I remember seeing my friend putting on the PS4 VR Headset for Resident Evil 7, her loud shrieks as she crumpled every household furniture in pure terror are some of my fondest memories of 2017.
That is what a good VR game does for you.
A VR game or a Virtual Reality game is a software experience where you put on a special headset and live inside the actual game as the game’s alternate reality is created around you. That way, you literally are inside the game world.
This is a new thing in the gaming, VR gaming, and you may say that it is a phase like those old MS-DOS games where they would film actual people playing to the tune of your actions like some interactive cut-scene. But it has no phase mate.
The VR gaming market is about to reach new heights, reports say that by 2022 this particular gaming industry is going to cross $27 Billions! So if you are a developer hoping to make VR games that would rock this new world and set you up as a big shot VR game developer, here are a few things you should take notes about.
Some common challenges you should work upon with VR game development –
- A Hardcore Fresh Game Idea –
Start with creating a VR specific game scene inside your head that you could pitch to yourself or to some gaming producer. If it rocks both you and the producer then you could create a game around that/those scenes. You’ll have to keep your target audience in mind while doing this, whether they are teenagers or adults or children, whom you are making the game for?
- Choose wisely the VR device you will sell your game on!
Light Mobile VR like Google Cardboard, Premium Mobile VR like Daydream, PC VR-Headsets like Oculus Rift, Standalone Solutions like Oculus Go or Console VR like Sony PlayStation VR – which VR device do you want to go with? Which one do you think is popular and a better machine for the range of your great game idea?
- Select the graphic type for your VR game –
The development cost of your VR game will obviously depend on the type of graphics you are going to implement upon the game. 2D graphics? They are detailed and pretty popular but 3D is 3D. 3D graphics, they are suave and real-like but they cost too much. Photorealistic graphics? What, you are developing another Crysis game? And finally, 360 panoramic video – it is very crafty to add interactive elements to a 360 panoramic video. Choose in accordance with the picture in your mind!
- Selecting the game development platform –
There are basically two, UNITY and Unreal game engines. Unity supports both 2D and 3D graphics, it also supports all consoles, mobiles and desk web platforms, has proven excellence for great quality games and has plenty of plugins plus assisting tools. While Unreal engine is a better option for console based games, has open source codes for devs, is better suited for AAA games.
- Select an appropriate developer –
Always go for an experienced team for your game development purposes, they will do the thing within the deadline without much dwindling on the technical aspect of the project saving you a lot of money.
- Game Research and Development –
Just make sure to test out your game prototypes, after every single game development iteration, gaining feedback from your target players. This will give you a better grip at what you might expect from the finished product.
- Publishing Market –
Make your game visible, it should be seen by your target audience when you are done creating and testing your game. Get an experienced PR and marketing team to work on the product release.
Challenges in Testing VR Games –
VR games are just like your regular video games so their testing is supposed to be kind of similar however there are a few problems that arise with VR game testing for VR games QA testers –
- No Communication –
How is a guy supposed to play video games and take notes when there is a melon sized thing on his head and eyes? The QA tester has to be ‘inside’ the game so there is no direct connection to his/her outside world while testing. Neither can they write-up a bug report nor can they just make a check up list inside their heads every time they go in. So who’s going to report bugs and maintain the to-do list?
- Virtual Reality Sickness–
There is a term created called ‘VR Sickness’ and it was created solely because of the new VR gaming technology. It is a situation where your health starts to deteriorate because of exposure to, well, VR Gaming. You feel the symptoms of motion sickness, symptoms like nausea, headache, general discomfort, fatigue, sweating, drowsiness and even vomiting can happen. So you know VR game testing is something that can actually hurt you physically!
- Keep the space clean –
When testers are inside the game, they could, in the real world, run into a wall or kick around the furniture or worse yet throw off the computer and devices that are there to record bugs, that is another issue you will have to handle.
Problems that arise when working on a VR game which is under development –
If you have not finished coding your VR game properly, then abstract from game testing for now, if you do go with VR app testing, these are the big problems that you could face –
- Non-Standard Interface Issues –
GUI testing and usability testing creates issues. Since you are using these GUI not by touch screens or by pushing buttons but with your body positions and interactions in a 3D space, that makes things a bit difficult.
- Compatibility Issues –
Even after carefully crafting your game upon some pre-decided VR platform, your software may still get its performance slowed down. Also overheating in the devices may arise.
- Motion Testing Issues –
Motion Testing is when all the user generated motion data is accurately processed and imposed on the VR image, when that fails you will see an object hovering inside the AR.
How to Deal with the problems related with VR game testing –
- In order to stay away from VR sickness as much as possible follow all the safety regulations as provided with the VR headset
- Take 15 minutes break after 30 minutes of playing to give rest to your eyes
- Put a testing partner to hold/direct you away from self-harm
- Memorize the to-do cases as you go in and remember your bug reports as you come out
- Wait for testing till the present VR game iteration is done completely
- Those who are not susceptible for any kind of motion sickness or seizures should do the testing
How to keep the tester’s eyes and brain safe from VR testing?
- Blink a lot while inside the VR game
- Take a 15-minute break after 30 minutes of play-through
- Make sure that the VR headset isn’t too heavy
- Make sure that the projected images are neither too bright nor too sharp
- Massage eyes and temples as you rest your eyes
- Also, while resting, stretch, walk around, take deep breaths.
- The resolution of images should not be low
Conclusion –
As with any other technology, VR is here to stay, even though it seems to be bugged with problems of its own, with the passing time they will all be taken care of. VR gaming is the future and it is showing its stability and need already in the market. And if you want to join the bandwagon, then start working on your dream VR project right now and only go with experienced VR game & app testing teams.
