That stupid smile

I waffled (as I often do) about getting PSVR. Beat Saber was a solid choice for me, because of the way it tickled my DDR neurons, but yesterday I tried the demo for Moss. The whole time I had this stupid smile as this game gave me experiences I've not had anywhere else. Back in the late 80s, I was one of the few people to adopt sega's 3D video game glasses. These were shutter glasses pointed at a normal CRT screen, alternating frames to each eye by darkening an LCD. Because classic TVs refreshed at 60hz, each eye was being shuttered at 30hz, which is quiet easy to see. I didn't care. I thought this was awesome and over the years I would often pursue 3D gaming from time to time (reminds me, I need to sell my old 3d monitor.) And I think the whole time I've been waiting for what Moss did.

It's not just the VR technology, though that's a starting point (quality of the motion tracking is is key.) It's that the developers of this game used depth and scale to an amazing degree. Quill, the mouse main character, runs around a small diorama right in your lap, but then beyond is this simplified, but amazingly complex forest backdrop. Luckily the game was forgiving of just taking a moment to look 360 around yourself after a scene change, because I did.

I haven't felt that sense of novelty and joy in a long time, so I am so happy I took the VR plunge.