Like chocolate and peanut butter, Minecraft and virtual reality go together about as well as two things can. This is easily one of the best things I’ve done in VR.
Here’s a video of me playing some of the game:
I’m playing a version of Minecrift that’s been designed to work with the HTC Vive. To play it, you’ll need a Vive and a copy of the game itself. I followed these installation instructions and it worked without a hitch.
The Vive version of Minecraft is much like the regular game, albeit slower in most respects. Your right hand holds your tool or weapon while your left hand holds your inventory and crafting interface somewhat like a digital painter’s palette as seen in Google’s Tilt Brush VR painting app. (In the video I say “easel” instead of “palette”. Sorry, painters.) You move things around in storage or in your inventory by using your right hand as a pointer, which feels very natural. Allocating crafting resources takes a bit more finagling than it does using a mouse and keyboard, but I’ve gotten used to it pretty quickly.
You move around by teleporting, rather than walking, which is a common approach for VR games. It seems like it might be weird, but it actually doesn’t bother me at all. There’s an option to walk forward like normal, but I don’t really use it. It doesn’t make me nauseous, but it feels awkward and unnatural compared with the teleportation options.
The current VR version of Minecraft is pretty polished, but it does still feel like a work in progress. I’m guessing there will be more customisable controls and some general performance and interface improvements in the future. All the same, this is one of the most immersive and impressive things you can do in VR. If you have a Vive, check it out.
Comments
10 responses to “Minecraft In Virtual Reality Is The Real Deal”
I don’t understand why the teleportation is necessary? Don’t you have a controller? Pushing up in that controller should make you move forward, no?
Teleportation is generally a way to combat motion sickness and disorientation cause in people physically standing still but seeing them self move in VR. (its also a lazy way of doing things 😛 )
Personally I dont like it because I dont get motion sickness but from everything iv read online, more people get sick than those who dont, majority rule?
Yep, this has pretty much been a case of the majority seemingly getting easily sick. I don’t get sick at all. In fact yesterday I was playing with the fan made VR implementation for Jedi Academy, running around like a madman and force chocking everyone. My wife was looking at the on monitor view and telling me she was feeling sick just looking at that! I’m happier when devs leave an opt-in option somewhere to toggle stick locomotion as it teleportation does kill a bit of the immersion in terms of exploring and feeling like you’re travelling in the VR world
Now that sounds wikid, im gonna have to check it out!
Turned my spare room into my VR room so lots of fun will be had!
For those who don’t have a VR headset (i.e. most of us) you should absolutely try vanilla Minecraft’s 3D mode with a pair of red/blue glasses (you know, the paper kind you used to get at the movies but can now pick up from kids magazines).
It’s seriously the best implementation of that type of 3D that I’ve seen in any game, ever, AND it’s been cooked into Minecraft for a long time now but so few people know of it or use it.
Heh. Wasn’t announcement of the 3D feature bouncing around on the title screen as a text label for like… a year or so?
I reckon people actually read that as just filler… like the crap you read when loading up a game of the Sims!
Hey, splines are real things that are real, and reticulating them is a vital part of the loading process.
Elite Dangerous has an inbuilt anaglyphic 3D mode like that too, and combined with TrackIR/OpenTrack/similar, it’s pretty damn amazing. Even if it does screw with the colours. Next best thing to having a headset, for sure – if not maybe a little better in some aspects, eg higher pixel density at the cost of FOV.
Yeah they need a optional move around function. Forcing everyone to teleport is a bit annoying.
I do not have access to some features. Is it a hardware problem or is it a game problem? I’m playing here.
I do not have access to some features. Is it a hardware problem or is it a game problem? I’m playing here https://virivr.com.au