What's the point of a 1:1 head tracking device in a first person shooter if your gun is fixed to the same old constraints that your head used to be? Well, developer Chris Gallizzi probably wondered the same thing as he has recently upload a YouTube video of his new Oculus Rift gun peripheral.
Gallizzi took to a local Play N' Trade store in his home of Los Angeles, California with a 3D printed prototype Oculus Rift gun. The device, which will allow for independent tracking from the virtual reality headset, is powered by bluetooth. Its design is close to that of an Semi Automatic Gun, but the peripheral aims to give Oculus users a tangible object to hold onto and use to aim when playing first person shooters with a variety of shooty weapons.
The prototype that Gallizzi took to the game store was demonstrated with Half-Life 2 – a game which has received official Oculus Rift support from Valve.
"This is an early body build that was 3d printed and using a pre-alpha script to send data via bluetooth," reads the YouTube video's description.
The video description also states that Gallizii's goal is to have the gun peripheral completed and ready for when the Oculus Rift device hits retail stores. He's also considering a developer version.
This wouldn't be the first device created to work in tandem with the Oculus Rift. The Virtuix Omni promises to bring full 360 degree movement to players so that they can actually walk around and perform full body movement in games.
In a few years, once these devices have reached consumer markets, video games might change drastically. The Oculus Rift is something that I would definitely like to own, but that will depend on the entry price. Is anyone in the comments looking forward to a future where virutal reality is a leisure activity?
Via: Polygon
