00:00:00

The Giant Beastcast: Episode 04

We gather up in a dark room at E3 2015 to talk about our bright virtual and augmented future!

The Giant Bomb East team gathers to talk about the week in video games, their lives, and basically anything that interests them. All from New York City!

Jun. 19 2015

Posted by: Vinny

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Regular_Kirk

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@vinny said:

@rangers517: definitely nothing like that here. I think all of us are just shocked and excited that the stuff seems to work. It all sounds even more gimmicky than 3D but after this E3 the potential seems to be there to bring something new to gaming that I haven't seen since worlds went from sprites to polygons.

It's definitely reassuring to hear how solid the tech seems to be but the gulf between the hype for VR by the people who have tried it versus how underwhelming the VR demos look to the viewer at home is enormous, at least to me it is.

I just keep telling myself we're in the Pong era of VR right now. I suppose it unrealistic to expect VR games to be on par with AAA games right out of the starting gate.

The real trick will be for VR to hang on long enough so they can eventually deliver those AAA experiences. I wonder if the public will continue to be interested in VR as devs spend a few years churning out small mini-games while they learn how to deliver something that resembles a real game and not a game about heading a soccer ball into a net.

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JDP83

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@neozeon said:

Had to stop this one about halfway through folks. Sorry, nothing against the cast, but I just don't care about VR/AR at all. Maybe it will be great, maybe it won't, but I've heard this same kind of support for tech before: It was called 3D and it was a waste of time in any device they shoved it into.

First of all: have you tried it? It's something you can't really knock until you try it.

Second: Your comparison is not 100% fair. The big difference between when 3D TVs were in the news and VR/AR as "the next big thing" was WHO was trying to convince you about the validity of the tech.

Last time it was the marketing and the companies. And you do have some of that now... but how many people do you know of that was raving about how cool their 3D TV was? For the most part, people I know who have one just got it because that's what the TV they wanted had, not because they wanted a 3D TV.

Now, think about anyone you talk to who has tried this new wave of high quality AR/VR. Pretty much all of them are telling you it's great, right? Or in the very least, they see the potential for it to be great.

Everyone I have shown the DK2 or a Gear VR headset has been blown away. There have been a few people not interested in trying it, but in general, once someone found something - a game, or a 360 video, etc. that they enjoyed, the player didn't want to take it off.

If you have tried any of the VR headsets, what about it wasn't interesting to you?

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Regular_Kirk

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@rangers517: I think the point the guys were trying to make is that games would be only a subset of what VR will likely be. I think it's extremely exciting and encouraging that the most jaded of people possible, who have seen all the gimmicks, and play and report on games all day every day, are that excited about the demo Dan and Palmer tried, which, if it were a standard flat screen game, would be the most boring thing ever - but in VR is a valid experience.

(geez, I'm excited about commas, apparently)

Indeed. When I saw that Jeff, who has seen it all, was impressed with the various VR headsets and HoloLens, that was the moment that I realized that VR might actually have a chance this time. Craziness!

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JDP83

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WOO! Gear VR chat at ~20-22 min. Glad to hear you guys had a good experience with it!

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deactivated-611f0969d8570

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Hearing people describe VR demos is pretty boring.

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galvano

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Missed opportunity to say the "Giant Bomb Room" in the beginning.

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deactivated-5d000a93730da

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You cannot record the Beastcast on the west coast. Its sacrilege.

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anbilow

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Hmmm, I wonder what happened with the Lost Podcast...

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ShadyPingu

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I hope the VR guys bring this stuff to, like, your local Walmart soon, because as someone who doesn't work in the games press and has therefore never worn one of these rigs before, all these ecstatic descriptions just sound like nonsense to me. Communicating VRs appeal to consumers is going to be a huge undertaking.

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chalkcharmer

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Can I just say how good that intro cut is? Love it.

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NeoZeon

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Edited By NeoZeon

@jdp83: This has been super edited because I came off hostile the first time around.

To be briefer and a little nicer, I'll just say it this way: I don't know anyone with a VR set I can try out nor do I find glorified tech demos, which these all appear to be, a good indication of future quality. I hope that they turn out great, the tech goes to new frontiers and all that but, here, now? Just more hype for an expensive technology.

