Virtual reality apps are not just for gaming. Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets, as well as the Sony PlayStation VR, make VR headsets more affordable than ever. VR apps are being created by developers to deliver amazing experiences. These include immersive video games and exploring landmarks in 360deg environments.
We’ve compiled a list of recommendations for apps you can use with your VR headset. Continue reading to learn more about the top VR apps currently available. Find out more articles about gaming at Venostech.
Google Expeditions
Globalization has opened up many avenues for people to experience new cultures and experiences. However, travel can be costly and harmful to the environment. Instead of flying to Everest with a group of wealthy tourists who hire sherpas to transport them up the mountain, you can take a trip using Google Expeditions. Expeditions provides VR tours of famous landmarks such as Mount Everest and Teotihuacan. It also offers educational tours that focus on topics like the recycling industry, or the anatomy of human skin. These 360-degree images are extremely detailed. Although Expeditions cannot capture the beauty of towering mountains or ancient ruins, they offer excellent learning opportunities that will not eat up your travel budget nor add carbon to the atmosphere.
Allumette
Penrose Studios’ stop-motion VR film is free to play and tells the story of a young girl living in a cloud-borne community. lets you play the role of the camera and explore the beautiful world as you wish. It is not a game, but a narrative. Allumette characters don’t speak but the communication methods they use (emotive and Sims-like sounds) are effective in conveying emotion.
Although we won’t spoil too many details, the story is based loosely on a Hans Christian Andersen poem. It is charming and heartbreaking. Allumette is unlike any other VR experience that gives the viewer the feeling of being present and weight. Although the 20-minute duration is longer than most narrative-based VR experiences, few VR experiences last more than 10 minutes. However, Eugene Chung, Penrose CEO and co-founder considers virtual and augment reality the future of storytelling and believes that pushing boundaries is the only way for us to break old paradigms. Allumette is somewhere between filmic narratives and video games. However, it transcends genre to be a truly divine experience.
Henry can also be a worthwhile option if you liked Allumette or have an OculusRift.
Colosse
Colosse is a short-story VR experience. It features stunning, Samurai Jack-esque animation and top-notch sound design. Colosse is described by Fire Panda as a “real time virtual reality storytelling experience.” It boasts a great sense of scale and clever details. The “hunter” character is only 12 frames per second while the rest of Colosse is 60. This contributes to the unique atmosphere.
Audio and visual cues direct players’ gazes. Certain objects “wait” until you look at them to activate, which gives them a natural sense for their pace. You’ll be able to choose which direction you are facing so that you don’t get stuck looking for the next piece. This demo was originally created for the Oculus Mobile VRJam. Colosse may not be as detailed as Allumette, but it is a beautiful display of how VR can transform storytelling. It’s also free.
Titans of Space plus
You’re likely to be wondering if someone has created a VR app when you gaze up at the night skies and marvel at the vastness and infiniteness of space and time. Lucky for you, they did!
Titans of Space takes you on an immersive tour through the moons and planets of our solar system. While it is an educational app, don’t let this deter you. Your VR headset will allow you to fly through the cosmos. It’s both exciting and informative. While you’ll be guided through educational activities, you can also drift through the stars and perform your own EVA (Extravehicular Activity). You thought learning about Saturn’s 82 moons was boring? It is.
As you explore the gravitational pull between different planets, take a trip with your “Flying Prof” tour guide. Each planet will be analyzed using radar and topographic maps. From the comfort of your living area, explore the wonders of the solar system.
Google Earth Virtual Reality
One of our first thoughts when VR became a popular entertainment medium was “Google Earth is going be super freaking awesome.” If you like geography, flying around the globe like a hypersonic eagle can be both fun and educational. Even if you don’t like geography, the quick-nav menu can be used to visit iconic sites such as the Golden Gate Bridge and the Sphinx. You can also digitally visit Djibouti.
It’s not surprising that many landscapes and areas look nothing more than colorful smudges, especially if you use Google Cardboard. But it’s free, so what are your options? It’s thrilling to zoom across large distances in seconds and descend upon magnificent structures like the Hoover Dam, even though you can’t see the cars driving along it. You’re likely to have used Google Earth before so you already know what the drill is. Virtual reality makes it even more enjoyable. Just don’t expect too many details.
Kingspraygraffiti VR
Have you ever thought of yourself as a street artist. Not the guy who is able to paint himself in gold and stand still for hours. An true street artists — Think Banksy, Shepard Fairey. You will scale freeway overpasses, windy rooftops, and unleash your inner Rembrandt, which urban passers-by will appreciate (or laugh at, depending on the case). Kingspray lets you (legally), live your dreams. You can use (virtual spray paint) to create your mark on any of five digital walls, from rooftops to laboratories.
Kingspray lets you tag train cars or alleyway walls with realistic drip-and-spray effects. You can also choose from different pressures and can caps to customize your masterpiece. To create stencils or images, you can upload images to paint surfaces, save 360-degree screen shots, and paint online with up three friends. What more can you ask for? You can also grab loose objects such as bricks or bottles and throw them at each other in VR fashion. It feels great to be a gangsta.
