Virtual Reality Gaming For Spectators (This Needs To Exist)
Virtual reality is opening up a whole new dimension for gaming. My mind is blown every time I even think about what is and will be possible with this new technology. First-person shooters where you need to physically duck behind an object to avoid being shot, roleplaying games where you can shoot fireballs out of your hands, games where you can play and feel like God. I can barely contain my enthusiasm, when I realize that for all the hype, we are still very, very early in the evolution of this technology. Virtual reality will become so much better, so much more realistic then what any of us can imagine.
We mustn’t get too carried away of course. We need to take baby steps. Right now the most important things to concentrate on are 1) developing the technology and achieving economies of scale, so that the price of a VR headset becomes reasonable for any consumer and 2) creating, designing and developing content and use cases for VR. This can mean almost anything: games, landscapes, trips (a VR hike for example), face-to-face VR “calls”, educational experiences, you can visit space, and the list goes on. I of course, being a gamer, am most excited about the possibilities in gaming and especially excited to see so many companies take it upon themselves to design games solely for VR.
However, there is one aspect, which seems to be missing from the current generation of VR games: spectator mode. With the rise and growth of eSports a lot of people are suddenly realizing that watching professional gamers duke it out is incredibly exciting. Which is great, because games inherently make possible spectator experiences previously unseen in professional sports. In soccer, you either watch the game from the stands or from your couch. In a game you can be in the action, you can watch game-play from the player’s perspective, you can take a wider view and see the whole team or map. The spectator experience can be enhanced considerably compared to any traditional spectator sport.
Now imagine the kind of spectator experiences that can be built with virtual reality. This is what I mean when I say VR needs a spectator mode. VR games should be built with future VR eSports in mind and should natively support spectators. I want to stand next to a player in a VR first-person shooter as he is mowed down. I want to run next to a hero in MOBA-style VR game as he throws fireballs left and right. With augmented reality headsets, you could even watch a battle unfold on your living room floor or kitchen table (see title background to get an idea of what I mean). This is what VR is all about; this is the type of thing that becomes possible with VR.
As far as I know, no one is building a game with anything resembling my “spectator mode”. I want someone to build it into their VR game, or design a new game which is as much built to please the spectator as it is the player. At OddShot we are building services to enhance the spectator experience, not just for eSports, but gaming in general. I firmly believe that VR is the next frontier where we can provide tools and services to maximise the fun. If you’re building something like I’ve described or were inspired to do so, contact me. I would be glad to do all I can to help make this a (virtual) reality.
Teemu Paivinen (@teempai) is one of the founders at Oddshot.tv, an instant replay and community captured highlight reel for livestreamed gaming. For more information visit oddshot.tv or follow @oddshot_tv on twitter.
