Oculus Touch: A Much Needed Hand Of Help

Mar 25
07:24

2016

S M Enayet Karim

S M Enayet Karim

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From the get go, Oculus VR, and VR in general, had to face one big problem with their product. There is no easy way to immerse someone in a fantasy world, especially when that someone is expecting to see his hands moving when he wants them, or even sense things that he touches.

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Unfortunately,Oculus Touch: A Much Needed Hand Of Help Articles we’re light years away from a sci-fi experience to the likes of Sword Art Online, but we’re getting there. In E3 2015, Oculus VR unveiled a great product that will accompany their headset: Oculus Touch.

Oculus Touch is a pair of tracked controllers that resemble a fist. They’re easy to hold, easy to pick up, and easy on the eye. Oculus VR designed their solution to the whole “touching” problem with a new controller that even let’s you give the thumbs up. What’s more neat than that? Right? (I already picture million likes coming this way.)

Other than that, the design incorporates a set of buttons on the top with a joystick dominating above them all. That way, when you want to move forward, you won’t have to keep pressing W on the keyboard, but instead move your thumb, something that is ten times easier.

The need for a simple solution like that was prominent since all the big competitors of the Rift have already found their own solution. It’s not perfect yet, and it will not get released until the later semester of 2016, but it’s still coming, and it’s still coming strong.

Some titles have already confirmed Oculus Touch support. One of them is Job Simulator. It’s a game simulating different jobs in the future, like cooking and selling things. It might not sound interesting, or thrilling, to wear a headset and end up in a world pretty much like ours, but the upper side is that you can become a chef, even if that’s not your major.

Next, we can’t but mention the almost iconic Surgeon Simulator. A crazy, unique game that gets you in the unfortunate position of an amateur surgeon trying to save a man’s life in the most unbelievable situations (there is a stage were you are operating on an alien in a space station, with zero gravity). Oculus Touch sounds like a great addition, especially since it means that it will also be Oculus Rift supported.

Dead & Buried is a sci-fi, Wild West game which gets you to the position of a wild, virtual, cowboy. As you probably imagine, Touch will be essential in making the experience even more immersive. What comes next is an RTS game (yes, you got that right) called Moon Strike. Big Dorks studio designed the whole game with the controller in mind, making a special title with great prospect.

Last, but not least, Bullet Train is a different game from Epic Games studio. You take the role of a special agent trying to get rid of many bad guys in over the top, Unreal Engine powered environments. The secret behind this game’s success is the fact that it comes up with many great ideas to differentiate itself from other FPS games. For example, you can slow down time and deflect bullets to your enemies, or even teleport behind them and kill them. The only hindrance (which in my opinion is a blessing) is the fact that everything happens from a fixed point of view. So, even though the game is action-packed, you can’t easily get motion sick.

Oculus Touch sounds like a great addition to an already immersive experience. Until the time that it gets released, keep checking our site for more news about everything VR related.

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