Pikminiman
Assistant Writer
- Joined
- Nov 12, 2012
- Messages
- 164
- Reaction score
- 102
Last night I remembered my dream for the first time in quite a long time -- years, even. It was a ridiculously fun dream. In it, Valve had released a new virtual reality Half-Life game, and I was playing it. It wasn't HL3, but it was still a substantial standalone game. This game took place strictly during Gordon and Alyx's trip to the North Pole, but did not include reaching that destination.
What's more, though, is that this virtual reality game was co-op, and you played as either Gordon or Alyx, both of whom were wearing upgraded HEV suits with Iron Man-like flying capabilities. The players controlled the thrust power via a controller or keyboard, while direction and altitude of flying were controlled using the gyroscope and accelerometer in whatever VR headset the player was using. I know this sounds like a highly technical dream, but that's just the background you need to understand how much fun it was.
See, the final effect was that you (the players) were flying around (in virtual reality, I remind you) various environments, which were cleverly designed such that they were open, yet still did very well to guide the player in the proper direction, learning how to fine pilot the flying suit and how to avoid mid-air collisions and so forth.
Once the players were adept at flying without having to go super slowly, the game would then gate off the player in whatever part of the map s/he is in at the time, after which the players are chased into some very large maze-like underground catacombs (which range in diameter from three meters to fourteen meters) by a new type of Combine soldier with similar flying capabilities. While it's never stated outright, the goal of the game is then to outrun and eventually lose the Combine pursuer by using the maze to your advantage. It also kind of forces you to learn the spatial layout of this particular underground, which, as you navigate, becomes colder, darker, and wetter to signify that you are inadvertently approaching your destination of the North Pole.
As you get closer and closer and the map becomes darker and more frozen, you start running into more flying Combine pursuers with some regularity. Eventually, the Combine pursuers become armed, and it becomes your job to maneuver around tight enough corners of the cave system that your followers are forced to crash into the nearby walls. From the wreckage, you figure out that you can pick up weapons from the destroyed pursuers that were armed. Once you have a weapon, the caves become substantially icier, sometimes to the point that ice gets in your way. Eventually, it becomes so bad that you and your partner must use your weapons (and therefore learn how to use them) to destroy the chunks of ice that are hindering your progress. Then, after some particularly difficult-to-navigate portions of the cave, entire fleets of Combine pursuers begin chasing you, at which point you and your partner must keep up the flying while also shooting down flying Combine.
*****************************
This imaginary game that I accidentally dreamt up last night is full of holes (no pun intended) and inconsistencies, and I fully recognize that. I just felt like sharing, since it gave me a feel for what sort of experience I imagine Half-Life could be if Valve had any sort of pet projects based specifically around VR tech like Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus.
Plus, since it was a dream, and I was therefore not limited to the restrictions of real-life VR tech, the game felt just plain real to me during that dream. It was enormously fun, and even I'm surprised at the level of environmental detail that my mind is capable of creating within my dreams.
And of course, as with all my dreams, I'm sure I'm forgetting far more details than I'm remembering. But even so, this was one of those dreams that I dearly wish I could experience again.
What's more, though, is that this virtual reality game was co-op, and you played as either Gordon or Alyx, both of whom were wearing upgraded HEV suits with Iron Man-like flying capabilities. The players controlled the thrust power via a controller or keyboard, while direction and altitude of flying were controlled using the gyroscope and accelerometer in whatever VR headset the player was using. I know this sounds like a highly technical dream, but that's just the background you need to understand how much fun it was.
See, the final effect was that you (the players) were flying around (in virtual reality, I remind you) various environments, which were cleverly designed such that they were open, yet still did very well to guide the player in the proper direction, learning how to fine pilot the flying suit and how to avoid mid-air collisions and so forth.
Once the players were adept at flying without having to go super slowly, the game would then gate off the player in whatever part of the map s/he is in at the time, after which the players are chased into some very large maze-like underground catacombs (which range in diameter from three meters to fourteen meters) by a new type of Combine soldier with similar flying capabilities. While it's never stated outright, the goal of the game is then to outrun and eventually lose the Combine pursuer by using the maze to your advantage. It also kind of forces you to learn the spatial layout of this particular underground, which, as you navigate, becomes colder, darker, and wetter to signify that you are inadvertently approaching your destination of the North Pole.
As you get closer and closer and the map becomes darker and more frozen, you start running into more flying Combine pursuers with some regularity. Eventually, the Combine pursuers become armed, and it becomes your job to maneuver around tight enough corners of the cave system that your followers are forced to crash into the nearby walls. From the wreckage, you figure out that you can pick up weapons from the destroyed pursuers that were armed. Once you have a weapon, the caves become substantially icier, sometimes to the point that ice gets in your way. Eventually, it becomes so bad that you and your partner must use your weapons (and therefore learn how to use them) to destroy the chunks of ice that are hindering your progress. Then, after some particularly difficult-to-navigate portions of the cave, entire fleets of Combine pursuers begin chasing you, at which point you and your partner must keep up the flying while also shooting down flying Combine.
*****************************
This imaginary game that I accidentally dreamt up last night is full of holes (no pun intended) and inconsistencies, and I fully recognize that. I just felt like sharing, since it gave me a feel for what sort of experience I imagine Half-Life could be if Valve had any sort of pet projects based specifically around VR tech like Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus.
Plus, since it was a dream, and I was therefore not limited to the restrictions of real-life VR tech, the game felt just plain real to me during that dream. It was enormously fun, and even I'm surprised at the level of environmental detail that my mind is capable of creating within my dreams.
And of course, as with all my dreams, I'm sure I'm forgetting far more details than I'm remembering. But even so, this was one of those dreams that I dearly wish I could experience again.