If I'm wrong, I'll owe you an apology but for the moment I'm happy to just have my controller and my TV.

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NoneSun

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That lost podcast was FUCKED.

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edgeCrusher

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Can we get a full up load of the "lost" episode? that sounded kind of... hot?

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bricwall

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@lawl3rbawl3r: why would dudes talking need to take up more space as a stereo file?

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Bill_P

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Boring! Chill out Austin!

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AMyggen

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Great episode!

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MEATBALL

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Edited By MEATBALL

Yeah, it kind of doesn't matter how much I hear people spooge over VR I remain largely uninterested. It's cool tech, and it's absolutely going to be an important technology, but even the games highlighted for it don't even sound like games I particularly want to play.

I also still can't stand the idea of being nigh-on shut off from everything around me. I feel closed off from what's going on more than I'd like to as it is when I wear a pair of headphones.

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Dan_CiTi

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Edited By Dan_CiTi

@nonesun: @vinny REALLY needs to upload that thing to Soundcloud or something.

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Herman_Mariusen

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Edited By Herman_Mariusen

Why are there two different episode 4 of this? What's the difference between the premium and normal?

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zolkowski

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Edited By zolkowski

It's really encouraging for these guys to be as excited as they are for VR after this e3. It really shows the technological capabilities of these things go beyond gimmick, even if that is all that is available to it.

But seriously, as a flight sim fan that owns Track IR I didn't need any convincing to get something like this for at least that aspect. Even if VR for whatever reason fizzled out, I feel you will see it thrive in the simulation community. As many odd-ball gaming technologies seem to do.

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TheKlonere

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The VR chat was like you guys were all coming down from MDMA or shrooms or acid or something.

That kinda scares me.

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valeo

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Edited By valeo

@sodapop7 said:

I still haven't heard of any games with this tech that people actually tried at this E3, maybe I missed something but I've tried to keep up. It sounds neat but where are the games? Where are the experiences I need this for? The waxing poetic about the potential of this stuff is getting a bit old.

Honestly, I don't give a shit if there are 'good games' for it. I just want different experiences. Different to the normal, bullshit AAA games that are churned out every year.

Feel like everyone saying 'oh, it has no games for it' hasn't tried it. You're missing the point entirely.

Reminds me of when smart phones first came out and everyone said 'oh, why the hell would I need that?'

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valeo

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Edited By valeo

@neozeon said:

Had to stop this one about halfway through folks. Sorry, nothing against the cast, but I just don't care about VR/AR at all. Maybe it will be great, maybe it won't, but I've heard this same kind of support for tech before: It was called 3D and it was a waste of time in any device they shoved it into.

No one got this hyped over 3D. Everyone knew that was a short term gimmick. This is different. Come back in a couple of years, and I guarantee your opinion will be different.

Very few people try these demos and have something bad to say. People who haven't tried it may not know what they're talking about.

@herman_mariusen said:

Why are there two different episode 4 of this? What's the difference between the premium and normal?

Premium has no ads.

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Trilogy

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Edited By Trilogy

@vinny: Sometimes I get the feeling that you guys are maybe a little too close to having just seen all this stuff, and that's where a lot of the hype is coming from. If people can sustain that kind of excitement for the long term, then I can buy into the VR hype. Part of me feels like this stuff could die down kind of quickly, and everyone will go back to, the apprehensive "This thing has to have games for it to matter!" talk.

To play devils advocate, maybe I'm just on the opposite end of "being too close to it" as I've not tried it at all. You guys are obviously aware of that dichotomy, as you've discussed it a few times. For all we know, this could be a huge technological revolution. Either way, it will be fascinating to see unfold.

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NeoZeon

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@valeo: Quite a few people I know did get this hyped over 3D. They regretted it, of course, but they wouldn't shut up about it all the same. Also, it's kinda hard to "try it" when it's either go to E3 or drop a couple hundred on a pre-release kit. Tired of hearing that argument. If I had a way to try it to get more acquainted with it, I would. It's not like they have these things at every kiosk in the mall or something.

