Friday, August 9, 2013

A founder's path: John Carmack and Oculus Rift

John Carmack thinks virtual reality is the future of gaming.  So much so that this week he joined Oculus VR as their Chief Technology Officer (CTO).  In case you didn't know (and how could you not!) Oculus VR is the creator  of the Oculus Rift VR headset; the new gaming headgear designed to give gamers a more immersive experience.

Oculus VR and specifically Rift have taken priority in Carmack's professional life with Id Software now coming in second place.  I suppose it's no surprise considering the lambasting Id's taken over the delay of Doom 4 and the failure of Rage.  Lest we forget Id's parent, Bethesda, who's been turning up the heat on the developer over the haphazard progress of Doom 4. 

At last year's QuakeCon Carmack was an ardent cheerleader offering up free copies of Doom 3 BFG to Kickstarter supporters of the fledgling project.  Unfortunately the game wasn't ready by the time the development kits came out.  So investors got a copy of Hawken instead and a choice of "store credits" or a full refund of their kickstarter pledge. 

Carmack's gone "all in" with the Oculus Rift evidenced by almost every recent photo op showing him wearing the latest incarnation of the device.  Want more proof?

“I have fond memories of the development work that led to a lot of great things in modern gaming – the intensity of the first person experience, LAN and internet play, game mods, and so on. Duct taping a strap and hot gluing sensors onto Palmer’s early prototype Rift and writing the code to drive it ranks right up there. Now is a special time. I believe that VR will have a huge impact in the coming years, but everyone working today is a pioneer. The paradigms that everyone will take for granted in the future are being figured out today; probably by people reading this message. It’s certainly not there yet. There is a lot more work to do, and there are problems we don’t even know about that will need to be solved, but I am eager to work on them. It’s going to be awesome!”

Carmack believes that VR for gaming is the next big thing just like 3D gaming  was in the early 90's.  He could be right.  I mean at least everyone SEEMS excited about the prospect of wearing an oversized scuba mask on their head while tripping over the sofa.

Yes it's true, 100% of people "surveyed"* are excited about the project and when they try it out 75% of them throw up immediately afterward.

That's just one of the hurdles the Oculus Rift has to overcome.  Low resolution, bulky design and limited compatibility with current games are some of the others.

That Carmack has switched gears from dodging tomatoes over Rage to cutting edge hardware really isn't a surprise.  Much like the departure of Bill Gates from Microsoft (even though he retains his chairman status) there comes a time when a founder's creation evolves beyond its creator. 

In the case of Gates he initially embraced the role of futurist (remember his book, The Road Ahead?) before settling into philanthropy. 

Founders generally aren't your standard cubicle dwelling types.  The fact that they strike out on their own instead of accepting the confines of someone else's creation proves it.  They have a vision to bring to fruition.  The creative drive trumps all other concerns.

 To hell with the TPS reports!

That Carmack has so closely aligned himself with Oculus VR is entirely within character.  It's a chance to invest his energies once again in a more creative direction than Id could provide.  Let's face it,  3D gaming may not have happened without him but 20 years later it's been done to death.  No matter how good Doom 4 is, it's just another FPS. 

Consider that dragon slain even if Doom 4 doesn't have a ship date.  I have a feeling Id was becoming more cubicle than muse for Carmack.  If his VR prognostications come to pass expect him to move on shortly after the term "VR gaming" becomes ubiquitous.


* survey respondents consist of Me, myself, I and a bunch of other people I made up from IGN posts...

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