Oculus Rift
Part of a series on Virtual Reality / VR. [View Related Entries]
About
Oculus Rift is a virtual reality head-mounted display (HMD) being developed by Oculus VR. After a protype debuted at 2012's Electronic Entertainment Expo, the first batch of developer systems were initially funded through a Kickstarter campaign.
History
Oculus Rift creator Palmer Luckey[1] had been collecting HMDs for years, seeking one that would fit his needs.[2] After getting a Virtual Research V8[3] and learning that its 60 degree field of vision was one of the best on the market, Luckey realized that he would have to develop his own model. As a moderator of the Meant to Be Seen 3D (MTBS3D) forums for stereoscopic gaming enthusiasts, Luckey began working on his own HMD project. He named the organization Oculus and HMD itself "Rift," based on the idea that a HMD unit creates a breach between actual and virtual realities. On April 15th, 2012, he announced to the MTBS3D forum that he had completed the optics, display panels and interface hardware for the project, with the hopes of launching a Kickstarter campaign to fund the first batch of systems on June 1st. As of July 2013, this thread has generated more than 4,200 posts.
E3 Debut
By June 2013, Id Software founder John Carmack (shown below) had signed on to support the project and brought a prototype demo to that year's Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3). This demo showed a Rift with a 90 degree horizonal view and a 110 degree vertical view, offering a wider field of view than anything on the market. The system was playable with a version of Doom 3. Carmack asserted that they could have consumer-friendly versions of the system within a year. The journalists that tested the system had rave reviews[4], calling it "a level of immersion genuinely unlike anything else [they] have ever encountered."
Kickstarter Campaign
On August 1st, 2012, the Kickstarter[5] fundraiser for Oculus Rift launched, looking to raise $250,000 within 30 days. With support from big-name developers including Valve's Gabe Newell, the project was completely funded within 24 hours.[6] Just over two weeks in to the campaign, more than 5,000 development kits had been sold[7], causing Luckey to remind consumers that this version of the Rift was directed at developers and would not be a consumer-ready product. Despite that, the Kickstarter campaign closed on September 1st, 2012 with 9,522 backers pledging a total of $2,437,429, making it the most funded Technology Kickstarter project at the time. As of July 2013, it is now the second-most funded, beaten by the Form 1 3D printer, which raised more than $2.9 million in October 2012.
Developer Kits Released
Though they were originally set to be released in December 2012, the sets were delayed until March 2013.[8] That month, tech and gaming blogs including Engadget[10], IGN[11] and Polygon[12] all reported testing out the system with rave reviews. On March 29th, 2013, Oculus VR announced[9] that the headset kits had begun shipping to backers. The Oculus SDK software source code, along with the source codes for the sample games, were made available online for developers to tool around with. The Rift also came with access to the Unreal Engine and a virtual reality edition of Team Fortress 2. As early as March 29th, backers began to receive their headsets and started posting video reviews of the systems and its games online.
Acquisition by Facebook
On March 25th, 2014, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg posted a status update on his Facebook page announcing that his company has acquired Oculus VR, adding that the virtual reality technology will be integrated into the platform as a tool for gaming and other social interactions among its users. That same day, the Facebook Newsroom[26] blog confirmed that the company has reached a merger and acquisition agreement with Oculus VR for approximately $2 billion USD.
Also on March 25th, the tech news blog Engadget[22] published an article about the acquisition, noting that Zuckerberg planned to use the Oculus Rift for advertising in the future. Meanwhile, the header of the /v/ (video games) board on 4chan was changed to read “Where were you when gaming died?” and multiple sticky threads were created to discuss the acquisition. In addition, the song “Komm, Susser Tod” (German for “Come, Sweet Death”) from the anime movie End of Evangelion was looped in the board’s background audio.
The Oculus Rift Kickstarter page was subsequently flooded with criticisms about the acquisition, with many backers of the campaign expressing feelings of betrayal by Oculus VR.