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valeo

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@neozeon said:

@valeo: Quite a few people I know did get this hyped over 3D. They regretted it, of course, but they wouldn't shut up about it all the same. Also, it's kinda hard to "try it" when it's either go to E3 or drop a couple hundred on a pre-release kit. Tired of hearing that argument. If I had a way to try it to get more acquainted with it, I would. It's not like they have these things at every kiosk in the mall or something.

I understand that, but judging something before trying it is straight up stupid.

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unique

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Is there any reason why you guys don't use the date in the podcast title like the Bombcast instead of episode numbers (which are basically incorrect at this point anyway since you started at 0 instead of 1)?

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Levio

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Wow, I thought this VR stuff would be like the WiiMote and Kinect, janky junk that barely ever works as intended. But these guys make it seem like it's gonna be amazing and a "must have" after maybe a few years of polish.

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deactivated-63b0572095437

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I went from not caring at all about VR a month ago to to telling myself that I should start saving for VR (a headset plus the hardware required to run it). I'm so curious what people can come up with once this tech is in the hands of the general public. I'm not sure how long it'll be before the novelty wears out, but I'm totally on board with it now.

I played with Morpheus back in December and it's definitely hard to describe. It just works. I was able to wear my glasses comfortably with no problem. I know that's a concern for some people. Comfort with glasses will be a huge selling point when it comes time to buy. I would love to get my hands on a Rift or Valve's thing.

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Chillicothe

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Edited By Chillicothe

Wierd sea changes? The Technobabylon world that Austin was talking about has past my mind more than once lately (as an extreme outlier possibility), but I'm not sure how even part of the way there is good for the human ego (but it's at least better than before very recent modern times with higher crime rates and more dangerous entertainment).

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NeoZeon

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@valeo: Alright whatever, I'm stupid for doubting something you apparently like. Thousand pardons and such. Next time I'll think twice before having my own opinion, etc, etc.

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divergence

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yeah.. VR... it just feels so much like a technology that will be hot for a year or so then when the gee-wiz factor wears off everyone will realize they hate putting gigantic goggles on their faces in order to play video games and they go back to playing on a TV. If Oculus is supported with some good games that don't require the player to physically move around the room (you can still play with yourself safely sitting in your recliner) then I might give it a shot. I can only imagine if this takes off that we're going to find ourselves needing to keep maybe *slightly* higher end PC's in our homes that we have in the past in order to keep up with the technology. Because as I understand it these games will require your machine to pump out 2 1080P displays and there won't be a lot of room for slowdown/frame rate hiccups so if we are ever going to get a lot of fancy graphics going on with these games we'll probably need some serious hardware. Especially when V 2.0 comes out with 4k screens to work with.

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valeo

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@neozeon said:

@valeo: Alright whatever, I'm stupid for doubting something you apparently like. Thousand pardons and such. Next time I'll think twice before having my own opinion, etc, etc.

No problems. Don't do it again.

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Twiggy199

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Is it me or does that thumbnail look like nick cage?.

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Carlos1408

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Microsoft's Holo Lens made me think of the anime Dennou Coil. If it works it's going to be crazy.

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Sessh

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Oh, I don't know, that lost podcast sounded just amazing and was obviously the first sign of the multi-verse merging into a single one.

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DoctorSmirnoff

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anyone know if these podcasts are on stitcher?

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mr_creeper

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Here's to them developing some real games for VR instead of all these tech demos.

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StoutLager

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Edited By StoutLager

I think the idea that VR will be hard to sell is wrong. VR was a big thing in the early 90's, pre-internet, when it was this monstrous arcade only device that sucked and barely functioned at all. People want to try this stuff. It's been a long time coming. If it works as intended in final release, word of mouth will easily carry it above and beyond any organized marketing campaign efforts.

I believe that to be the case even if it launches prohibitively expensive for mass market. A couple companies will survive and put out affordable versions on second generation which will sell on the weight of good hype from early adopters, same as any new tech that launches at very costly price point.

As for this bullshit about mental and physical ramifications of the tech; please. Calm down. You sound very old and very frightened when you make baseless conjecture like that. Even obvious issues like motion sickness are already an integral consideration in the design process for this stuff. Everyone remembers the Virtual Boy headache or at the very least has heard the stories.

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cementface9

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"I would like an empty show floor. That would be amazing." -Alex

You'll get it in 2016! :p