????虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)為何始終不慍不火？如果你問(wèn)帕爾默?勒克，他會(huì)告訴你，這是因?yàn)榧夹g(shù)并沒(méi)有做好準(zhǔn)備。當(dāng)時(shí)所用的顯示器不夠清晰，響應(yīng)時(shí)間太過(guò)遲鈍，而頭盔又太過(guò)笨重，使用起來(lái)并不舒服。最糟糕的是，這些設(shè)備可能要花費(fèi)數(shù)萬(wàn)美元。他說(shuō)：“就算有一家偉大的公司能夠做好以上所有的事情，還是無(wú)法生產(chǎn)出高品質(zhì)的、經(jīng)濟(jì)實(shí)惠的虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)頭盔?！?/p>

????如今，到底發(fā)生了哪些變化？智能手機(jī)與平板電腦發(fā)揮了關(guān)鍵的作用，比如顯示器和無(wú)處不在的動(dòng)作跟蹤技術(shù)，更不用說(shuō)大幅提高的軟件與處理能力了。于是，Oculus Rift橫空出世。虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)頭盔Oculus Rift配有7寸屏幕，讓視頻游戲行業(yè)的許多人垂涎三尺，因?yàn)樗梢詭?lái)更豐富的游戲體驗(yàn)。游戲開(kāi)發(fā)公司iD軟件（iD software）聯(lián)合創(chuàng)始人、《毀滅戰(zhàn)士》（Doom）和《德軍司令部3D》（Wolfenstein 3D）等游戲的主程序設(shè)計(jì)師約翰?卡馬克稱Rift是“史上最出色的虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)示范產(chǎn)品?！薄稇?zhàn)爭(zhēng)機(jī)器》（Gears of War）制作人克里夫?布萊沙辛斯基也在最近的一次大會(huì)上表達(dá)了自己對(duì)這款設(shè)備的鐘愛(ài)之情。《我的世界》（MineCraft）的設(shè)計(jì)師馬庫(kù)斯“諾奇”佩爾森也是這款設(shè)備的粉絲之一。

????Oculus是勒克經(jīng)過(guò)三年不斷試驗(yàn)的成果。勒克在加州的長(zhǎng)灘長(zhǎng)大，在家中接受教育，自稱是一位虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)發(fā)燒友。受到視頻游戲控制臺(tái)改造高手本?赫肯頓作品的激勵(lì)，勒克自己試驗(yàn)了虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)，并通過(guò)自己收集的45臺(tái)不同設(shè)備，組裝了早期的原型機(jī)。此外，他還曾以工程師的身份，前往南加州大學(xué)（University of Southern California）的創(chuàng)意技術(shù)學(xué)院（Institute for Creative Technologies）游學(xué)，在混合現(xiàn)實(shí)實(shí)驗(yàn)室里幫助研究虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)系統(tǒng)。他回憶說(shuō)：“我始終沒(méi)有找到自己想要的那種品質(zhì)。所以我決定自己動(dòng)手做一臺(tái)?！?/p>

????勒克的作品引起了卡馬克的注意?？R克在一個(gè)3-D愛(ài)好者論壇里得知了勒克的作品，于是聯(lián)系勒克對(duì)這塊頭盔進(jìn)行測(cè)試。最后，卡馬克在E3電子娛樂(lè)展（Electronic Entertainment Expo）上用原型機(jī)演示了《毀滅戰(zhàn)士3》，設(shè)備寬闊的視角令觀眾們驚嘆不已。（大多數(shù)虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)頭盔可提供40度的視角，而Rift則可以提供110度的視角，能夠提供更加身臨其境的游戲體驗(yàn)）。

????E3大會(huì)結(jié)束后不久，勒克便與云端流媒體公司Gaikai的前首席產(chǎn)品官、CEO布蘭登?艾里布聯(lián)合成立了Oculus VR公司，進(jìn)一步開(kāi)發(fā)硬件與軟件。去年，這家位于加州爾灣市的初創(chuàng)公司從大眾籌資平臺(tái)Kickstarter網(wǎng)站融資超過(guò)240萬(wàn)美元——遠(yuǎn)遠(yuǎn)超過(guò)了勒克當(dāng)初250,000美元的預(yù)期。

