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Imagine, when the Zombie jumps out and grabs you, actually feeling his slimy grip on your shoulders
Virtual Reality gaming is here.
And companies across the globe are shifting corporate focus to make sure they are prepared for the eventuality of a device price drop that appears to be on the horizon.
For example, just today, Razer, the American company founded by Singaporean Min-Liang Tan, bought THX (George Lucas’ audio company) in a clear play towards enhancing their VR content.
Another shift is the development of accessories that can grow along with the VR industry.
Tetsuya Mizuguchi, a game designer who just launched a cutting edge VR game named Rez Infinite, showed off a project he hopes can be an essential accessory for VR gaming at B Dash Camp 2016 in Sapporo, Japan.
It is called the Synesthesia Suit, and in its most basic sense is a technology working to make audio a three dimensional experience.
“We worked together to feel a vibration in the music, stimulation of the body through the suit…this is something I would like to market someday,” he said.
Also Read: HTC and its stark future in virtual reality
The suit, which was designed by Toshihiko Sakurai and tested for the Rez Infinite game, works in two parts to make the audio experience as immersive as the visual portion of VR.
First, the tones of the music are mapped along the suit so users ‘feel’ as if changes in the music are running through their body.
But it is the second feature that really makes the suit cool. The developers are not simply transferring traditional handset vibrations into a body-suit. Rather, it is trying to bring ‘haptic sensation’ mainstream.
Haptic sensation is the feeling of being grabbed or hit as if by a regular human. This means that if a user bumps into a wall, or gets grabbed by a monster, it ideally will feel as if this is happening in real-life.
Talk about bringing zombie games to a next-level of terrifying.
The suit was developed along with a software called Synesthesia Engine, which controls 24 tactile channels for interacting with the user. Currently, it operates out of a library of ‘tactile experiences’ that it deploys to the suit according to the situation.
The audio signal acts as a trigger, which is then delivered to the suit through an amplifier.
While the suit is not ready for the general public, Mizuguchi said they announced the development of new version on October 13 (pictured above).
“For [VR headsets], just installing what was already there, and remastering [the content] was sufficient. So, I decided to do this experimental thing and introduce something completely new,” he said.
Also Read: Want to watch your favourite shows in virtual reality? You may be able to, someday.
Just as has always been in the history of gaming, generation leaps create opportunities not only for developers, but also for an entire industry of accessories built around the new console.
Maybe the Synesthesia Suit can be a premiere addition to the VR gaming world.
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