Graphics Pioneer Ken Perlin on Valve's VR System: "A threshold has been crossed, and I have seen another world."

Ken Perlin recently got a demo of Valve's VR system, and because Ken's a computer graphics/VR/avatar development pioneer (Valve used his software as a reference for the character animations in Half-Life 2), I'm inclined to take his assessment seriously. And he assesses spectacularly:

What is different about this demo is that they have all the little details right, and this is an area in which all the little details really matter. As you move your head, the world moves around you as though you are really there, with none of those little delays that tell your subconscious that what you are seeing is fake.

Here's a look at the demo he was seeing in full VR, and his final takeaway:

But perhaps the most important thing was the absolute confirmation that the details really do matter. In this demo, unlike all the others I have seen, a threshold has been crossed, and I have seen another world.

You know, we mostly talk about Oculus the company because it has the first mover advantage and the Facebook money and stars like John Carmack. But that's in large part because Valve hasn't yet dropped the hammer. What if everything in VR suddenly shifted Gabe Newell's way?

Hat tip: Reddit's Oculus group. Image via TechCrunch.

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[Ezra]

"What if everything in VR suddenly shifted Gabe Newell's way?"

Gabe's way is Oculus Rift's way.

Valve contributes their VR research to Oculus VR.

Three of Valve's top VR researchers (Michael Abrash, Atman Binstock and Aaron Nicholls) now work for Oculus VR.

Valve has stated numerous times now they aren't selling a VR headset of their own.

I'd stop looking for competition between Valve and Oculus VR where there isn't any to be found, there's a lot more interesting stuff in paying attention to their cooperation.

[Hamlet Au]

"Valve has stated numerous times now they aren't selling a VR headset of their own."

That's not exactly true (link below). In any case, I wasn't writing about market competition, I was writing about which company gets the most *attention* for VR. Right now it's Oculus but it could be Valve very soon.

http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2014/01/17/valve-not-releasing-vr-hardware-giving-tech-to-oculus/

Abrash did, however, add that Valve hasn’t ruled out releasing its own VR hardware in the future. So the whole situation is reminiscent of its approach to Steam Machines: work with a third-party manufacturer for now, but be prepared to take the reins later on if need be.

[Arcadia Codesmith]

The more the merrier, as far as I'm concerned, if it keeps prices in check and pushes people to seek new approaches.

[UCMO]

Pricing isn't a problem when Palmer Luckey has stated if he had his way he would give the Rift away. At any rate, $350 for DK2 is extremely cheap, and I would imagine that the consumer version will be equally cheap (>$500).

The advantage that Oculus now has is bottomless pockets for financing, which Valve would be unable to compete against... Luckey calls Zuckerberg - "Mark, these Valve guys are bothering us, will you buy them out please?"