Another New Toy... This Time in VR!

Studio Update: Another New Toy... This Time in VR!

Well, I picked up another new toy for the office last night.

Because apparently I don't have enough gadgets sitting around here already.

This time, it's a Meta Quest 3 VR headset.

Man, I Love Amazon

So, here's a little story about how ridiculous modern shopping has become.

It was around 8:30 PM, and I was standing in a local BestBuy looking for a Meta Quest 3.

They didn't have any.

Not one.

Completely out of stock.

So, standing there in the store, I pulled out my phone, opened Amazon, and ordered one.

Then I headed home.

By the time I got there, the Quest 3 was already sitting at my door.

Total time from placing the order to delivery?

Approximately 24 minutes.

Twenty. Four. Minutes.

I couldn't even get home from the store before Amazon managed to deliver the thing.

I'm not entirely sure whether to be impressed or slightly concerned that we've reached the point where ordering something online is apparently faster than driving home from the store that doesn't have it.

But I'm certainly not complaining.

Man, I love Amazon.

Another Development Platform?

Now comes the question.

Is this going to be another toy for me to play games on?

Or am I going to start developing for it?

Knowing me, probably both.

Although, realistically, I'm leaning toward just enjoying some VR games for a while.

I've already got enough development projects competing for my attention, and the last thing I probably need is another platform giving me ideas. 

And of course, that hasn't stopped me before.

Mixed Reality Could Be Interesting

What really has my attention, beyond the VR gaming itself, is the Quest 3's mixed reality capabilities.

The ability to blend digital objects and experiences with the real world opens up some interesting possibilities.

And unlike some of the hardware I've been developing for recently, there's a lot more room to experiment.

I've already been thinking about what kinds of experiences might work well when you're not limited to a traditional screen.

Imagine taking something like a tabletop strategy game and having the battlefield sitting right on your actual table.

Or interacting with game pieces and environments that appear to exist right there in your room.

There's definitely potential for some fun experiments.

Not that I'm announcing another project.

Absolutely not.

I'm just thinking.

Which, historically, is how most of my projects start.

But the idea of using the spatial recognition to find a flat surface and the Threefold board magically appearing on your table.. well, that's tempting!

For Now, It's Playtime

Honestly, I haven't decided whether I'll actually develop anything for the Quest 3.

It may end up being nothing more than a really fun gaming device.

And I'm perfectly fine with that. Skyrim VR and some of the others I had a few minutes to play with last night? 

Not every piece of technology I buy needs to turn into another development project.

Sometimes it's nice to just sit down and play something somebody else made.

But having the hardware available means that if an interesting idea does come along, I can actually experiment with it.

And given my track record...

Well.

We'll see how long I manage to leave Unity closed.

For now, time to go explore some virtual worlds!

Oh, and did I mention

I bought the rest of the new office furniture last night and most should be delivered Wednesday, which means days of putting together RGB display cabinets and rearranging the office.. again.. Totally worth it!