all sorts of things.

So far, I have:

Played a variety of small games (none of which, honestly, stood out)
Visited some cool 3d environments people have come up with, including fictional locations (like the Gryffindor common room, Rick & Morty's garage, the bridge of various Enterprises, Hobbiton, etc)
Explored some recreations of levels or areas from Heretic, Halo, Team Fortress 2, Skyrim, World of Warcraft, etc
Explored photographic 3d recreations of (many with detailed tours):
~Mars
~A medieval church and graveyard
~A lava tube in Iceland
~People's homes and offices in countries I'll never get to visit, giving a glimpse at everyday life
~Abandoned factories
~Glastonbury Tor
~Museums
~Burial caves
~London's Tower Bridge
~Mount Rainier near the summit
~Valve's offices
~Forests
~Various other cultural and historical locations

I highly recommend it, especially as any of them just takes just minutes, and you can pick and choose from your PC in the Steam Workshop. It's great when you have 15 minutes to kill and want to see something new. And again, free.

*Photogrammetry, as I understand it, involves taking multiple photographs and then using software to build a 3d model with them. People can do it with a regular old camera (although pros use laser scanners and special cameras), taking hundreds or thousands of images of a location from different angles and feeding them into a piece of software that then analyzes them, figures out what's flat and what's got depth, and creates a 3d model out of them, which it then textures with the photographs. In practice, it creates a photo-realistic 3d recreation of the original environment (with some limitations - foliage, for instance, looks bad.) The video below shows how it works (again, this is a pro, so he's taking it to a higher level than the amateur stuff you'll find.)

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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Blackhawk »

I just got an email about that. I already have Bridge Crew. The rest - A-Tech Cybernetic doesn't look too bad, and chess is chess, but unless someone has something great to say about the others, there's not much there that appeals to me.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Blackhawk »

Today I tried Within from the Oculus store. It's free, of course. The blurb was, "This is our love letter to the emerging art form of Cinematic VR.", which gave me really low expectations. I was pleasantly surprised.

It's a curated collection of VR videos, animations, and so forth. They're able to be streamed or downloaded. At first I thought there were about a dozen, but when I noticed the categories at the bottom I found there must be a hundred or more. I watched a handful. Some were really fun (check out Crow: The Legend, especially if you have kids.) Some were great. Others were interesting. A few just weren't for me. Some are 3d. Others are just 2d 360 videos (which are also cool. If you haven't seen any, think a video version of Google Street View.) I only watched a half a dozen, but I'm absolutely going to spend more time checking this out.

And other than the 360 videos (which benefit from being able to turn around - but don't require it), they're all perfectly serviceable while sitting on your butt on a couch or chair. That makes them a good choice as an introduction to VR for people who might have a problem with the full experience. I'm planning on finding three or four to let my elderly mother-in-law try out VR. She could never handle standing interactive experiences (and falling could be catastrophic for her.) As an aside, also check out for Introduction to Virtual Reality for that purpose.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Blackhawk »

If you haven't yet, check out Welcome to Light Fields for free. Take the 7-minute tour. It's a Google experiment that uses an array of cameras to capture a still image that you can move around in. Yeah, that sounds weird. But imagine a full 3d 360-degree 4k photo taken from so many directions that you get not just a 360 degree 3d image, but enough room to move your head that you can can see the angle of light change as you move your head, sparkling through different parts of the scene.

It doesn't sound like much, but of all of the variations of 'record a place in VR' that I've seen, this is, by far, the most impressive, the one that really makes you feel as if you really were in that place. Try it. It's free and takes less than ten minutes. And they picked some really, really cool locations to let you stand.

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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Blackhawk »

Back to Light Field's lesser (but more accessible) cousin, photogrammetry. It was kind of tough explaining exactly how it works before, but I found a video of a guy who made a scan of his bedroom, the walked around the real bedroom while in VR. To be clear: what you see in the video is the VR version of the room, recreated through photogrammetry. The real-life version is in the corner. Done right it can produce a very, very realistic recreation of real world locations that you can walk around in from your living room.




(I don't recommend jumping on the bed in VR, though.)
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Blackhawk »

Yesterday I tried Anthropocene VR. It's a pretty simple thing, a set of three 360 (sometimes 3d, I believe) movies. Each is about 8 minutes long. One is a tour of a Carrara marble quarry in Italy that gives a really, really impressive sense of the scale that they work at, covering the quarrying and carving processes. The second was a documentary taken at the 2016 burning of 105 tons of ivory, the largest ivory burn in history. The third was about the Dandora landfill in Nairobi, Kenya, covering both the landfill and the experiences of the people who live by picking it over.

All three were worth the time to watch, and gave a great perspective on their subjects. Given that all three take less than 25 minutes combined and are completely free, it's completely worth it.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Hrothgar »

If you have a PS VR, the Play at Home 2021 event is giving away five VR games, no PS plus required.