On March 26th, Redditor ohgodimsodumb submitted an image macro juxtaposing Oculus VR CTO John Carmack's description of the Rift as a hacking-friendly device with Oculus VR CEO Brendan Iribe's more recent description of the headset as a social communication tool (shown below) in an /r/gaming post[25] titled “Why Oculus pissed us off.” Within three hours, the post reached the front page of Reddit with upwards of 13,300 up votes and 2,600 comments.
Reception
Following the release of the initial developer kits, Oculus VR successfully closed a $16 million round of funding on June 17th, 2013.[20] As of July 2013, there are more than 203,000 search results for "oculus rift" on YouTube.[21]
Highlights
Oculus Rift-Supported Video Games
Probably Archery (First Person Shooter)
Alone (Survival Horror)
Red Frame (First Person Adventure)
Qbeh (Platformer)
Racer (Simulation Racing)
Retrovirus (First Person Shooter)
Skycall – Rook Island (Flight Simulation)
Slender: The Arrival (Survival Horror)
Star Citizen (Massively Multiplayer)
Strike Suit Zero (Space Combat Simulation)
Surgeon Simulator 2013 (Simulation)
Team Fortress 2 (First Person Shooter)
War Thunder (Massively Multiplayer)
Daylight (Survival Horror)
EVE Valkyrie (Space Combat Simulation)
DARK (Stealth / Action RPG)
Dream (First Person Adventure)
Euro Truck Simulator 2 (Vehicle Simulation)
Half-Life: Source (First Person Shooter)
Half-Life 2 (First Person Shooter)
Hawken (First Person Shooter)
Minecraft (Sandbox Survival)
Among the Sleep (Survival Horror)
Second Life (Massively Multiplayer)
Architecture
In the world of architecture, virtual reality technology has allowed consumers to view things that would be difficult to transport before they buy them, through projects like the virtual warehouse (shown below) created by Jon Brouchoud, creator of 3D design group Arch Virtual. He explained the ultimate goal of utilizing Oculus Rift within his field saying:
"The holy grail is that architectures and designers will be able to create in an iterative way, within the building. Making decisions, reaching out and moving walls in real time."
Space Exploration
NASA[28] is able to simulate the experience of walking on the surface of Mars by using their satellite images of the planet and the Oculus Rift headset.
Outdoor Exploration
Palmer Luckey,[34] the founder of Oculus, has suggested that the technology could be used to take students on virtual field trips that would allow them to explore distant locations without much cost. Luckey went on to explain the technology could be used by students to experience things they couldn’t possibly with any amount of money, like seeing planets to scale. In the fall of 2013, Roberta Firstenberg[29], an elderly woman suffering from terminal cancer and too weak to go outside, was able to experience the outdoors once more after her granddaughter Priscilla explained her grandmother’s wish to the team behind Oculus Rift.
Autism Education
Many educators teaching autistic children believe that Oculus Rift could be used as a way for autistic children to experience new situations and environments, which can be very stressful for them[30], in a way that seems more manageable for them. Mathieu Marunczyn[31], a teacher in Australia, believes her autistic students respond well to games on Oculus Rift because they're predictable and don't overload the students with too much stimulation.
Anxiety and Phobia Treatment
Some therapists suggest Oculus Rift can be used to create virtual exposure therapy[32] for patients suffering from phobias. For example, Cristian Sirbu of the University of West Virginia has a program that presents the Oculus Rift user with a fear of public speaking with a virtual unresponsive or hostile crowd. Another Oculus Rift program (shown below) allows those afraid of heights to experience a virtual journey across a suspended beam, with the virtual reality heightened with the use of a fan to simulate wind.
PTSD Therapy
Many mental health care professionals believe Oculus Rift can similarly be used by patients suffering from post traumatic stress disorder. Patients are able to relive combat situations[33] and be confronted by any triggers they may have in a controlled environment. The lower cost of the technology and the increased immersiveness makes Oculus Rift a more viable option for mental health professionals to use than previous virtual reality systems.
Virtual Field Trips
Palmer Luckey[34], creator of Oculus Rift, has suggested that the technology could be used to take students on virtual field trips that would allow them to explore distant locations without much cost. Luckey went on to explain the technology could be used by students to experience things they couldn't possibly with any amount of money, like seeing planets to scale.
