An update on my toy
I was struggling to play a sword-and-sorcery game with my new VR rig and couldn’t understand why everything was way high over my head out of reach. Then it dawned on me the damn thing wanted me to stand up, like I was a real person in a real environment. I stood up and…hoo, boy! Now I get why this thing makes people motion sick!
I’ll adjust. Eventually. Though I have a feeling I will always prefer apps I can use sitting down. I’m not a gamer so I can *stand up* and *get some exercise*.
There’s a cool freebie called Ecosphere that features high resolution real footage from Kenya, Borneo and Raja Ampat. I’ve always loved drone footage, but even more when it feels like I’m the drone. Also, you get up close and personal with elephants and orangutans and giant rays. Pretty convincingly realistic.
Of course, it’s sponsored by the WWF, so you get the obligatory lecture to go with, but that’s been a feature of nature films for decades. I’m immune.
Surely, somebody has made one where you just hang out under water and stare at fish for an hour. I’d so play that. I did it for real in Florida once when I were a lass – floated around on the surface for eight hours staring at fish. Worse case of sunstroke ever.
Easily my favorite so far is TRIPP – the deliberately hippie-dippy trippy meditation app. When you inhale, you see your breath swoosh in like sparkly white fairy dust; when you exhale, it flies away like shiny red sparks. A man with a California accent slowly reads a life-affirming script. It’s seriously corny and I love it.
Just the app for the moment, as we wait to see if that senile old coot in the White House gets us into a nuclear shooting war. Good weekend, everyone!
Posted: March 4th, 2022 under games.
Comments: 5
Comments
Comment from Gromulin
Time: March 4, 2022, 10:01 pm
Wait…California Accent? I resemble that remark. We don’t have accents. We speak proper American English, dude.
Comment from ExpressoBold
Time: March 4, 2022, 11:24 pm
Fer Sher !!!!!
Comment from Sick and tired yankee
Time: March 5, 2022, 3:15 am
It would help some if all the non dues paying members of NATO who think the American Midwest is where their armies come from would stop suddenly acting all badass.
Putin isn’t much impressed with their traffic cop units, their medical and supply clerk brigades, and their haute cuisine kitchen troops.
I think Johnny and Tommy have kept the peace long enough as the tip of the spear, let Fritz and Jan and Pierre spend some of their blood and treasure for a while to defend what used to be the Iron Curtin countries if that’s what they want done.
Comment from MrKnowitall
Time: March 5, 2022, 7:48 pm
Thought you’d enjoy Tripp. I love the breathing particles too. Uncanny!
How’s the PC tethered play working out? I’ll put in another plug for the Lone Echo (I and II) game. It *can* be played sitting down, but works better standing, with a bit of working room. For some reason, it reminded me of Witcher3, even though it’s entirely different.
As for sitting games, Elite Dangerous is awesome. There’s one called Moss, which I haven’t played, but will probably buy now that I’ve found it.(again PC tethered stuff)
It’s odd, but when I fly around with a jetpack or drive a race car or spaceship in VR, no motion sickness. But a game where I have to run or walk? That still gets to me sometimes. Maybe try out Echo VR (free!) for jetpack flying and see if it leaves your stomach alone.
Comment from S. Weasel
Time: March 7, 2022, 6:05 pm
Hi MrKnowitall. Thanks again for the recommendations. I’ve decided to give my credit card a rest for a bit, so I’ll be playing with what I have for now (which is TRIPP and Blade & Sorcery for paid apps).
I’ve been enjoying those 360° YouTubes, which are free.
As a side note, the woman voice on TRIPP sounds *exactly* like a banjo teacher name Janet Davis, except Janet Davis has a cornpone accent. So every time TRIPP lady tells me to breathe, I expect her to follow that with “put yer middle fanger on the second strang on the 13th fret…”
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