Whe magic of Oculus Rift, a commercial VR headset aimed specifically at games, is nearly upon us. We talked to Dan Pinchbeck, Creative Director of thechineseroom working on Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs on his thoughts regarding the device. He provided some insight on how, despite it seeming like the next step for horror games, it’s not necessarily the driving force for design in video games.
“Maybe, but I’m really shortsighted and those kind of devices, like 3D, screw with my eyesight and give me headaches, so I’m not instinctively drawn to them. I think my basic take on it is that I don’t think there’s been a case yet where 3D has made a bad film good, or a good film great.
“I think it’ll be the same with games. System Shock 2 is still one of the best, most scary games ever made and it’s pretty old, the graphics are pretty dated. But the crucial thing is you just don’t care or notice. If a game, or book, or film, or whatever is well designed, and gets under your skin, that kind of stuff is really just window dressing.
“At least for the time being. I’m sure eventually we’ll figure out how to make things that are super optimized for new tech, but it shouldn’t be the driving force for design.”
So while the technology may add to the experience, it shouldn’t be reduced to a gimmick in order to get over with audiences.