Astrobot Rescue Mission
Rez Infinite (VR optional)
Moss
Thumper
Paper Beast

All are fairly well rated. Astrobot is a ton of fun.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Carpet_pissr »

I’m wondering if this means they are about to launch the next gen PS VR.

What hardware are you guys using? Strongly considering the PSVR. Recommendations for a budget VR set up?
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

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PSVR 2 (or whatever it'll be called) won't be out in 2021. Do you have a PC capable of running VR? If so, I'd probably suggest looking at the Quest 2. Like anything else where it's PC vs console, the advantage of the PC is the open market and flexibility. But if your PC won't handle it, or if there's a PSVR exclusive that's a must-have for you, then there's nothing wrong with PSVR.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Carpet_pissr »

Blackhawk wrote: Sun Mar 28, 2021 9:03 am PSVR 2 (or whatever it'll be called) won't be out in 2021. Do you have a PC capable of running VR? If so, I'd probably suggest looking at the Quest 2. Like anything else where it's PC vs console, the advantage of the PC is the open market and flexibility. But if your PC won't handle it, or if there's a PSVR exclusive that's a must-have for you, then there's nothing wrong with PSVR.
My PC is almost assuredly not up to the task...my video card is ancient mostly because I've refused to pay the absurd prices to get an above average modern gaming card. I've got a GeForce 760, and my CPU is an i5 8400, 2.8GHz. 16GB Ram, fast drives. The CPU is not the latest, but is a spring chick compared to my venerable graphics card, which I am assuming is the most important thing to run VR well.

Also, PSVR may work better for me since my PC (the one with the real gaming horsepower at least) is in my office area, which is intentionally away from the rest of the house. PS4 is in the middle of the house, in the family room type area. If I have to be tethered to my gaming PC in my office (if I were to go a PC VR route), not sure that is going to be ideal (I'm assuming more people than me will want to "play").
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

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(I don't know the Quest series, so take this with a grain of salt until someone else speaks up.)

You'd still be able to play on the Quest 2 itself, which is wireless, standalone, and self-contained (it's less a specialized display and more a specialized console.) You just wouldn't be able to play most games using the link cable (which allows you to use the Quest as a specialized display, ala the Rift series. In other words, you wouldn't be able to play any games on Steam or not specifically designed for the Quest 2. I know sideloading is a thing, but don't know enough to comment. I don't know how many or what kind of games are available for Quest 2.

In short, you could use it, but it would be more limited. On the other hand, if you ever upgraded your PC, you'd have it ready to go without having to make another purchase.

But beyond that, it does sound like you might be better off looking into PSVR.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

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Carpet_pissr wrote: Sun Mar 28, 2021 9:40 amAlso, PSVR may work better for me since my PC (the one with the real gaming horsepower at least) is in my office area, which is intentionally away from the rest of the house. PS4 is in the middle of the house, in the family room type area. If I have to be tethered to my gaming PC in my office (if I were to go a PC VR route), not sure that is going to be ideal (I'm assuming more people than me will want to "play").
The Quest 2 does fully standalone VR and can do wireless PC VR out of the box. It's kind of an insane value for $400.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Hyena »

Chraolic wrote: Sun Mar 28, 2021 12:18 pm
Carpet_pissr wrote: Sun Mar 28, 2021 9:40 amAlso, PSVR may work better for me since my PC (the one with the real gaming horsepower at least) is in my office area, which is intentionally away from the rest of the house. PS4 is in the middle of the house, in the family room type area. If I have to be tethered to my gaming PC in my office (if I were to go a PC VR route), not sure that is going to be ideal (I'm assuming more people than me will want to "play").
The Quest 2 does fully standalone VR and can do wireless PC VR out of the box. It's kind of an insane value for $400.
Agreed. I love mine for this reason. I'm currently saving for a better video card (if I can find one...they seem to have all but vanished) so I can really utilize my steam VR library. However, I will NOT be trying Subnautica, as I'm terrified of seeing that Leviathan. :(
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

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Hyena wrote: Mon Mar 29, 2021 3:23 pmAgreed. I love mine for this reason. I'm currently saving for a better video card (if I can find one...they seem to have all but vanished) so I can really utilize my steam VR library.
Yeah, that was my experience as well so I finally bit the bullet on a pre-built system instead since it was in stock. It probably had about a $300 markup on it, but at least it does run well and all things considered I'd rather pay the shortage tax to a business than a scalper.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Carpet_pissr »

Why are you guys saying $400? You piqued my interest about the Quest and I came across this:

“The real benefit of the Quest 2 is that for $299 you get a full standalone headset that works straight out of the box — no other equipment is required — making it fully wireless and standalone. It also has a selection of some of the best experiences and games on any platform. However, the big trade-off is that you need to log in to a Facebook account to use the headset; there’s no way around that.

