Over the last decade, the video game controller has changed a lot. We've gone from joysticks and buttons to touch screens to motion control, and the next few years look just as interesting when it comes to interface. In a talk titled "The Controller Is Dead," Oculus Rift creator Palmer Luckey told the audience at the Twofivesix video game conference in New York City that new ways to play may actually benefit those who don't indulge in games the most.
Some may think that, with all these new ways to play being combined in some shape or form (the new PS4 controller, for example, features standard buttons and sticks combined with a touch pad and built-in motion controls), those who haven't grown up with games might have a tough time catching up. They'd be wrong.
What Luckey found as he tested the Oculus Rift was the complete opposite: People with very little prior gaming experience were better than anyone else.
According to Luckey, "Players who spent hundreds of hours playing Team Fortress 2 ... those were the people who said it [Oculus Rift] actually lowered their playing ability." People who had not spent nearly as much time playing the game, however, said the virtual reality set increased their ability.
Since casual gamers haven't spent so much time using multiple analog sticks and buttons, he said, turning their head to change the viewing angle was a lot more natural than, say, moving a mouse. These kind of tendencies can surely change as one becomes more acquainted with the technology, but it's actually rather relieving (to this writer's eyes, anyway) that new interfaces could continue to expand gaming's audience rather than contract it.
Still, Luckey said that keeping people's expectations in check has been difficult. Some people think the Oculus Rift simply won't work, so it's a challenge to convince them to try it and realize it's good. Others, meanwhile, think it's like The Matrix, that you're going to buy it, learn kung fu and become The One. Luckey's goal, then, is to get doubters excited while lowering the bar for those expecting something even more radical.
As for his inspiration, Luckey was asked why he chose gaming to explore virtual reality rather than some other form. He could have easily made something that would virtually explore a car.
"I like games," he said simply. "I'm not a car enthusiast," he added, but Luckey also feels that since games aren't a mature medium yet - compared to, say, novel writing for filmmaking - there's a lot of room to make things better.
"For a lot of people that play video games ... virtual reality is an obvious step," he said. It wasn't an epiphany, it was a goal right in front of one's nose.
