Why is Shadow shooting (no pun intended) for VR games? We think the question is more about our mission: we want to keep pushing towards progress. It’s what we have built Shadow around. VR games happen to be the next step in the progression of the gaming industry. And we’re all for it!
On top of that, VR games have so much to offer as technology continues to improve. We’re talking about a completely different experience from your standard gaming, where immersion becomes the foundation. Imagine fighting against zombies that are surrounding you from every direction while you have your weapon of choice in hand (instead of just a controller). All the fun of a real life shooter fight, with none of the danger - unless you hit a wall. Don’t hit a wall. Practice safe VR.
To make VR games become a reality for Shadow, it really came down to our participants - we call them explorers. For those who don’t know, our Shadow VR Exploration Program is a program we have implemented that allows Shadow users who have a particular interest in VR. The way it works is we have these explorers try out VR games on our beta program and give their input on the current beta - a feedback loop!
We can talk about VR all day, but rather than do that (it would get tiring haha), we will let our amazing participants explain their love of VR games and their experience in the Shadow VR Exploration Program.
Bonjour, my name is Joe Faneuf. I am a member of the Shadow VR Exploration program, which is a very cool program. I got into VR back when Google Cardboard came out, and then I got into PlayStation VR, and then Oculus Go, now the Oculus Quest… which is blowing my mind. I got into Shadow less than a year ago, and the reason I got into that was because I wanted to play PC games with my friends but I had a Macbook, but Shadow let’s me play all of that stuff on my Macbook or my phone or the Apple TV, which is very cool.
For VR games, I play a game called Eleven, which is table tennis. I can play with my dad, who lives a couple towns away. It’s like playing with him in the same room, talking to each other and everything. It’s a really big part of what VR is all about. You know, I am amazed, more and more, as stuff comes out everyday for VR. And it’s just so wild when you think of those crazy VR movies like Ready Player One and it’s coming to life, right before our eyes. It’s really intense, and I love it. I’m just really glad I’m here to experience it.
My name is Dmitriy, I'm a VR enthusiast and one of the early adopters of VR, when Oculus released their DK1. I've been using Shadow for about a year now and I'm really happy with the uninterrupted service it provides. I'm very excited for VR games support from Shadow, and glad that I was chosen for this program.
At the moment it's of course Half Life: Alyx when it comes to VR games I love, as it's the most fresh experience but there is a long list of games I love playing in VR, especially multiplayer ones.
I use Shadow because I'm a Linux laptop user. I use low power, long battery laptops. I don't like having to keep up with the latest beefy hardware every couple of years so I could enjoy the latest games on the best graphics. I also don't like having to deal with all the problems Windows introduces every other update. But I love playing games with mouse and keyboard or in VR. Shadow provides me all the fun part of playing games without hassle and annoyance of Windows machine.
YouTubers often talk about failure of game streaming. Sadly they rarely speak about Shadow. You guys prove that game streaming is awesome, when done right. I mean I can play VR on Shadow, that thing requires much lower latency and better response times than regular games, otherwise it would easily cause nausea. I believe people should take the time to talk about Shadow more on YouTube.
When VR games will become a standard staple in the world of gaming, we don’t know. But we are excited and ready for it! Gaming will always grow because gamers demand it. Our Shadow VR explorers highlight that. The reason the VR program works is because our participants are gamers at heart and VR lovers to their core.
We will continue to working on our VR beta until it’s great (which thanks to our explorers it has that potential), but we know the future of VR is there. We’re all just racing to get there.
Big shoutout again to all our participants (meet more of them here), and to our talented devs for making all of this possible.
Look out for more updates on Shadow’s journey into VR! :)
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