If you’re OK with that though, then the Quest 2 has some huge benefits. “

$300 sounds better than $400!

Sadly, a requirement to log into FB (why?!?) is a huge dealbreaker for me.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by gbasden »

Carpet_pissr wrote: Mon Mar 29, 2021 10:46 pm Sadly, a requirement to log into FB (why?!?) is a huge dealbreaker for me.
Because Facebook owns Oculus and they always use their powers for greed.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

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Carpet_pissr wrote: Mon Mar 29, 2021 10:46 pm $300 sounds better than $400!

Sadly, a requirement to log into FB (why?!?) is a huge dealbreaker for me.
The $400 model has 256 GB storage instead of 64, which sounded better to me. I've never had too much storage on any device I own, and 64 GB seemed a bit on the small side these days. Anyway, the Facebook requirement seems more like a formality to me, they own 100% of Oculus so I figure if they want my user data they could just grab it from the Oculus app. Which they probably already did, to be quite honest.
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[VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Carpet_pissr »

No ‘probably’ about it. I’d bet 5 years worth of my salary on that.

Any perceived nastiness in my tone is 100% towards FB and not you(se) just to be clear. :D
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Blackhawk »

I looked into this a while back, too (I have a Facebook account, but have zero trust in Facebook.) There is no requirement that you use or maintain the Facebook account. If you create the account (just name, password - the basic stuff) and link it to your Oculus, they won't have any data about you beyond what any gaming service has. People have done the digging, as it is possible to see all of the data that's being collected. Steam, Xbox, and GoG have basically the same data. Beyond that, if you don't actually use the Facebook account, they won't have personal data on you to mine.
Spoiler:

Code: Select all

    Profile Information
        Real name
        First name
        Last name
        Username
        Email address
        Profile photo
        Avatar 2D image
    Other Information About You
        Current and past profile photos
        Language selection
    Information About Your Account
        Account creation time
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    Your Apps and Content
        Apps you own
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        Who can see your activity (setting)
        Notification preferences
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        Interests (based on Oculus Explore Feed)
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Carpet_pissr »

Great idea, not sure why an alt/fake account didn’t come to mind immediately.

It reminds me that I have a FB account under my (now deceased) dog’s name (unless they delete accounts after x years of non-use).

Amazing dog, and if I go the Quest route, it’s fitting that he lives on, virtually. :D
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Blackhawk »

Be careful with fully fake accounts. It's against Facebook's policy, and if they figure it out they can ban or suspend the account, and game purchases are tied to the account. It's unlikely (I have a fake account using a minor variation of my name that's I've had for ages), but be careful about it, especially since purchases will be tied to your real name (due to payment methods - no crypto for the Oculus Store.) It's like taking risks with Steam's code of conduct. But nothing prevents you from making an account you'll never touch with a Gmail (or whatever) address that won't be used for anything else, or using a variant of your name (If you're a Richard, for instance, you can use Dick, Rich, or Rick for your name without risking anything.) You might get away with Ricard, but I'd steer clear of 'Barky McMutt.'
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Carpet_pissr »

Blackhawk wrote:You might get away with Ricard, but I'd steer clear of 'Barky McMutt.'
Whew! Dodged a bullet on that one. The name on the account is Marky McButt.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Blackhawk »

I kind of let this one slide, although I have a list of games I meant to add to it.

Ludicrous Speed - This was a free 'runner' on Steam. It is a game where you just run forward (pumping your arms for speed) and dodge obstacles. It's not the kind of game I normally play, but it was free and I'm still learning what's fun in VR. This one was... not good. The custom music didn't work. The built-in music didn't play. The gameplay was OK, but got old really fast.

Deep View Video - This isn't a game. It's more of a technology demo. I posted previously about Light Fields, Google's technology that gives you a stationary 3d photograph that you can move your head around inside of, looking over and around objects. This takes that same tech and applies it to video, creating videos that you can move around in (at least to a degree.) The trailer on the site does a far better job of describing than words can do. There is a ton of potential here. Note that this isn't through Oculus or Steam. It's a download directly from the site that you run on your desktop. I did my due diligence and made sure it was safe, and it's cool enough to be worth a look.

