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bigsocrates

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Harmonix Music VR easel mode was my "Holy crap VR!" moment

I picked up a PSVR today like a lot of people (well, Amazon dropped it off) and after messing around with Superhypercube for a little bit I decided to give Harmonix Music VR a chance, since I just wanted to enjoy looking at the pretty scenery for awhile. The beach mode was...just ok...with some nice visuals but nothing particularly mind blowing.

Then I tried easel mode and...boom. Mind blown. Using two move controllers you draw 3D lines (or other shapes...it comes with multiple brushes) with one hand and you can move your creations around the space with the other. You can toss the shapes, pull them towards you, play with them like they were actual objects. It works pretty darn well within the somewhat limited confines of PSVR and it did a really good job of convincing my brain that I was in an actual physical space.

I was blown away. And I'm not someone who gets blown away. I said "Wow" and "Holy crap." I jumped out of my chair so I could paint over a larger area. I grinned like a maniac, made virtual shapes and tossed them away only to make more, while some pretty decent tunes blared in my ear.

Nobody seems to be talking about this...experience (calling it a game is a little bit overselling) but for me it made VR click in a way that none of the videos or descriptions or other stuff I messed around with did. It made me glad I got my VR headset because even if this first generation doesn't have any true "killer apps" I at least now understand what makes VR so cool and how it works. I think it's also a fantastic "Show off app" to get other people to try VR, since it requires zero gaming skills and is appropriate for all ages.

I am super impressed and am definitely going to be spending more time with this thing.

It's getting a lot of flack in reviews and I guess I get that because it's just a tech demo, not really a game, but for $15 I definitely have no regrets. And it made me feel a lot better about the $400 I dropped on the headset itself.

It really was an awe inspiring experience. I'm still kind of elated like half an hour later and I can't wait to get back into it tomorrow night. Obviously I can't promise your experiences will be the same, but if you find yourself with a PSVR and wanting a cool...thing...to do with it, I'd highly recommend this.

I went from "I guess this is kind of cool" with Superhypercube (which is definitely neat in its own way) to "Whoa! VR is the future of entertainment!" in about 15 minutes.

It's early days right now, but I can't imagine that 5 or 10 years from now there aren't going to be life-changing VR experiences. In 10 years we went from PS1 to Xbox 360, Imagining a leap anywhere close to that for VR is...almost scary.

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SpaceInsomniac

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I picked up a PSVR today like a lot of people (well, Amazon dropped it off) and after messing around with Superhypercube for a little bit I decided to give Harmonix Music VR a chance, since I just wanted to enjoy looking at the pretty scenery for awhile. The beach mode was...just ok...with some nice visuals but nothing particularly mind blowing.

Then I tried easel mode and...boom. Mind blown. Using two move controllers you draw 3D lines (or other shapes...it comes with multiple brushes) with one hand and you can move your creations around the space with the other. You can toss the shapes, pull them towards you, play with them like they were actual objects. It works pretty darn well within the somewhat limited confines of PSVR and it did a really good job of convincing my brain that I was in an actual physical space.

I was blown away. And I'm not someone who gets blown away. I said "Wow" and "Holy crap." I jumped out of my chair so I could paint over a larger area. I grinned like a maniac, made virtual shapes and tossed them away only to make more, while some pretty decent tunes blared in my ear.

Do yourself a favor. Download the Playroom VR for free--it's included with the PSVR--and select the game that's floating in the center above your head. It's a 3rd person platformer in VR, and it's been my biggest "woah" type of experience yet. It's super easy, and I think there's only one level, but it's great. In something like Eve Valkyrie or Battlezone, you CAN look around, but mostly you only need to steer with the controller and look ahead. In that platformer, though, you have to look around or you'll miss the characters you're supposed to be rescuing. It's quite immersive.

I haven't tried Harmonix Music VR yet, though. Thanks for the suggestion.

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bigsocrates

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@spaceinsomniac: I played the robot rescue game. It wasn't a "Whoa VR" moment for me, but it WAS an experience that showed me how cool VR can be in gameplay. I really liked how, as you said, you had to scan the environment to find the little robots to rescue, and I appreciated the fact that you have to use the controller both for motion controls and stick based controls with the tightrope.

A full game based on this would be awesome and I'd definitely be interested in buying one. It's not "immersive" in the same way that some VR experiences are (because you're not the character, the headset is basically just limited camera control) but it is a different way to experience a traditional video game, and I really liked that.

Thanks for the suggestion.

I am more convinced than ever that while VR might not replace "traditional" video games it's definitely going to have some amazing experiences and it is here to stay as a way to experience games. It's early days right now but I am a full-on VR believer.

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Slag

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@bigsocrates: honestly I think the tech demos are better experiences than the games right now the little I've seen.

The best experiences I've had so far was Google Tilt Brush (which was my Holy crap moment) and Harmonix VR (and that was a pretty early alpha of it). So I get where you are coming from.

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You weren't kidding. I gave the demo a whirl, then immediately bought it afterward.

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I also really liked the Tumble VR demo, but more than anything it made me want a Boom Blox VR. I can only hope that dream will become a reality.