Unfinished: EX: Golem (PlayStation VR) 03/17/2016

Alright, two minutes in:

I've always thought Gollum to be quite sympathetic?

I always had jitter, and more importantly if I would move quickly it would lose its previous 'centre' which drove me fucking nuts, haha.

Like if I was pointing at the centre of the screen, then quickly moved to the top right, then back to what would have been centre before, it would now have shifted a bunch in a direction. It made it impossible to do anything quickly and accurately.

holy shit VR quick look!

Neat concept, but it looks...ehhh. Yea.

The movement solution is real smart, and they're doing interesting things with the scale of the world, but that combat... woof.

I played my first VR games today, Hypercube, Eve Valkyrie and Climb. All three where very fun from the jump. Those games seem like modern console/PC gametypes brought to VR. Gollem's swordplay, on the other hand, looks like Kinect/Wii games brought to VR.

@aegon said:

Thank you for bringing this into my life. The Dark Souls community has its share of turds, but it definitely has some real goddamned gems, too! They know how to crank dumb to 11.

I know this is a new technology and all, but that looked horrible. There is no way I'm going to get the first wave of VR or AR. But this is coming from someone who hasn't tried it yet. Maybe once there are kiosk in best buy or something for me to try I'll change my mind.

Everything about this looks bad. I know it's still early and everything, but wow. Not impressed at all.

Uncross your legs when you're swordfighting, Brad!

Ah this whole VR thing is so interesting.. This weird new medium to try and take in as a spectator.

Jeff (or maybe it was on 8-4?) was recently talking about E3 and what a "hands-on" used to mean, and how that has fallen off and isn't quite as relevant anymore. Is VR a return to that? A person can't get the experience and feeling of a VR based program so the most obvious next step is to have people, in person, try that thing out and then do their best to relay those feelings to the rest of the world in a way that we can best understand and grasp. It shifts some of the weight from the modern video-speaks-louder-than-written words and back onto a journalist's writing ability. Descriptors, poetics, and relate-able elements..

..At least until the foundation has been laid and we have those keystone gameplay mechanics, graphics, audio etc. that shape the near future of VR programs. Until more people have tried it first hand and we can point too those games and say "Its kinda like ____ game."

Looking forward to the arrival of my headsets.

Yeah. My eyes were definitely drawn to the red glow of his right face/neck every time he was on screen.

Like they said in the video, you really can't judge the quality of the in-visor image against what's output to the TV. The PS4 doesn't have the spare resources to waste on rendering something that looks half way decent just for external observers that may not even be there.

It sounds like a cop out answer to say that you have to try it for yourself, but unless you're seeing the game through the HMD, you can't really get a decent grasp on the true quality of the experience.

@quid_pro_bono: yeah it's why I usually avoid the comments even on giantbomb. They're maybe a half step up from youtube.

Hey look it's that guy what made that Halo music.

I don't remember, do any of the GB crew wear glasses and if so have those guys mentioned what the experience is like playing VR with them on? Can you even get the headsets over the glasses?

My prescription means I can see things close to me but not far away so perhaps with the screens right up in my face I wouldn't need them on anyway. Who knows!

Halo shit that's marty o'donnell! maybe thats why Jeff has a little blushing. guys is a legend!

@renzu said:

Having actually played the London Heist demo with the PSVR and two move controllers I can attest to the Move controllers working great. Not even a minute into the demo I was instinctively reaching over to grab fresh magazines for my uzi that were out of view and it worked every time. It felt so natural. The biggest learning curve was reminding myself that I had to actually extend my arm because there is real depth in this 3D world and not just placing my hand over the area as if it were a cursor. Basically I had to break my habits of how videogames work and revert back to how the real world works. It was very interesting. I wouldn't worry about the move controllers. There are plenty of reasons why it could have been jittery here but I would bet on it being software before I blamed the hardware.

I used the PSVR with my glasses on and it was perfectly comfortable. Though it would certainly depend on the size of your glasses.

I'm sold on PSVR but this game really doesn't do it for me. That whole lean forward to move thing is just bizarre. Norm from Tested made it sound really uncomfortable and I have no trouble believing him on that. Just gimme a dang thumb stick. I'm hoping we see some more VR Unfinished EXs from this GDC. Battlezome VR looks phenomenal, I'd love to see them take a look at that.

@dezvous: Remember studio environment with bright lights might have an affect on that.

Obviously i'm not getting the full experience without wearing the headset, but it kinda looks like the same kinda trash you saw with the Move/Kinect/Ect. last Gen, before everyone decided those controllers are inadequate and abandoned them. Is using a controller while wearing the headset such a disconnect?

I'm just not convinced--once the "newness" of immersion wears off, you're left with simple gameplay mechanics, relying on the move controller (no thanks) for hours. "Gamers" used to twitch play, complex gameplay mechanics, accurate controls and variety will grow bored, and find themselves returning to the usual scheduled program.

Of course there are possibilities here but I haven't seen anything overly compelling, and that's before I consider the price and inconvenience of wearing silly headsets that I'm tethered to. I am all for new experiences but I believe the "idea" of VR outweighs the "reality" of VR. Not for me...yet.

Last time I saw Golem it looked bad. Let's find out if it looks any different here.

Edit: From the tone of these comments I guess now.

Have you tried an Oculus yet? I'm just wondering how they compare.

This made me really consider how cool a fencing or boxing tutor would be in VR in a decade.

Game looks cool! I'm sure the odd jitteriness is at least partially from GB's setup.

Nice to see Marty too.

I am sold on overall potential of VR just not on current technology and methods of experiencing VR.

