Virtual reality is now becoming a very huge thing in the gaming world, and now with the assistance of the Vive platform, we are now going back to the Portal world. The team at Valve is announcing that they are planning to boost the concept of virtual reality even further for this year, and they are planning to do that by launching a new set of virtual reality experiences which will be called “The Lab.” With The Lab, it takes gamers back to Aperture Science, which is the iconic setting for the portal franchise.
Go Back to the Portal World With The Lab
Valve stats that their focus is on full-room application pertaining to virtual reality and with Portal, and not just the user sitting on a chair with a pair of controllers on each hand along with a headset strapped onto the head. The project makes full use of the capabilities offered by the coming Vive platform and its many offerings.
The Lab will be launched on spring and it will be found on the Steam digital distribution service. It should also be noted that it will be free for download. More information about the project will be made during the upcoming Game Developer’s Conference 2016.
The Portal universe was recently used to fuel the SteamVR Performance Test tool. It was designed to allow gamers a first-hand look and feel as to whether their own machine is powerful enough to run VR experiences.
The HTC Vive, which is also created with the assistance of Valve, will be offered for purchase starting on the 5th of April of this year. It can be pre-ordered as of this moment for those who are willing to pay the price tag. Furthermore, those who are interested in purchasing the VR kit should also make sure that their computer is powerful enough to run the device.
Both companies have stated that the tech can be upgraded further based on initial experiences. This will require gamer and user feedback and reports with the titles that will be launched this year.
For comparison’s sake, the Oculus Rift is another virtual reality kit but it is placed at a higher price point than that of the HTC Vive. This particular VR unit will begin to arrive at homes as early as this month. Oculus Rift says that there are already 100 titles that will be introduced before the year ends.
Fans of the Portal titles will gain relive the exciting experience of playing around within a facility with aid of, yes, portals. But this time around, they can get a first-hand look and feel as to what can be done in order to solve the puzzles as they will be placed within a virtual reality environment instead of just solving challenges in front of a screen.