????虛擬現實為何始終不慍不火？如果你問帕爾默?勒克，他會告訴你，這是因為技術并沒有做好準備。當時所用的顯示器不夠清晰，響應時間太過遲鈍，而頭盔又太過笨重，使用起來并不舒服。最糟糕的是，這些設備可能要花費數萬美元。他說：“就算有一家偉大的公司能夠做好以上所有的事情，還是無法生產出高品質的、經濟實惠的虛擬現實頭盔。”

????如今，到底發生了哪些變化？智能手機與平板電腦發揮了關鍵的作用，比如顯示器和無處不在的動作跟蹤技術，更不用說大幅提高的軟件與處理能力了。于是，Oculus Rift橫空出世。虛擬現實頭盔Oculus Rift配有7寸屏幕，讓視頻游戲行業的許多人垂涎三尺，因為它可以帶來更豐富的游戲體驗。游戲開發公司iD軟件（iD software）聯合創始人、《毀滅戰士》（Doom）和《德軍司令部3D》（Wolfenstein 3D）等游戲的主程序設計師約翰?卡馬克稱Rift是“史上最出色的虛擬現實示范產品。”《戰爭機器》（Gears of War）制作人克里夫?布萊沙辛斯基也在最近的一次大會上表達了自己對這款設備的鐘愛之情。《我的世界》（MineCraft）的設計師馬庫斯“諾奇”佩爾森也是這款設備的粉絲之一。

????Oculus是勒克經過三年不斷試驗的成果。勒克在加州的長灘長大，在家中接受教育，自稱是一位虛擬現實發燒友。受到視頻游戲控制臺改造高手本?赫肯頓作品的激勵，勒克自己試驗了虛擬現實，并通過自己收集的45臺不同設備，組裝了早期的原型機。此外，他還曾以工程師的身份，前往南加州大學（University of Southern California）的創意技術學院（Institute for Creative Technologies）游學，在混合現實實驗室里幫助研究虛擬現實系統。他回憶說：“我始終沒有找到自己想要的那種品質。所以我決定自己動手做一臺。”

????勒克的作品引起了卡馬克的注意。卡馬克在一個3-D愛好者論壇里得知了勒克的作品，于是聯系勒克對這塊頭盔進行測試。最后，卡馬克在E3電子娛樂展（Electronic Entertainment Expo）上用原型機演示了《毀滅戰士3》，設備寬闊的視角令觀眾們驚嘆不已。（大多數虛擬現實頭盔可提供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）。

????E3大會結束后不久，勒克便與云端流媒體公司Gaikai的前首席產品官、CEO布蘭登?艾里布聯合成立了Oculus VR公司，進一步開發硬件與軟件。去年，這家位于加州爾灣市的初創公司從大眾籌資平臺Kickstarter網站融資超過240萬美元——遠遠超過了勒克當初250,000美元的預期。

????艾里布表示，目前公司的重點是將硬件與軟件工具提供給開發者，以便于開發者特別針對頭盔開發新游戲，同時修改現有游戲，以便增強游戲體驗。他信心滿滿地表示：“等到用戶版上市，將會有大量針對該頭盔開發的游戲。”游戲制造商維爾福公司（Valve）出品的免費射擊游戲《軍團要塞2》（Team Fortress 2）的升級版，是正式支持Rift 3-D體驗的首款游戲。（《毀滅戰士3》則被延期。）目前，用戶版價格尚未確定。

????超過10,000名開發人員已經收到了開發套裝，但公司對于消費者型號的可用性與官方定價始終三緘其口。先說最重要的：勒克希望通過采用更清晰、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，玩家們在游戲中所看到的場景將更準確地反應其身體的動作。等到大多數玩家都能用上勒克的虛擬現實頭盔時，我們可以肯定的說，游戲將不再是一個虛幻的世界，而會變得更加真實。(財富中文網)

????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.