When I asked him what to tell my family about the PC VR experience he said: “Don’t worry, there is nothing scary that will happen.” VisionOS, which was released a decade after Dreamdeck’s dinosaur experience for Oculus rift, follows the footsteps of Dreamdeck in introducing large creatures to players in headset. Encounter Dinosaurs was also created by Favreau. A portal opens from which an enormous raptor dinosaur emerges. The encounter was demoed first with Vision Pro and is now available on the headset since its launch last year.
Captured with UploadVR using Apple Vision Pro. saying In the experience there are two kinds of dinos. The first is a much larger version of the creature that I encountered in 2016 on Vive. VisionOS’s encounter features interactions that are so subtle they do not register.
The larger dino will lock eyes. You can also slap him, if you prefer a more aggressive interaction. You don’t even notice that some of the interactions are scripted, even when the dinosaur scrabbles across the rocks for a second or third exit. This introduction to Apple’s space computing platform tells the same story as Gnomes & Goblins from 2016. Even if one of these dinosaurs was big enough to snap a little at you, “Nothing” is going to try to eat you.
On Quest 3 even with physically impressive creatures like
, their animations often seem to be at odds with their physical environment. They might appear to walk on the ground for some time, but when they hit a wall their feet wiggle and teleport.
Captured on Apple Vision Pro by UploadVR
The Encounter Dinosaurs portal is carefully framed into the surrounding environment to ensure this problem does not occur. The creature only sticks its tail and head out of the portal. However, the spatial intrusion makes it feel like Dorothy letting something into her room instead of walking through the Kansas doorway.
explores a doorway that leaves mixed reality and enters full VR. The grinding video game mechanics you encounter within seconds after reaching your virtual destination are more off-putting than the creature’s sometimes awkward interactions with its physical environment. It’s only marginally more enjoyable to vacuum up the Dots footsteps on your floor, but it is a relief to not have to enter a virtual world to unlock certain things.
One of the most popular virtual destinations, Dots running around, transforms its dinosaurs into roadside landmarks and architectural features. Interactive characters are difficult to create. Dino Hab in Quest 3 fails to make dinosaurs gamified.
Gnomes & Goblins & Encounter Dinosaurs understand that virtual reality allows for a more subtle and lighter interaction with alien environments. No Man’s Sky, Minecraft and other virtual worlds allow you to create amazing landscapes. But in the real world we do not have these superpowers. The ability to instantly reshape a landscape is a powerful experience, and it’s also a creative outlet. But tossing food to hungry creatures that pass by on occasion is a deeply human expression of our curiosity. It takes little more than human curiosity to extend your hand when you see an insect. Accepting that invitation in headsets with an open hand will help you understand why light interactions are a powerful way to tell stories in headsets.