While Valve were quick to update Team Fortress 2 with Oculus Rift support, their experiments since have involved custom-built VR demos. And in the face of simulation sickness other big industry hopes have followed suit, with the likes of 3D-friendly cockpit game Eve: Valkyrie.
But Fireproof Games technical director Rob Dodd, who worked on The Room, considers it important for developers to adapt conventional games to VR too.
“I don’t think that’s a bad thing,” said Dodd today during a VR panel at Unite Europe. “I think that’s kind of necessary early on.”
Facebook’s Oculus acquisition might have legitimised VR – but a majority of developers are still understandably hesitant about leaping headset first into the still-nascent field. For them, the option of modifying an existing game for the Rift can be far more palatable.
“I think at the moment developers are a little bit wary because the audience isn’t there yet,” said Dodd. “But actually [there are] games which you can [adapt] – there are some great examples of 2D platformers.”
Dodd also cited Codemasters’ third-person Oculus Rift mode for Toybox Turbos, the Micro Machines-like racer.
“It’s actually really cool,” he said. “It’s just their normal game but you’ve got the choice of [using] VR cameras.
“We can and will [build new things] long term, but I think short term we need quality content. A game which you can just add a little bit to.”
Dodd ruled out The Room as a candidate, though – its tactile, avatar-less puzzles simply aren’t suited to VR. Can you think of a game that is?