When “Mirror’s Edge” first came out in 2008 it emphasis on parkour and avoiding combat felt fresh and innovative. A version running on the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality visor, looks to put you into the first-person action game.
The first-person gameplay of “Mirror's Edge” is a natural fit for the Rift's virtual reality visor. And although it's a little difficult to watch the footage looks good in stereoscopic 3D.
Cymatic Software is the developer behind the Oculus Rift port of the game. The Rift arrived earlier this month and Cymatic Software has been getting various Steam titles, including “Half Life 2” and “Team Fortress 2,” to work on the machine.
Cymatic lists its key observations for developers thinking of optimizing their game for the Rift:
- Camera “head bob” is not such a bad thing! In fact, I prefer it. Glide motion still makes me dizzy, even after a week of play.
- Cutscenes are probably best 'Half Life 2' style – let the player keep control. However, slow and steady camera movements work well. Avoid fast motion and radical rotation.
- Transitions are best when there is a fade to black or fade to white effect. Clean cuts are not as jarring as I expected them to be, but fade outs are better.
- Sound cannot be overstated. Make the environment immersive with high quality, realistic stereo sound.
- Horror implications? Rift peripheral + sound exploitation = NOPE.
All this "Mirror's Edge" talk got us thinking about a sequel to the original. Back in 2011 DICE told Spong that a sequel to the game would fit perfectly into the then market.
"We see that there's a huge fan following, it's almost like a cult! And we know what strengths we had, and what weaknesses we had in that game. If we were to release a new game, we'd know what to improve and how to reach a broader audience. So I definitely think there's a market there," DICE producer Patrick Liu said at the time. Maybe this footage will re-kindle that kind of talk.
Check out the Oculus Rift footage below