????艾里布表示，目前公司的重點(diǎn)是將硬件與軟件工具提供給開(kāi)發(fā)者，以便于開(kāi)發(fā)者特別針對(duì)頭盔開(kāi)發(fā)新游戲，同時(shí)修改現(xiàn)有游戲，以便增強(qiáng)游戲體驗(yàn)。他信心滿滿地表示：“等到用戶版上市，將會(huì)有大量針對(duì)該頭盔開(kāi)發(fā)的游戲?！庇螒蛑圃焐叹S爾福公司（Valve）出品的免費(fèi)射擊游戲《軍團(tuán)要塞2》（Team Fortress 2）的升級(jí)版，是正式支持Rift 3-D體驗(yàn)的首款游戲。（《毀滅戰(zhàn)士3》則被延期。）目前，用戶版價(jià)格尚未確定。

????超過(guò)10,000名開(kāi)發(fā)人員已經(jīng)收到了開(kāi)發(fā)套裝，但公司對(duì)于消費(fèi)者型號(hào)的可用性與官方定價(jià)始終三緘其口。先說(shuō)最重要的：勒克希望通過(guò)采用更清晰、分辨率更高的顯示器解決早期的反饋，并且可能包括“位置跟蹤”功能，如此一來(lái)，玩家們?cè)谟螒蛑兴吹降膱?chǎng)景將更準(zhǔn)確地反應(yīng)其身體的動(dòng)作。等到大多數(shù)玩家都能用上勒克的虛擬現(xiàn)實(shí)頭盔時(shí)，我們可以肯定的說(shuō)，游戲?qū)⒉辉偈且粋€(gè)虛幻的世界，而會(huì)變得更加真實(shí)。(財(cái)富中文網(wǎng))

????Ask Palmer Luckey why virtual reality never took off, and he'll tell you that the technology wasn't ready. The displays used then weren't sharp enough, the response time too sluggish, and headsets too bulky to use comfortably. Worst of all, those devices could cost tens of thousands of dollars. "Even if a company was great and did everything right, there wasn't a chance they were going to do a high-quality, affordable VR headset," he says.

??? What's changed? Smartphones and tablets have made some crucial parts, like the display or motion-tracking technology, ubiquitous -- not to mention software and processing power have increased dramatically. Enter the Oculus Rift, a virtual reality headset with a 7-inch screen that has many in the video game industry salivating over the promise of richer gaming experiences.John Carmack, co-founder of the game studio iD software and lead programmer of games likeDoom and Wolfenstein 3D, has called Rift "the best VR demo probably the world has ever seen."Gears of War designer Cliff Bleszinski expressed his love for the device at a recent conference. And Minecraft mastermind Markus "Notch" Persson is also a fan.

??? The Oculus is the result of three years of experimentation on the part of Luckey, a home-schooled, self-described virtual reality enthusiast who grew up in Long Beach, Calif. Inspired by the work of videogame console tinkerer Ben Heckendorn, Luckey experimented with virtual reality on his own, building early prototype devices assembled from his collection of 45 or so different devices. He also did a tour as an engineer at the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies in the Mixed Reality lab where he helped research virtual reality systems. "There was nothing that was really the kind of quality I was looking for," he remembers. "So I decided I was going to work on one on my own."

??? Luckey's work caught the eye of Carmack, who learned about it on a forum for 3-D enthusiasts and contacted the 20-year-old for a headset to test drive. Carmack would eventually use the prototype to demo a version of Doom 3 at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3 game conference, giving the device an audience who marveled at the device's wide viewing angles. (While most virtual reality headsets offer a 40-degree perspective, Rift serves up a 110-degree view for a more immersive experience.)

??? Luckey co-founded Oculus VR with CEO Brendan Iribe, ex-chief product officer of the cloud-streaming company Gaikai, not long after E3 to develop the hardware and software further. Last year, the Irvine, Calif.-based startup raised over $2.4 million on Kickstarter -- far over the original $250,000 Luckey had hoped for.

??? According to Iribe, the focus is now on shipping the hardware and software tools to developers necessary for them to create new games specifically for the headset and modify existing games to play well. "By the time the consumer version shifts, there should be a large number of games being made for it," he says confidently. An updated version of Team Fortress 2, a free-to-play shooter from game creator Valve, is the first game to officially support the 3-D experience offered by Rift. (Doom 3, meanwhile, has been delayed.) A price for the consumer version hasn't been determined yet.

??? Over 10,000 developers have already begun receiving development kits, but the company remains mum on the availability and official pricing of the consumer model. First things first: Luckey wants to address early feedback by using a sharper, high-resolution display and possibly including a feature called positional tracking, so what players see in a game more accurately reflects their bodies' movements. In which case, when most players do get their hands on Luckey's VR headset, gaming may feel less simulated and, dare we say it, more real.