Strapping old folks into the magic world of VIRTUAL REALITY

Zxerol

I recently got a Vive because I'm dumb. My folks are visiting next week, which is cool. I'd like to jack them in to show them all the radical shit their dumbass son spends good money on.

Because I'm not going to strap a couple of olds into Superhot VR, I'd like to expand their minds to the high tech cyberpunk world of tomorrow with some lower intensity stuff. Doesn't even have to be games -- stuff like non-interactive VR "experiences" and the like are cool, because not everyone is an extreme hardcore gamer like me (no judging).

(Plus, I don't want them to get into a game and die, because as we know if you die in virtual reality you die in real reality too.)

Hit me up with some Matrix shit, yo.

see317

If they're not used to playing video games, I think I'd start with the whale encounter.
It's a hit with the non game playing employees at my office.

Second one I'd suggest (once they're comfortable with looking around and moving) would be Longbow Tower Defense. It's pretty straight forward, has some simple cartoonish graphics and is good to acclimate a new user with using the hand controllers.

Neither of these are going to break the bank which is a plus, but both serve as a good starter for people who are completely new to the concept of VR games. (It should be noted that this is as far as my VR experience goes, as shortly after I succumbed to some nausea and had to sit down for a bit.)

Then, after they get used to the controls a bit, throw them into a zombie game. It's much more entertaining for everyone else to watch.

ArbitraryDescriptor

Start them on the SteamVR tutorial, then pop in the Google Paint thing or Job Simulator.

Then, obviously, move on to Gorn.

Orogogus

Free movie-type stuff, just sit and watch:
- Alumette
- Colosse
- Sonaria
- Invasion!
- The Rose and I
- The Visitor (horror)
- AbeVR (horror)
- Dreams of Dali
- TheBlu
- Cirque du Soleil
- MSI Electric City
- Senza Peso
- Welcome to Light Fields (start the tour for them)
- Found

Casual-friendly VR experiences:
- Google Earth VR (great showpiece app)
- Fruit Ninja VR or Katana X
- Keep Balance VR or Plank Not Included
- Goalkeep VR or Goaltender VR
- Star Wars Droid Repair Bay
- Gunjack (turret shooter game)
- Space Pirate Trainer (pew pew pew!)
- Race the Sun (controller needed, I think)
- Desert Bus VR

Situational:
- Titans of Space (if they're into astronomy)
- Mars Odyssey
- JauntVR (360° videos are kind of janky, but there's some interesting stuff here)
- Blocks by Google (if they like building stuff)
- Dead Secret (horror)
- Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes (group game)
- Hot Dogs, Horseshoes and Hand Grenades (if they're really into guns)
- The Night Cafe: A Tribute to Vincent Van Gogh (if they can deal with smooth locomotion)
- Please Don't Touch Anything VR (if they like fiddling in puzzle games)
- Pinball FX2 VR

I don't know anything about how Revive works, but the following would be good picks from the Oculus Store if you can get them working:
- Introduction to Virtual Reality
- Oculus Dreamdeck
- Oculus First Contact

Orogogus

Oh, also grab some of the SteamVR environments made by Valve on the SteamVR Workshop -- Driftwood, Mount Rainier, Hawaiian Beach, La Pedrera, maybe Clockwork Orrery.

tinwhiskers

I can't comment on the VR specifically, and as a game its certainly a mixed bag, but Elite Dangerous is pretty breath taking on a normal screen. I imagine hypering in at a nutron star has got to look insane balls on a vive.

https://youtu.be/ZpP27lxzNI0

Orogogus

I feel like Elite: Dangerous would be way towards the end of my list of VR recommendations for non-gamers, probably somewhere around that thing with the singing and dancing anime catgirls in maid outfits.

Zxerol

Yeah, I think Elite Dangerous is a less of a non-gamer parents thing and more of a "Zxerol jacks in and forgets to feed the cat for a week" kinda deal (but thanks for reminding me about it tho).

Thanks for the suggests, folks! I'm definitely going to check them out when I get home.

firewaterword

Definitely agree on The Blu for just this sort of thing. It's amazing, and they've added two other very cool environments as well.

I also have to strongly recommend a google spotlight story called Pearl. It's more or less a relaxed music video that you can look around in, but I think it's just tremendously beautiful (and if your folks are at all softies like me, might get 'em to tear up in a happy kind of way!). It's free too, which doesn't hurt.

Finally, I also don't know how revive works, but if you can get it running, Aircar is a super cool little atmospheric experience. Very chill thing where you fly a bladerunner-ish car around a rainy future city. A lot of VR puts me on the ropes pretty quickly, but this one is slow enough that it didn't get to me. This one is also free.

schuss

Honestly, just the free Lab thing is amazing. Everyone I meet is a huge fan of the archery and the mountain exploration.

darkmayo

yea SteamVR tutorial first, so they figure out the controller first, then drop them into the lab