Episode 6 of our Insights Live focussed on the future of immersive gaming. Our guests included Jerome Champigny from Tidal Force VR, Akash Bellippady from Unlocked Reality, and Tony Bevilacqua from Cognitive 3D. The panel was moderated by Sam Watts from Make Real.
Our experts discussed the development of XR games, barriers to wider adoption, and the influence of the metaverse. Check out the highlights below.
The Key Highlights
Do we need more competition when it comes to distributing XR games? Are we moving towards closed-door marketplaces?
- Competition is essential and we will see more closed marketplaces emerge.
- VR is following the example of mobile. There will be an increased focus on curation as a result.
- While it is easy to be critical of closed content marketplaces they do have their advantages.
- For example, closed content ecosystems enable curated onboarding experiences.
- Bad or complicated experiences will lead to both content and platform abandonment. This is essential for people using VR for the first time.
How will we bring traditional gaming support and mechanisms to XR? How do you see metrics and analytics working in XR game development?
- Spatial metrics are an existing problem that have not been addressed. Even in PC and consoles.
- The tools to reveal user experience in virtual environments are limited. VR exacerbates this problem.
- For location-based installations the issues are different. Designers and game masters can see pain points and make changes quicker.
- There is still a big difference between home use and LBE. LBE enables higher-fidelity experiences and works across the spectrum of XR.
Will VR get to the point where it is competing with traditional gaming experiences? And will it remain niche?
- Consumer VR in its current form will never be the same as traditional console gaming. Although it has the potential to be a social experience it is not at the moment.
- We need more data on retention. How long are people using headsets for?
- VR has a lot of pain points that make it difficult to keep drawing people back.
- Addressing these pain points, such as the space requirements associated with VR and the lack of social gaming experiences is essential.
- It is a complex market, hardware needs to see consumer adoption to keep developing their devices.
- But at the moment there is an exponential investment that will lead to newer experiences that could change the landscape of XR gaming.
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