Thursday, February 3, 2022

In Which I Find A New Thing to Love


So, it's not enough that I love something many people don't get (aka. kpop/kdramas) but I've now added to my weirdness by falling in love with another thing many will also not get.... virtual reality. 

My son decided to investigate this thing awhile back and started teaching himself how to program in 3D. He hopes to break into this program world somehow or another (his dream would be to be his own boss and create programs that big companies would buy) in the beginning as it starts to take off. And his enthusiasm has rubbed off and so after playing with his headset a few times, I got my own headset for Christmas.

And can I just say... I LOVE IT!

So far I'm only doing a couple things with it. First, the dance/rhythm game Beat Saber, which is probably their most popular thing. It is so much fun and I am obsessed with getting good enough at it to pass all the levels. Currently, I'm decent at level HARD, but am anxious to start passing the EXPERT levels. After that there is still EXPERT+ which at this point seems impossible, but you never know!

This is someone else playing the song at EXPERT that I'm dying to also pass at EXPERT. Keep in mind that when you are playing it.. .it's 3D and you surrounded by these sensations. It feels like you are really whacking these blocks with light sabers. I love it. (Maybe some day I'll brave enough to film myself doing this and share. LOL!)


Then I bought the program Supernatural, which is a subscription workout program. It looks similar to Beat Saber in that you have to hit things to the rhythm of the music, but when you play it, it feels much different. There's a boxing segment too and that one kills me! They have coaches that help you along, and each song is set in a different cool part of the world, and it's just... so much fun. 

This is the promo for Supernatural. 


Then I got ping pong and feels just as if you are really playing ping pong, so much so that when I leaned forward to return a ball, and automatically leaned on the table... I fell flat on my face because of course, there's not really a table there. But dang, you can bang your paddle in it and it sure FEELS like it's there!

I've also tried a cool board game with fantasy-like monsters that you move around, just like the game Chewbacca  loves on the Falcon. You know the one? Yeah. It's an escape room sort of thing and is very strategic. I've only played that once but it was very cool. 

I've also watch YouTube with it, and that is like your are at a big movie theater, watching stuff on a big screen. There are some videos that are 180... or 360... which is just so much fun. I haven't explored that one yet to see what all is out there. 

There are chat rooms, where you can go hang out with people. It reminds me of back in the day when online chat rooms were new and made everyone nervous. Now that's so normal... but NOW you can go with your avatar to cool locations, and actually talk to people. I haven't done this yet, because yes... too nervous. But I broke into the chat thing back in the 90s with book clubs... so maybe I can do the same with VR chat rooms? We'll see!

Or what would be really cool is to mix my two weird and crazy loves and watch kpop videos with other kpop friends from all over the world, but together using VR. Some day I think that will happen for sure, just as soon as headsets become the norm, like phones are now. 

Wait and see!

So... now I want to know. Do you have a VR headset? Do you want one or plan to get one someday? What do you think would be the coolest thing to do with it? Do you think it will become the norm for everyone to have one some day, just like phones are now?


9 comments:

  1. I have heard of Beat Saber. It is pretty popular, but I've never seen any game play. It looks hard. I have started a workout routine with a game as well. It is on the Switch, and it is called Knockout Home Fitness. I really like it.

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    1. Does the Switch game make you get up and move? Is it a boxing game? I love boxing stuff! LOL! Beat Saber isn't too hard on the easy and normal levels. But then wow, it gets hard fast!

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  2. I've heard of Beat Saber. I've watched people play it. I don't think I could do it because I'm not good and moving to a beat. I'm scared of VR because I think it will make me queasy and I don't want to fall flat on my face.

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    1. You'll have to try it sometime on on the easy level and just see what you think. Some VR stuff makes me queasy and some doesn't. It just depends on how it makes you move I guess. Beat Saber doesn't bother me at all. So far.

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  3. PS - Corey wants one, so I may try it out at some point.

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  4. I tried it at a relative's house once. It was very cool, but unsettling to think people are walking through the room and I am unaware! I have mixed feelings about it- I'm afraid I would easily get too involved in a game or exercise program, and neglect my real-world things!

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    1. I have turned an extra room into a workout room, so it helps that I can shut the door and be alone while do it. It helps A LOT! And yes, hopefully I will be using this when I need a break from real world things. And just as my normal exercise time too. So far it's working out pretty well.

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  5. Logan has one. The kids and I love it! Beat saber is fun and and a good work out! I love to sit on the floor and watch 3D videos of rollercoasters and lean with the direction of the vehicle. I also like to just sit in the 3D landscapes with noise cancelling headphones. It's very calming. My girls want to try some of the art programs. One let's you paint murals, another let's you create your own 3D images with your hands. There's even a pottery class! One daughter wants to get the anatomy program that has models of all the body systems and how they work together. Even my Mom liked a National Geographic elephant encounter. I almost bought a system for Christmas but realized that since we will be building a house this year and living in an RV we would not have enough room to play it. Maybe next year.

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    1. Oh the art ones sound fun! I know I'm just tapping the tip of the iceberg with what I can do with it. I need to explore around for sure! I haven't tried the rollercoaster ones yet. They scare me! And I've only done a bit of the 360 videos. They are so so cool...

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