The issue of virtual reality (VR) induced nausea – or simulator sickness – is a tricky one. Not everyone suffers from it and those that do can find different things trigger it. The main cause is movement, which is why teleportation has become a standard feature for many titles. VR software solutions company Fantom Fathom has announced development of another solution, Hyper Dash.
The locomotion system aims to solve VR nausea by matching a player’s actual movement to their characters virtual movements by software alone. Without using controller or gesture input, users control their in-game movements by shifting their center of gravity, able to move around with speed because Hyper Dash has been designed to match their sense of balance with their in-game motion.
“We began the process to solving this problem by interviewing and observing participants playing VR games that made them dizzy,” said CEO and Founder, Douglas Liang in a statement. “After deriving that the core problem of VR sickness is caused by visual and sensory dissonance, we started brainstorming on every angle, speed, input, output, designs, and mechanics. We reiterated this process with over hundreds of Concept Solutions before honing in on what we finally have today.”
“Considering motion sickness represents the largest obstacle in virtual reality, the launch of this technology is one of the greatest advancements for the VR gaming space,” explained CMO Cynthia Salarizadeh. “We hope to see the VR industry open up to increased investment and player participation after the industry gets its hands on this algorithm. Our confidence in its game changing ability is unparalleled.”
The technology is agnostic, working on VR platforms including HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PlayStation VR, and mobile VR. The first game to utilise Hyper Dash will be Fantom Fathom’s APEX Tournament, a multiplayer (6v6) team-based shooter that will be available for purchase later this fall on Steam.
For any further updates from Fantom Fathom, keep reading VRFocus.