MARK ZUCKERBERG’S LAIR – For years, VR Gamers have worked to create safe play areas. Tasks such as moving chairs, sliding coffee tables, and setting up baby gates have become part of a time-honored tradition for the safety-conscious gamer — until now. Sadly, it seems that Oculus Quest wants to do away with the peace and progress of a completely isolating VR experience. Critic Score reached out for exclusive interviews with Oculus Quest users for more information.
“When I put on my VR headset, the last thing I want to do is be reminded of my surroundings,” said Brady McLeod, a VR games enthusiast and father of three. “When I saw the new Oculus update, I was devastated.” The new update McLeod is referring to includes a “Space Sense” feature, and frankly, it should concern any parent or pet-owner who enjoys the numbing isolation of VR.
The Oculus Blog is disgustingly transparent about Space Sense, saying upfront that it “enables you to see when objects or people intrude on your Guardian bounds.” Essentially, if something moves into your play area, Space Sense highlights it like a form of predator-vision.
“I always had a fear of furniture moving on its own,” said McLeod, “but detecting people is a step too far, and definitely not safe. When I see one of my children walk into my play zone, there’s nothing I’d like to do more than just — [he pantomimes a punch] BLAM! You know?”
McLeod’s battered wife chimed in: “It used to be that I could slip past unnoticed when Brady was playing his VR, and I got pretty good at dodging swings. Now, with Space Sense, there’s really no chance for me to escape.”
Pet owner Frances Marino had similar safety concerns. “As a dog-momma of five, I need some me-time.” Marino claimed that previously, she would swing at the couch “just in case” a dog might be there. “Now, with Space Sense, there’s no guesswork to my reckless violence.”
Luckily, Space Sense is just an experimental feature, meaning that, at least for now, it can be turned on or off according to your level of bloodlust. Regardless, here at Critic Score, we find the feature to be nothing short of excessive. Space Sense works at a range of up to nine feet, making even the most open VR boundaries dangerous. McLeod said that when he discovered this range, his morbid curiosity got to the best of him. He set up in the middle of a local mall and reportedly “had the most cathartic Cooking Simulator VR experience of [his] life.”
Critic Score’s motto is “Safety First, Journalism Eventually.” For this reason, we are wholly against the new Oculus Quest update. Our final rating for this update, until Zuckerberg gives us some behind-the-counter cash, is a 0/6.5 stars.
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