Online Presence
Oculus VR[13] maintains a number of active social media profiles on Google+[14], Twitter[15] and Facebook[16], where they have more than 27,000 likes as of July 2013. Fans of the system congregate on Reddit in /r/Oculus[17], which has more than 9,700 subscribers as of July 2013, the Meant to Be Seen 3D forums[18] and the official developer community.[19]
Search Interest
External References
[1] Twitter – @PalmerLuckey
[2] Road to VR – Q&A With Palmer Luckey, Creator of the Oculus Rift
[3] Virtual Research Systems – V8 Head Mount Display
[4] Road to VR – Virtual Reality and Oculus Rift E3 2012 Interview with John Carmack [video]
[5] Kickstarter – Oculus Rift: Step Into the Game
[6] Wired UK – Oculus Rift VR headset gets Kickstarter funding in a day
[7] Wired – VR Headset Maker Oculus: Please, Don’t Back Our Kickstarter
[8] Eurogamer – Oculus Rift Kickstarter dev kits delayed from December to March
[9] Oculus VR – Development Kits are Shipping!
[10] Engadget – Virtual Reality now: hands-on with the Oculus Rift final development kit
[11] IGN – Oculus Rift Hawken Demo Impressions
[12] Polygon – Oculus Rift developer kit hands-on: As advertised
[18] Meant to Be Seen 3D – MTBS' Official Oculus Rift Forum
[19] Oculus VR – Developer Forums
[20] Forbes – Oculus VR Closes $16M Funding Round – Oculus Rift Team To Double
[21] YouTube – Search Results for "oculus rift"
[22] Engadget – Facebook is buying Oculus VR for $2 billion, plans to 'unlock new worlds for all of us'
[23] Facebook – Mark Zuckerberg
[24] YouTube – Komm, Susser Tod
[25] Reddit – Why Oculus pissed us off
[26] Facebook Newsroom – Facebook to Acquire Oculus
[27] Engadget – Facebook Oculus 2 billion
[28] Kotaku – NASA Creates A Virtual Mars You Can Explore With The Oculus Rift
[29] The Daily Dot – Granddaughter uses Oculus Rift to grant her grandmother's dying wish
[30] Master Classroom – Oculus Rift Virtual Reality – A Coping and Role-play Tool for Autism
[31] Tech Radar – Five incredible ways Oculus Rift will go beyond gaming
[32] New Scientist – Virtual reality therapy cures fears and phobias
[33] The Verge – Virtual Rx: how Oculus Rift could revolutionize mental health
[34] The Verge – Virtual reality has huge implications for education, Oculus Rift creator says
[35] Road to VR – MakeVR Kickstarter Canceled, Sixense Promises Reboot Soon
![MY SUBREDDITS - DASHBOARD FRONT- ALL-RANDOM FRIENDS add shortcuts from the ubreddits menu at left or click the button by t ubreddit name, drag and to so reddit Palmer response L... Palmer Luckey on Twitter: "I prefer production that can keep up with demand, but much prefer shortages to the opposite problem! No burying Rifts in desert landfills." (twitter.com) OCULUS comments other discussions (1) show images (8) 395 points submitted 4 months ago by TRaptor。DK2 1020 comments source sav ide give gold report hide a ild comments sorted by: best▼ navigate by:submitter moderator you are viewing a single comment's thread riend me admin highlighted tagged gildedIAmA images videos |popular new view the r t of the comments [-] palmerluckey Founder, Oculus -880 points 4 months ago . 2 Judging from the comments in this thread, people seem to have already forgotten that we were sold out till summer even before the component shortage pushed some people further out DAE Jan 6th shitstorm? Pepperidge Farms remembers perma source embed save save-RES report give gold reply hide c comments ndomawesome 3623 points 4 months ago" (last edited 2 months ago . 