Let me start by saying I have been a fan of virtual reality since the day I started reading Snowcrash by Neal Stephenson. This book introduced the concept of the The Metaverse:
The Metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical reality and physically persistent virtual space, including the sum of all virtual worlds, augmented reality, and the internet. (Source — Wikipedia)
When I first read Snowcrash I thought all of this VR mumbo jumbo was probably something that I wouldn’t get to see in my lifetime. Now I’m excited to say that we are turning our second bedroom into a “VR Room” and I wanted to share the journey since it’s one I have dreamed of embarking on, and a process that isn’t well documented yet given how early VR still is.
Guests stay with us probably 3–5 times a year which means that our second bedroom is unoccupied about 50 weeks a year so having a dedicated bed in there doesn’t make much sense. Since moving into our apartment we have kept the room nice and simple which will make it easier to transform into a VR Room.
I’ve done a fair amount of research now on how to do this right and I have identified a few “must have’s” for anyone building a VR room.
Must-have’s for a VR Room:
- A (mostly) empty room
- VR System (i.e. Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, etc.)
- Windows PC
- Anti-fatigue mat (used most often with standing desks)
- Swivel chair
Notice these are the Must Have’s for a VR Room, there are some nice-to-have’s that are on my list as well because I think they will really enhance the experience.
Nice-to-have’s for a VR Room:
- VR Chair
- VR-optimized Windows PC
- 4 x Philips Hue Glow lights
- Enought Philips Hue lightstrips to run along at least two walls
So I thought I’d do a deep dive to share exactly what I’m getting for my VR room, why I’m getting it, and most importantly, how much all of this is going to cost. Let’s start with the must-have’s:
A (mostly) empty room
Cost: $0
Check — we have a large empty room. When a guest comes we blow up an air mattress, for the other 50 weeks a year, it’s going to be a VR room.
VR System
Cost: $680.89
I decided to go with an Oculus Rift which I’ve pre-ordered and am crossing my fingers will arrive in July…but I won’t be surprised if the date slips. I choose the Rift because I think Oculus has been the most focused and is the most advanced when it comes to doing VR right. Yes, the HTC Vive looks cool but HTC does a bunch of other things, Oculus just does VR.
Another reason I went with the Rift is because of the amount of quality content that is going to be available for it (both games and experiences). I think of the Rift a bit like I do with Apple. Yes, you can use an Android phone and have access to a lot more apps, or buy a Windows PC and be able to use more software, but with a Mac there’s less junk and more quality.
I think the same thing is happening in the VR world. The HTC Vive and PlayStation VR will likely have more content but the quality of the content for the Rift looks like it’s going to be the best both in visual and immersive qualities.
VR-optimized Windows PC
Cost: $1,499.99
In this case I am going with option #2 on my “Nice to have” list and getting a VR-optimized Windows PC. There are a ton of options but for now I’m planning on getting an Alienware X51 Gaming Desktop.
Now I’m not going to pull the trigger on buying this computer yet since my Oculus Rift isn’t going to arrive until July at the earliest. This means I still have time to see what other VR-optimized PC’s come out.
For now I like this setup because it gets me enough horsepower to get a solid VR experience with things like an i5–6400 processor, 16 BG of RAM, and a 256 GB solid state drive. At the same time, this is a more “middle of the road” gaming PC when it comes to VR experiences. If you really wanted to get the best experience possible you’d definitely pick a PC with an i7 processor, 32 GB or RAM and an even more badass graphics card.
Yes, you could easily spend up to $5,000 on a PC and still see a good VR system put it through its paces. I don’t want to spend that much on a PC but I am willing to bite the bullet and spend around $1,500 to get a PC that will allow me to really enjoy my VR experiences.
Anti-fatigue mat
Cost: $109.95
This really is a must-have if you plan on standing for more than 10–20 minutes at a time. For those of you who spend at least half your day at a standing desk there’s a good chance you already have one of these. My top choice is the GelPro 20 x 36 inch mat which is actually meant for your kitchen but I think will be perfect for a VR room.
You can get anti-fatigue mats for $50 or less but since this has to do with your body and how you feel while you’re experiencing VR I don’t think it’s a good place to cheap out. Plus this is a multi-purpose mat so you can also use it in the kitchen, office, etc.
VR Chair
Cost: $500
So this is a tough one because while you could just use an existing office desk chair, there’s just no way the experience is going to be nearly as good as a chair that moves itself based on what’s happening in virtual reality.
The challenge is, there really aren’t any VR chairs on the market yet, it’s still too darn early. That being said, since I have until July there’s still time for a great VR chair to get released and I’m thinking $500 is about as high as I’m willing to go for this, for now. My top pick at the moment is the Roto Interactive Virtual Reality chair.
Along with reacting to things happening with a VR game, it also has buttons on the footrest that you can use to simulate walking. Couple this with the fact that they have add-ons for a keyboard and even a little desk, this really does seem like the Swiss Army Knife of VR chairs.
Lighting
Cost: $500
Okay, I’ll admit it — #3 and #4 on my “nice to have” list are pretty far from necessary, but I do think it will be the “icing on the cake.” Lighting a VR room with a classic standing lamp or using overhead lighting is going to take some of the magic out of the experience.
You don’t need to spend a small fortune on custom lighting since Philips has two products that when combined can create a truly dynamic, futuristic and VR-friendly lighting. With the Philips Hue products you can create rooms that really look like something out of a Science Fiction movie without spending thousands of dollars as you would have had to if you tried to do this ten years ago.
The image above isn’t of my own setup but is a great illustration of how you can use Philips Hue to transform a second bedroom into a futuristic VR room. Do you need it? Absolutely not, but will it makes a difference? Absolutely.
So let’s put all this together and tally up the full cost to get the VR room up and running.
Oculus Rift — $680.89
Alienware X51 Gaming Desktop — $1,499.99
GelPro Anti-fatigue mat — $109.95
VR Chair — $500
Lighting — $500
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Total cost: $3,290.83
Now there are a few things you could take off the list and still have a pretty awesome VR room. If you decide to use an existing swivel chair and forgo the lighting then you’re looking at $2,290.83. Still I think it’s safe to say, if you’re going to create a dedicated VR room, the whole things will be somewhere in the $2,000 — $4,000 range.
Fast forward five years from now I my guess is you’ll be able to get the same setup for $1,500 or less, but these are the prices we pay as early adopters. I would venture to guess that I am in a very small group of early adopters that really want to go as far as we can today with VR, but heck, I’ve have been dreaming of a world like Neal first described back in 1992.
Last night Palmer Luckey tweeted:
Keep it up Palmer, once the Rift is ready for me, I’ll have a room ready for it.
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