Until now, virtual reality has presented “personal” adventures. With so many technical details to resolve, one might think that multiplayer sessions should remain in the background. However, the project known as Real Virtuality shows us part of the enormous potential of shared virtual reality between two or more players.
A defining year for virtual reality
All guns are pointed at 2016. The virtual reality world will present its greatest exponents to the market, with the Oculus Rift at the forefront, and consumers will finally be able to see if the wait was worth it. Another thing we must do is keep a close eye on the experience dilemma. A sharp edge in hardware is tolerable up to a point, but if what the software offers turns out to be poor, virtual headsets will most likely gather dust in a box. We have seen countless first-person game demos, and no one says they are bad, but this stage of virtual reality should open with a healthy number of new projects in the application field.
Real Virtuality: a promising platform
For the moment, the best examples we have seen rely not only on code but also on environmental modifications. One of them is Real Virtuality, a project led by the company Artanim. The goal of Real Virtuality is to develop a platform that combines real and virtual spaces with precision, providing a much higher level of interactivity. The most notable thing about Real Virtuality is that it is not limited to a single person. The video shows us two participants, each with their Oculus Rift, exploring what appears to be an ancient Egyptian tomb. Both manage to shake hands, share a torch, and even pass it in the air.
The main limitation of Real Virtuality is undoubtedly the need for a full-scale real space to interact without errors with the virtual environment. Added to this is an infrared motion capture system, several calibrations, and precise tracking of each participant’s head to reduce the impact of latency. Even so, the people at Artanim have found something here. Real Virtuality will definitively be established as the first reference when talking about “multipayer virtual reality”, and it is likely that all subsequent projects will have to measure themselves against the same standard.
