Is ‘Better’ Enough for Roomscale to Thrive?

Axiom Zen, our partner company, recently dismantled our Vive setup. It wasn’t being used by the majority of us (Axiom Zen is mostly into cryptocollectibles these days), and until we move into larger offices in the next few months, we needed the space for meeting rooms. We also took apart our Oculus (and our HoloLens, but that’s small enough it’s now sitting on the edge of the Hammer & Tusk desk), and removed the other VR gear (I still can’t get the Spectacles to sync with my phone).

As the primary writer for Hammer & Tusk, it was up to me to decide what to do with the VR equipment now that it was homeless. The Oculus moved to my home office, so that I would be able to review games and experiences for the blog. But the Vive? I decided I had no room for its roomscale requirements. It ended up in a box, waiting for bluer skies (and bigger offices).

The situation got me thinking: while room-scale experiences are far and away better, are they better enough?

My first VR experience was using the Vive to play Tilt Brush. Well, my first first experience was the demo on Samsung Gear, but since it has no positional tracking it’s practically a 360 video, and thus doesn’t count. No, the Vive opened my eyes to a world of possibility, and from the first moment I trailed a scattering of stars across my field of vision, I was hooked. When Oculus announced it had no plans to pursue roomscale tech, I was floored. It seemed like deliberately choosing to walk around with a blindfold on.

And yet. When I had a choice between the Oculus and the Vive, I chose the Oculus without a second thought. I live in a one bedroom apartment, and there’s simply no room for the 5x5 square the Vive demands. And, thanks to the new double sensors from Oculus, they do a pretty great approximation of roomscale without any of the hardware requirements.

Roomscale, it seems, is more trouble than it’s worth.

Of course, new technological shifts will hopefully bring roomscale technology without the same hardware requirements. Companies are working on positional tracking using cameras in the headset instead of external sensors that take up space. And more experiences are getting smart with small-scale movement, so that you can jump around and get physically invested without having to walk halfway across your apartment to do it.

But for now, roomscale is a better experience that most of us simply can’t support. And that’s too bad.

Written by Wren Handman for www.hammerandtusk.com.