I know most people are 100% over the virtual reality craze that we all kind of try to forget never happened, but this new wave has me, and apparently a lot of developers, very interested. We're finally at that point where the technology is there for an unprecedented level of emersion that people call euphoric and drug-like. Probably the biggest hurdle is the price point, which for the best experience could likely put you back a couple grand if you don't have a modern gaming-quality PC. So it's hard to see anything taking off anytime soon without some seriously enticing software. This is why I think Square Enix should have waited and made FF7's return a VR title. Now, hear me out. The original was a game that was a landmark for how truly cinematic and beautiful it was to look at, so a reimagining would feel right at home on a VR device (presumably in this case, the PlayStation VR). Obviously, this would present challenges. You certainly can't create the same kind of game with this technology, or if you tried it would feel strange and out of place. This is why something built from the ground up with a new gameplay mechanic would be even more amazing than what we've seen from the current remake trailers. What kind of gameplay would we see? I'm not even sure how it would work, so maybe this is all a moot point. But even something akin to an adventure game would be something worth exploring. The environments in the game had so much charm and atmosphere, I firmly believe they could carry the game if this were to come about. Just imagine: since we won't see Cloud because you're playing as him, there's a huge opportunity to get creative here. His/your reflection in the buster sword (used to dramatic effect...if possible). And you could see him/yourself in those "out-of-body" experiences. There's a lot to explore there. Now, if Square is really feeling ambitious and daring, they would release the the next major installment in the series like this. The problem is, if they fail, it could set back the franchise and the perception of VR even further. I can't see anyone taking that kind of risk until VR adoption really takes off. It'll be interesting to see how things turn out, but I'm sure my suggestion will never come to be. VR tech will finally catch on once it's cheap, accessible, and most importantly, developers actually figure out what they're doing with it, and what works. Or, it could all completely flop again, and we'll see another attempt 10+ years down the line.
turnnoffyourmind
pixelskylines
jacobvanloon
blakekathryn
janainaart
origamiaround
stormborns
