Quick, get a job in VR! Here’s some suggestions.

Facebook’s newest acquisition, Oculus, signals the beginning of a new frontier of opportunities.

We have been talking about it, writing about it and dreaming about it for years. Suddenly, it’s on the cusp of arriving in a big way: Immersive, affordable VR. All entertainment is based on the ability to transport us from our daily existence. VR will do that completely, and frankly, to a frightening degree. There are existential issues here, but that’s another article.

My initial reaction when I heard that Facebook had picked up Oculus Rift was a bit of sadness. Like Notch, many in the gaming community seem to feel some disappointment. Perhaps they are just mourning the story of the plucky upstart, that started by hot-gluing together prototypes. But it’s really just the beginning.

As founder Luckey Palmer kept pointing out in his AMA, it can’t be denied that the choice is going to be great for the technology. More money gives Oculus the ability to hire the best people, source better components (which is the largest factor in the quality of the devices), and help developers create content (which is the largest factor in consumer uptake).

So what are the jobs?

1 — Content Developer.

This is a huge category that deserves several dozen subcategories. Many people are wondering when they can play their favourite games in VR. That’s the wrong question. Games designed for the small screen do not work well for VR. It doesn’t feel natural to be able to walk at 50 miles an hour. The speed and accelerations will make you feel disoriented. The games that will work for VR are going to be completely different, dedicated experiences.

Also, there are a multitude of possible use cases other than games. VR conferencing. Simulation. Education. VR travel. Relaxation. Social VR. Therapy. Rehabilitation. A popular VR demo recently gave people the ability to visit the apartment from Seinfeld. There will be an enormous market for VR experiences once Oculus and it’s competitors finally start launching consumer products.

The easiest way to get started is by learning Unity, a game development platform which is free and has built in Oculus Rift support.

2 — Input device Inventors/Creators

This is another huge opportunity. Mice and keyboard are terrible for VR, a typical game controller works but is far from ideal. There are many VR input systems that are moving in the right direction, but nothing is nearly definitive yet. There is an enormous opportunity here, in fact, there will likely be room for a large variety of different input devices based on different VR use cases. Since the early models will all be tethered because of insanely high latency requirements, the savvy individual or company will focus on inputs for simulators, which will be a major segment of early VR.

3 — Facial scanning tech

This is another obvious extrapolation of where the tech is headed — once we can visit each other on VR, it would be nice to be able to see each other’s faces… which will require a large amount of tech to do convincingly. First, faces need to be scanned, and then there needs to be some automated system for rigging the face to show expression, and then a way of tracking the face and eyes in realtime to render those changes in the VR world.

4—Local VR arena owner

I have thought a lot about the problem of VR locomotion, and I think the truth of the matter is that there is no way to fake it. There is no way to effectively trick the inner ear, or our sense of proprioception.

One solution will be VR rooms that map 1:1 to a virtual environment, and (perfectly) track your position and location in that environment. We are a long, long way from being able to do this effectively. The concept is like a paintball arena, but with VR and positional tracking. One arena could be used to have many different experiences in many different environments. Doing this effectively will require expensive hardware, which will likely have to be completely self contained for each player (networked to share positions of other player, enemies, etc.). Imagine battling robots on Mars with your friends, and you get the idea.

5 — Ractor (VR Actor)

Got acting chops? You may be needed for premium, immersive, scripted VR experiences. See The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson.

How many more ideas could be on this list largely depends on how far in the future you want to try to guess. It’s going to be a *very* interesting time, and I personally can’t wait to see what people are going to do with the tech.