Our pick of open source VR - no, you won't need an Oculus Rift
OSVR – Razer and Sensics’ bold, open source VR platform – has been slowly but surely adding new partners and titles to its roster over the past 12 months. This ‘Android-for-VR’ ecosystem isn’t competing with Oculus, HTC/Valve and Samsung, it’s actually working with headset makers – as well as accessory makers and developers to make virtual reality more open.
So in the list below don’t be surprised to find games that were developed for specific platforms, such as Steam. You can also pick up Razer’s hardware, a $300 VR headset known as the OSVR Hacker Developer Kit, though it’s aimed at developers and enthusiasts only.
Read this: Razer OSVR – what you need to know
Half Life 2 & Steam VR games
OSVR’s list of games got a nice boost recently with the additions of these Steam VR games: Valve first person shooters Half Life 2 and Team Fortress 2, space sim Elite: Dangerous, racing game Live for Speed and the as-wrong-as-it-sounds Spermination. All worth checking out.
Pollen
The first VR title from Finnish indie studio Mindfield Games, Pollen is a first person exploration game. The devs call it “a trailblazing journey to the edge of understanding” set in some decidedly spaceship-like research base environments. Pollen was developed for the Oculus Rift as well as OSVR.
3rd Planet
Virtual tourism is set to be huge, even Mark Zuckerburg thinks so, and 3rd Planet’s Wonders of the World project for OSVR shows off exotic destinations in 360 degrees. The company has been making virtual tours of places such as Mount Everest since 2011 and in 2015, released a 3D tour of Bangkok’s Grand Palace for smartphones and desktops.
Skyworld
Skyworld comes from Vertigo Games and looks to be a turn-based strategy game with a difference. With the HTC Vive, in particular, you will be able to walk around your battle map as if you are really there using room scale VR tech with tracked controllers. We’re not sure how different the experience will be for OSVR but it’s playable in bite-sized chunks. Oh, and there’s dragons.
World of Diving
The second of two VR projects in the works from Vertigo Games, World of Diving is a multiplayer diving sim/game originally developed for VR for the Oculus Rift but with support for OSVR too. It looks like smooth sailing with exploration, diving signals between the group and the ability to capture and record the virtual wildlife you encounter.
VirtualRealPorn
Yep. OSVR isn’t missing out on virtual reality’s sexier side. The VirtualRealPorn platform is already available for Oculus, Gear VR and Google Cardboard and features 180 degrees stereoscopic adult film with binaural sound for extra immersion. If you want to see er, some pics, head to their website you dirty cats.
Read this: VR porn – why the future of smut is behind the headset
Future Ubisoft VR games
Ubisoft, which makes games such as Assassin’s Creed, Far Cry and Watch Dogs, hasn’t confirmed it is developing any titles for OSVR but it is one of Razer’s partners in the project. And it’s one of the biggest industry names to back the initiative.
Over the past year or so, Ubisoft has shown off its demo which will be its first VR game, for the PlayStation VR. OSVR support hasn’t been confirmed yet though.
Read this: What’s next for Ubisoft’s VR experiments
castAR
As the name suggests, this app is more AR than strictly defined VR. The headset and software combination creates a HoloLens-style 3D holographic projected experience for objects, tables and walls around you.
It raised over $1m on Kickstarter back in 2013 and uses unique peripherals such as its Magic Wand to position and control virtual objects in space with one hand and its RFID Tracking Grid for augmented board games.
Hellicott City
Seven Hills Games is another fully signed up member of OSVR – it is an indie studio created by Greg Aring who is experimenting with VR game development. Aring’s Hellicott City was made for the Oculus Rift DK2 – it’s a short five minute rollercoaster/haunted hayride experience through a fictional town made for Halloween. Now for OSVR too.
Littlstar
It’s all very well Oculus and Samsung having their own libraries of VR videos but Littlstar is stepping in to do the same for the open source community. The aim is to become a platform for people to create and share VR content and we wish them luck when it sounds eerily similar to Facebook’s plans to move into virtual reality communication.
OSVR Academia
In addition to the fun and games that Razer and its partners are planning, there’s also a very long list of universities who have joined the OSVR Academia program to aid their research.
The list of institutions who will be provided with hardware development kits and free software include: University College London, University of Portsmouth, Johns Hopkins, Virginia Tech, the Universitat de Barcelona, University of California and Columbia University.
