Gamers and developers agree: virtual reality (VR) is the next step in immersive gaming. Until the day we get holo-chambers with infinite space for movement, it’s the best we’re going to get as well. But at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco this week, several companies and startups are demonstrating their virtual reality setups, and there are some amazing things to see.

Intel RealSense

Before reaching the main area for VR demos, I tried out RealSense at the Intel gaming area. You can read all about that in the article here.

VirZOOM

The first stop in my virtual reality tour was VirZOOM, which stands out from the rest of the samples for one simple but important reason: it was a bike.

Well, more than just a bike; it was a stationary bike with built-in controls, and used custom games that were controlled by the bike’s pedals, trigger buttons on the handlebars, and the movements of the player’s head.

The demo had a few unique games, such as a Pegasus soaring through the sky to find gems, a tank shooting down enemy tanks, and a racing game where, if you look in the side-view mirror, you’ll see that you’re actually a dog.

Each one utilized the pedals on the bike to accelerate or slow down (I even got so caught up in it that at one point I pedaled right past the bandits I was trying to catch and had to stop to let them get ahead). Turning your head would change the view, and leaning to one side or the other would make the character turn; early designs used the handlebars for turning, but they found that testers would always lean their bodies anyway, so they went with it.

It was by far the most immersive of the demos I tried, given the physical aspect. Actually having to move to control the game was a really nice touch, and added an element of exercise to the gaming experience. While VirZOOM does not come with its own headset, it is designed to work with any of the current and upcoming VR headsets, and offers a developer kit to allow people to design their own games using the technology.

GameFace Labs

My next stop was the VR headset and wireless console from GameFace Labs. The 3D effects and graphics were impressive, and it responded very well to my head’s movement. That was a necessity, as the game had no other controller of which to speak – it was controlled solely by where I looked.

The game being demonstrated was a space shooter, where I was piloting a space fighter to shoot down enemy ships. Whenever I looked at a target, it would automatically shoot, and when I turned my head to look for more enemies, the camera would follow.

Not having a controller in hand added more to the immersion, and it was very responsive. At the same time, that limited what I could do without an augmented reality aspect to it. Still, impressive nonetheless.

Whirlwind VR

After trying out a racing game earlier, I realized that there was no true sense of acceleration; the seat can shake and rumble as I crash all it wants, but a true feeling of acceleration is hard to come by.

However, gamers may be able to really feel the wind in their hair with Whirlwind VR, which sets up two fans – one for cold air, one for hot – to add to the immersive experience.

After putting on the headset, I found myself in the middle of a “Clash of Clans” battle. The demo was video-only, so I couldn’t move or interact with anything, but the characters would still talk to me; at one point, a giant reached out to grab me, and I was half-concerned that the air fans would blow a blast of giant’s breath in my face. (Although that didn’t stop me from humming the “Attack on Titan” theme song when the colossal creature tried to eat me.)

When something crashed or got “poofed,” a blast of cold air timed itself to make me feel it. When a dragon burnt down the castle with fire, the heat danced around me like I was right outside the inferno. The feeling certainly added to the immersive experience, although being just a witness to a pre-programmed event detracted slightly; presumably it will work in other games, with the blasts and winds timed to coincide with certain events.

Roblox

Roblox was a basic VR setup, featuring a headset and controller. What made it unique was the fact that its games were all made by fans and independent developers, using its platform to make their own games.

The one I tried was pretty basic; a laser pointer indicated what I was looking at, and turning my head would change where I was looking accordingly, and using the right trigger would shoot a missile at it. The world itself was mostly made of LEGO-esque blocks, but games with more advanced textures were available.

MyDreamVR

MyDreamVR boasts to allow players to enjoy any game in virtual reality, and it wasn’t lying. The headset played the game in front of my eyes, while the controller sat in my hands to control my actions. It had two visual modes, one for first-person games (such as “Borderlands,” which is what I tried in the demo) and one that’s more pulled back for third-person games or those viewed from above.

Turning my head would make the character turn, just as using the right joystick did in the game. The joystick did the same, so I would often turn my head normally to look, then use the joystick to reorient my character accordingly.

While that did provide the most traditional and anticipated VR experience, it was the least immersive as a result. The games it used were not optimized for VR, so there was no sense of movement; it was basically playing the game in front of my eyes, but as it was a first-person perspective game, it did make it look like I was seeing things through the character’s eyes.

Idealens

Last but not least was Idealens, a sleek VR headset that, while lacking a physical controller, followed the player’s movements.

The demo was essentially a bullet-dodger. Missiles would shoot in slow-motion from one of two portals, and the player could sidestep, dodge, duck, or otherwise avoid them as they came.

Yes, “Matrix”-style dodging is a perfectly acceptable dodging method. I would know – I tried it. Catching or deflecting them, however, does not work, since there’s no Augmented Reality function.

The 3D and responsiveness of the headset was impressive, the demo definitely required the most upper-body movement, and I never once felt disoriented or dizzy while moving. It could be great for exploring worlds, although without additional controls or AR, interacting with said worlds would be a little trickier.

In Conclusion

While there were more VR headsets I haven’t yet had the chance to try, such as the Oculus Rift or the upcoming PlayStation headset, the ones I tested were all impressive, and unique in their own ways. Before today, I thought we were still years away from virtual reality gaming, but my experience at GDC has made a VR believer out of me.