But current VR tech could have massive potential benefit in medical field and flight training so not all bad.

maybe one day we all get holodecks and that be cool.

Oh, just Marty from Highwire Games. What's his last name? Oh yeah, O'DONNELL

@szlifier said:

Man, machine, the fusion!

@bigsmoke77: Exactly what I imagine could be to blame though it seemed like they tried to dim it a bit hence the different than usual lighting.

Fantasy games looks like the exact wrong way to go with VR. The lack of feedback from melee combat seems like it would make 1:1 combat very difficult. This got me very excited for the graphical quality of PSVR titles, though.

Very cool to see it up and running for real. I whole-heartedly enjoyed this video.

I'm not entirely sold on the locomotion mechanic but I won't pass judgement without actually having tried it. I'd love to hear Brad's opinion on it. I'm glad that there are at least some VR games still actually doing locomotion and not just the super safest teleportation option and whatnot and without an analog stick on the PS Move they had to get creative. That's why I'm glad that Oculus decided to include sticks on the Oculus Touch controllers just so that the current options are still available to developers. Some of us have stronger stomachs and can handle it. I played a bunch of HL2 with the DK2 and Razer Hydra and I was perfectly comfortable with it. And the few things that were issues were nothing that couldn't be solved with some polish not fundamental issues with the control scheme.

I just can't shake the feeling that vr is turning into the Wii HD. I don't doubt that "presence" in these games is a tremendous thing to experience. But at the end of the day, will people still rather just play games on the TV with gamepads.... KB/m and gamepads are both very responsive as well as being tried and true methods for gaming.

I still think VR will be here for a long time, and there is multiple applications for the tech. I'm just not sure that gaming is the best fit.

If MS gets the field of view to an acceptable size I could almost see the AR glasses being a better fit for game applications. Especially with the ability to see the real world while wearing the headset. But with the MS set up, Processing power might be an issue.

Still excited for the future, but I may wait for a while to purchase one. Let them work out the kinks, get a handle on the control method, find something that works well, and can be considered a standard of some sort.

This actually looks kinda cool. Though the slow movement using the PS move controller or w/e was kinda off putting, maybe that was just Brad? The janky combat as well with the hit boxes. Was surprised it looks as good as it does! I do see some promise in it though. Wasnt even playing and got that kinda sense of awe that I havent felt for a while looking around in a game.

It does give me concerns about the speed of games having to take a huge step back to account for not making you sick, and poor controls waving your hands in the air, but hey! This may as be a new tech/first time out for VR. Lets be honest, VR was not ready in the past. Man I have to wonder if their wont be large/several controller revisions through out the gaming cycle though.

Woah, Shoemaker just put on a VR helmet!!! It's HAPPENING!!!!!

The gems definitely outnumber(ed) the turds.

I can't wait for VR for so many reasons. It's going to be a fascinating journey. Already I'm seeing things that I'm so curious how they're going to solve or how they might tweak it to avoid things. For instance I think a big issue that deals with breaking immersion is when something on screen has to simulate weight or gets stuck like the sword did with the collision on the enemy golem. The problem is in reality you don't feel any of that weight or restriction on your hand. I wonder how developers will approach that or if they'll try to avoid situations that would depict it. I can already see some games where you have a special zero point tool and their in-cannon reason is that it makes every object you interact with feel like it weighs nothing etc.

It's going to be a fun ride!

Wow. I did watch some raw gameplay of Golem via IGN yesterday and noticed how low res the picture was, but it was actually really informative to learn that it isn't the case for the picture in the headset.

Also, it's the first time I noticed the lamps in the back of the headset. I was wondering how they'd track your head if it was turned.

Not sure if the slowed down movement of the Move combat is smart for such an early game. It'll probably feel unresponsive if it was your first experience.

This looks really promising. I'm surprisingly optimistic about this.

I JUST GOT SURROUND SOUND SPEAKERS TODAY WHAT A TIME

Lot of negativity on here and I get that but I like it! Way to get out in front of this and figure out how to cover it! Good stuff, GB.

And cheers to these fellas for having the stones to show it off.

Also, yes please to an entire day coverage of each headset at launch. Seriously.

Also, tell these fellas to be at Pax East if they want a sale. I ordered the Camera and Move yesterday. I'm already in, now sell me on the games.

you know what you have to do duct tape that shit tightly to your head

I thought the demo looked great, I'll definitely pick it up when it's out.

This looks terrible. not a clue what you people are looking at thinking this looks in any way "promising".

As some have said, it looks like old move/kinect busted & boring tech demos pretending to be games.

I was born blind in my right eye. I'm in my 30s and I love video games more than most people love the pure air they breathe. They have been there when there was no one else and they continue to be there as there continues to be no one in my life. I am very sad though because after talking with my doctor at the eye specialist he said that I will very doubtful have a good experience with VR and won't experience it the same as any other people. I don't have any depth perception and I have a very hard time keeping balance during sports or athletics.

Does anyone know if this is true? I am the man who would get so much from the world of VR and will have to sit by the side lines and watch others have glorious experiences themselves. Will I ever get a chance to see VR with only vision in one eye?

@moonshadow101: Long way to go for the good stuff, but it seems like we need new tech for innovation. Look at all of the bungled sequels that have come out in the last 6 years.

I gotta say the premise sounded interesting but the execution looked terrible. From the graphics to the artistic styling and especially the gameplay. Unless the final product is a drastic shift, I can't say I'm interested. If this is not a close representation of the final product, they did a disservice by showing it. No part of this looked good to me.

This looks promising. I'm in.

That didn't look good...

This looks bad. The glacial movement speed alone is bad enough, but that combat, woof!

It begins