Traveling While Black - This is also not a game. It is a 20-minute documentary film about, well, traveling while black. It's brilliantly done, and a must-watch. Content wise it's a documentary that includes reenactments, footage, and interviews about The Negro Motorist Green Book, plus how the social issues persist today. I found it powerful. Tech-wise, it's probably the best made VR documentary I've seen. Most VR documentaries are simply documentaries shot with a VR camera. This actually took advantage of the medium in a way that blew me away. When a speaker was talking about his experiences traveling by bus in the 50s (I think), I glanced at the mirror and realized I was looking out of bus windows. A second later and I was riding in a period bus, and the transition was seamless. Go watch this, both for the content and for the production.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Blackhawk »

It's YouTube videos, not a game, and it isn't something that will appeal to everyone, but last night I found that my favorite artist, Jack Storms, has been experimenting with VR 180 videos of his sculptures. The tech doesn't work quite right yet (likely because the camera doesn't know quite how to focus), but I loved seeing them up close and in 3d.

Image

Image
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

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Quill Theater. It's free, and it's built into the Quest/Quest 2. It's available via clicking on Oculus TV and choosing 'VR Illustration' in the filters, or by installing/launching it directly. It is two things: First, it is a graphics design tool comparable to Gravity Sketch, although I haven't looked at that at all. The second thing it does is act as a content delivery service for other peoples' creations. It isn't random internet dick pics, though. It's a curated collection of short stories, videos, and scenes. The community is given weekly challenges like 'Overgrown' or 'Year of the Ox', and the top entries are added to the app.

The basic experience is like standing inside a fully 3d piece of animated art. Sort of like being inside of a single panel of a comic with (usually) a 360 degree view and multiple preset viewing locations. The more elaborate creations are fully realized short films in the same medium, and some are fantastic. I really recommend checking out The Golden Record and going from there. It's free. Whadaya got to lose? Trailer:

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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

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I've only just started VR gaming. Lots of thanks to Blackhawk for all the helpful info he's posted.

Here are some free ones I've tried so far.

Aircar: As already mentioned above, you fly around in a Blade Runner-like city. And that's pretty much it. Really did nothing for me, even when I finally learned how make car go.

Left Unsaid: Sort of like Gone Home but it takes place in one room, as you unlock memories of your childhood by finding and examining objects. It tells a decent story which some may find it touching though I think it's been done before. It's meant to be played while seated, but make sure you're in a chair that can swivel. (And when you swivel, don't do a 360 and wrap your headset cord around yourself! I'm still learning how not to kill myself here.)

Cube Dancer: Dancing robots send cubes at you that you have to hit. Gets you moving! Although the developer says you need an HTC Vive, I got the game working on my Oculus Rift by adding it as a non-Steam game to my Steam Library and starting it up through SteamVR.

Dire Demo: Drive across a postapocalyptic landscape, outrunning a sandstorm while avoiding enemy cars. Looks cool, like being in a Heavy Metal comic book, but the voice acting is annoying and the gameplay is simplistic. Doesn't use the Touch controls; you have to use a keyboard or gamepad.

Oculus First Contact: I probably shouldn't mention this since it's the Oculus Rift tutorial, but this is the most fun I've had in VR yet! It's like being in a Pixar movie.
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Blackhawk »

Awesome, and thanks for adding to the thread!
Hipolito wrote: Thu Aug 26, 2021 12:51 am Aircar: As already mentioned above, you fly around in a Blade Runner-like city. And that's pretty much it. Really did nothing for me, even when I finally learned how make car go.
Many of the free ones tend to be short and sweet, basic experiences rather than fully fleshed out games. Many are just developers (or individuals) trying out the tech and seeing what it can do. I think of those more as tech demos than anything else, and like anything else what's an exciting experience for one person won't trigger the same experience for someone else at all.

Oculus First Contact: I probably shouldn't mention this since it's the Oculus Rift tutorial, but this is the most fun I've had in VR yet! It's like being in a Pixar movie.
Check out Invasion!, and check out Quill Theater (in my previous post.)

For a laid back experience, also check out the Quest 2's built-in YouTube app. I'd recommend just searching it for VR180 and picking a few that look interesting, then going from there. If you have a YT account already, you can also set up a playlist on the PC (which is easy to navigate), and then watch the videos in the app once you've signed in. To get you started, try out:

This playlist

Pick a location

Check out a game

And a game trailer (dark, but not horror)

Fly a P-40 Warhawk (nausea warning)

Ride in a Cobra attack copter (lesser nausea warning - expect any VR flight video to involve some degree of this if it bothers you.)

See a concert (Elton John)

And hey, somebody made a whole playlist of VR pigeon videos... :ninja:
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Re: [VR] Free Games, Small Games, and Experiences

Post by Blackhawk »

Ben Plays VR has another set of freebies listed.



I've tried Museum of Other Realities. I liked it, but haven't given it enough time to really recommend or not recommend it.

Of the others he listed, I'm going to be checking out VR Hero Sentry, Get Lost in Nature with Luke (I love photogrammetry), and Marble Pop Paradise (not my usual type of game, but it sounds like a fun recliner VR title.) I'm also going to be digging into the Google Spotlight Stories he mentioned.
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