![the climb vr rocks the climb vr rocks](https://6dofreviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/The-Climb-Oculus-Quest-Review-3-1024x576.jpg)
“While the visuals are still very apparently a representation of reality, the audio is perceived as realistic, even if it is a totally manufactured reality. Since most VR is experienced with headphones, Pressey feels there is an opportunity to improve the binaural presentation of the audio, and to improve 3D positional audio with personalized HRTFs and Ambisonics. So even though the player is listening through two speakers, he/she perceives sounds as coming from the left, the right, in front, behind, above and below. Then, using the Oculus audio SDK via the middleware, those audio signals are being downmixed to binaural stereo, which gets HRTF (head related transfer function) processing, adding a spatialized effect to the sounds. He explains that the sounds start as mono source-points, positioned in a 3D space using middleware like Wwise. That plug-in provides HRTF binaural encoding, adding the z-axis that you don’t normally experience even with surround sound,” says Pressey. Early on we started working with the Oculus-provided 3D encoder plug-in for Audiokinetic’s Wwise, which Oculus includes with their audio SDK. We knew that it would be a binaural experience. “We were designing for a known playback variable. For Pressey, that meant knowing the exact sound playback system of the end user, a real advantage from a design and mix standpoint. One key feature of the Oculus Rift is the integrated audio - it comes equipped with headphones. You can see that it’s a long way down, and it feels like a long way down.” When you turn around in The Climb, you can see a thousand feet below you. “You can look away from the screen in a traditional game, but you can’t in VR. Even still, flaws and all, first-gen VR headsets give the player a stronger connection to his/her actions in-game than was previously possible with traditional 2D (flat screen) games. Details in the audio actually help the brain process the visuals faster. Since the visuals aren’t perfect imitations of reality, the audio is vital for maintaining immersion and supporting the game play. “By the third-generation of this, I’m sure we’ll have visuals you can’t tell apart from reality.” “It’s going to get better,” promises Pressey. Keep in mind that this is first-generation VR technology. So how detailed it looks depends on the Rift’s capabilities.” We are running at a resolution that the Rift can handle. “The details of how the rocks look up close - the color, the graininess and texture - they are as close to photorealistic as we can get in the Oculus Rift. While the locations Crytek designed aren’t perfect geographical imitations, geologically they’re pretty accurate. Still, we liked the idea of representing different areas of the world,” he says. “But to make the climbing interesting and compelling, we found that real geography wasn’t the way to go. They could have taken GPS data of anywhere in the world and turned that into a level on The Climb. Players climb, swing and j ump their way up increasingly difficult rock faces modeled after popular climbing destinations in places like Indonesia, the Grand Canyon and The Alps.Ĭrytek’s director of audio, Simon Pressey, says their game engine, CryEngine, is capable of UltraHD resolutions higher than 8K. Dealing with locomotion, such as walking and especially running, is a challenge for VR content developers - but what hasn’t been a challenge in creating VR content? Climbing, on the other hand, has proved to be a simple, yet interesting, locomotion that independent game developer Crytek found to be sustainable for the duration of a full-length game.Ĭrytek, known for the Crysis game series, recently released their first VR game title, The Climb, a rock climbing adventure exclusively for the Oculus Rift.