videoGaiden

Sorry to here. One of the On the Spot/Hotspot dream team. Too young. Rest in peace, Tor.

@mikachops: Thanks for the interest. Yes, the thoughts and implementation have been with me for a long time! I am a 40 year old (first platform was the Acorn Electron) who works in IT, so this is one of my spare time things.

About 14 years ago, a thought came into my mind regarding how video games only simulate the first-person perspective by replacing the head with a camera and move the camera with very predictable pan, tilts and cranes etc. much like movie camera movement. I even had the honor to discuss this new camera movement idea with the Oscar-winning inventor of the Steadicam, Garrett Brown.

But basically, I wanted to improve the standard simple gliding movement of the virtual camera seen in games. That led to thinking about having a new look at whole body movement, where instead of the body "capsule" having translations and rotations directly controlled by the user, the feet stride towards that direction and take the pelvis with it, rather than the pelvis/body capsule leading everything.

I have been using Unreal Engine 4 to realise my thoughts. Anyone developing a game in UE4 could at least use the Realiview system instead of using a basic standard camera implementation, as it can be used attached to any existing UE4 character skeletal meshes.

I have also been working on a Realiview plugin for the new MS Flight Simulator and other games that use TrackIr/Freetrack etc.

Sorry that is more than a couple of sentences but it kind of a passion project!

More of the history can be found at my website. astonishedbydesign.com

Thanks again.

Stephen

@cikame: Thanks very much for the feedback.

Indeed, the Shenmue first person sections give a nice feeling of actual connection to the objects in the world as well as giving nice visual focus to the object of interaction. My other favorite but controversial example of tactile feeling of object interaction is Dreamwork's Trespasser but Trespasser's object interaction was taking direct hand control too far.

In regards to my visual system Realiview, the user is neither controlling the eye or the head. They are both automatically simulated and essentially line up to look at the usual central crosshair position, which is still directly "aimed" at by the user. In addition the object surface in the middle "crosshair" location is actually the target.

This system has not currently been optimized for shooters. Here is an earlier test video of holding a weapon.

https://youtu.be/Y_xO3NAR_O8

If you have not already, please give the playable demo a try. The link is in the description of the video.

I appreciate your interest and response.

Stephen

Greetings all. It’s now many more years on now.

Realiview is now part of The First Person Simulator.

If you have any spare time, a view of the introduction video, a play around with demo and your comments would be very much appreciated.

Best wishes.

Stephen

Now 12 years on and there is still nothing which simulate the head and the eye so I have started re-development in Unreal Engine 4.

It's good to hear about people taking things slower and absorbing the environments. One of my most favourite evening with GTA V was doing a clean, no red light running, speed limited night drive from the furthest south to furthest north point and back again.

I disagree with the point that perspective does not change much until you move your head. Put you head straight centre and don't move your eyes. Notice the position of object in your peripheral vision. Now keep your head still and look to the far right. Still keeping your head straight in the original direction and your eyes right is there not a significant change in the visible image?

A slightly different angle on things you saw before and all new objects that were not in the original view. A large change in visual information. These changes large and small go a long way to making your brain create the immersion of our environment.

Finally VR has highlighted that eyes exist and work independently but cooperatively with each other. I have had reservations about this for years for standard non VR first person games, where you are very much moving a head camera and no thought about the eye and head movement combination.

My day job is IT but in my spare time make music and play around with trying to create a different 1st person experience that bases direct movement on the eye direction and the head movement dynamically aligns to the eye direction.

I have a UE4 build that does demonstrate this and some older,not great videos on YouTube.

http://youtu.be/ij8eXXckRDs

I have been meaning to make update videos with vocal commentary explaining what is going on.

Using his eye movement and dynamic head works without VR headsets and has a "you have to try it to see the difference". What I would really love is for an already released games level assets (something like Bioshock Infinite, Gone Home or Alien Isolation for example) and use it with this simulation as it makes every environment nicer to explore, again this statement is vague and hard to explain.

Astonished By Design has a début EP with soundtrack style tracks, two named after someone called Ryckert and the actress Juno Temple. Also a Giant Bombcast theme cover and another Giant Bomb inspired track titled The Bomb Squad. Not exactly the style or professional quality of the stuff on this thread but it is technically new 2015 music with Giant Bomb connections.

Significant but not to say all good games:

Full 3D 3rd person action adventure with multiple usable vehicle types - Hunter

Dark top down adventure with mature themes - Dreamweb

Purchased a HD for the Amiga just for the 11 disk swap fest - Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis

Sophisticated 3D combat flight sims - F-117A Stealth Fighter and EF2000

And a special mention to Workbench OS.

The Full Experience

Get an Amiga 1200 with some hard drive space, Install Deluxe Paint, open the KingTut and Venus images in it but don't actually do much painting with it. Go through the install process for something like Fate of Atlantis. Maybe get involved in the Demoscene. Hopefully at some point during your time witness a Guru Meditation. And if there is time left play some Mods in Soundtracker and attach a microphone to a Technosound Turbo 2 and get your Dark Vader voice on.

@csl316 And now a quick Shadow of the Beast 2 death riff, yes?