7 DAE Jan 6th shitstorm? Pepperidge Farms remembers oh Palmer, do you really want to play the memory game? Pepperidge Farms remembers a lot more than that Remember when you said you were going to scale up production to meet demand? Pepperidge Farms remembers Remember how you said "Retail is a fine option... but by Pepperidge Farms remembers Remember when "granular shipping updates" were happening soon? Pepperidge Farms remembers or g you reserve your place in line . Remember how "pretty s-----" Xbox controllers are for VR? Pepperidge Farms remembers Remember when you said "I guarantee that you won't need to log into your Facebook account every time you wanna use the Oculus Rift.", but now it just secretly logs you into Facebook servers automatically every time you wanna use the Oculus Rift? Pepperidge Farms remembers . Remember when you said no ads, but then Oculus Rift's Privacy Policy references marketing by saying "To market to you. We use the information we collect to send you promotional messages and content and otherwise market to you on and off our Services. We also use this information to measure how users respond to our marketing efforts." Pepperidge Farms remembers . Remember when you guys said "Don't poison the well"? But then you were the ones to do exactly that in 2016 with motion sickness and exclusivity deals? Article 2. Article 3. Pepperidge Farms remembers Remember how "If it (Rift CV1) doesn't come out by the end of next year (2015), then something's gone wrong."? Pepperidge Farms remembers . Remember when the Rift CV1 was in the "$350 Ballpark"? Pepperidge Farms remembers Remember "if something's even $600, it doesn't matter how good it is, how great of an experience it is - if they just can't afford it, then it really might as well not exist."? Pepperidge Farms remembers Remember when you used to "have confidence in your product months before launch? Pepperidge Farms remembers Remember when you mocked someone for trying to use your own DK2 with the Oculus store in the midst of a major launch clusterfuck? Pepperidge Farms remembers Remember when you said Valve has the best VR tech in the world? Pepperidge Farms remembers because you wouldn't lock down reviews . Remember when you said Rift wasn't going to have Fresnel lenses "because they kill contrast, add a variety of annoying artifacts, and don't actually save all that much weight"? Pepperidge Farms remembers Remember when you said "O community first, and not sell out to a large company", but then you sold out to a large company? Pepperidge Farms remembers Remember when you said "it is not like we just paid for exclusivity on existing games" but then just paid for excluS is going forward in a big way, but a way that ets me focus on the on ex 1. Giant Cop-even after they had already taken pre-orders for the Vive version 2. Adr1ft 3. Serious Sam VR... well, not quite. You tried offering "a shitton of money" bu they rejected i 0 5. Minecraft .Speaking of Minecraft, remember all the money, negotiating, and PR b------- took to get Minecraft to work (poorly) on Oculus? Sick journalist 2. Sick journalist 3. Oculus even brought ginger candy to the event, which are a common cure for motion sickness. Remember how you also said "That (Minecraft) is not going to work well directly ported to VR.", but then you did anyway? Remember then how one person made a Minecraft mod for Vive officially supported version? Pepperidge Farms remembers Remember how it "Turns out we're all too different to just use one facial interface." so the Rift would ship with multiple faceplates? Pepperidge Farms remembers Remember when you said they want. As I have said a million times, our goal is not to profit by locking people to only our hardware" bu then you added updates to lock out software that mods it to run on whatever people wanted (ie, ReVive for Vive)? Pepperidge Farms remembers that doesn't cause motion sickness and is much better as a VR game than your stomers buy a game from us, I don't care if they mod it to run on whatev s Palmer, Pepperidge Farms remembers. In fact, they have an entire wing dedicated to foot-in-mouth syndrome, so they definitely won't forget you any time soon But to get back on topic, this "shortage" totally has nothing to do with Oculus' track record of manufacturing incompetence and stepping on pre-orders/kickstarters to get to retail first, right? EDIT: spelling, grammar, formatting. more memo rm source embed save save-RES parent report give gold reply](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/list/001/171/024/409.png "Palmer Luckey gets told")
Top Comments
2Bucks
Mar 25, 2014 at 07:48PM EDT
Memelord
Mar 26, 2014 at 08:38PM EDT