Bedroom Robots

After Magic Controller I tried Bedroom Robots, another demo from the same studio, but this one was running natively at 60Hz with Asynchronous Reprojection used to output 120Hz. I didn’t spend enough time to get a sense of whether or not the native 120Hz of Magic Controller made a substantial difference compared to the Asynchronously Reprojected 120Hz of Bedroom Robots, but I did note that I didn’t get the same powerful moment of Presence as I had felt in the former, even though Bedroom Robots was plenty immersive.

sony 2015 morpheus prototype bedroom robots (5)

Bedroom Robots demo put me into a circular toy-room of sorts. In front of me was essentially a large dollhouse with several rooms, all populated with tiny Bots. The detail in this scene was really something to behold. There were little vignettes happening everywhere I looked. Peering at some of the Bots would cause things to happen, like a little guy running on a treadmill—who must’ve been spooked when I leaned my massive head in to take a look—and went tumbling off and flew into the elevator behind him!

sony 2015 morpheus prototype bedroom robots (7)

There were Bots tossing a frisbee from one side of the dollhouse to another, swimming Bots, one Bot watching TV with a few discarded cans of ‘Bot Lite’, Bots playing in an arcade (one playing a DDR clone called Move Your Botty), some Bots racing in Wipeout ships along a track that encircled the entire room, and even a few Bots sitting in chairs with little Morpheus headsets on.

sony 2015 morpheus prototype bedroom robots (6)

I’ve been in a number of ‘VR dioramas’ before, and there’s not one so far that I haven’t liked. I have a feeling that gamified VR dioramas will become a genre all their own.

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See Also: Anyone Who Says ‘You Can’t Do VR on Console’ Hasn’t Tried Sony’s 2015 Morpheus Prototype

sony 2015 morpheus prototype hands on (3)Sony’s PS4 is no doubt a powerful console, but relative to the Titan X-bearing gaming rigs shown powering PC headsets, it’s quite behind in the power department; yet Sony has managed to stay in tight competition with the likes of Oculus and Valve when it comes to experience. And where Morpheus lacks in resolution compared to the aforementioned, it makes up for in install-base potential, with more than 20 million PlayStation 4 consoles already in homes of players around the globe, ready and waiting to draw them into an impressive virtual reality.
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Ben Lang
Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • crim3

    No black smearing on Sony’s OLED display?
    About lighting, one day with the Assetto Corsa I stared at a shiny dashboard, seeing the highlight move accordingly to my head movements, and for a moment it felt like I was looking at something real. Correct lighting really tricks the mind into believing what it sees.

    • Ben Lang

      Ah yes, I forgot to make specific mention of this. Especially given the flashlight scene, I didn’t notice any black smear.

  • It must be super nice to have something you can physically hold be represented perfectly in VR :) That’s what it seems like for people who has tried the Vive at least, and picking the controllers from the helper, many comment on that. I guess this demo might feel similar to that. I look forward to a similar feel with the STEM… sometime… this year, I hope, haha.

    As for the flashlight, one of the things that completely blew me away back when using the DK1 and Razer Hydra with the Half-Life VR mod… was just that, to use the flashlight. Sure, the shadows were not always correctly projected, but most of the time the illusion worked, and it made the world instantly feel several times more real.

    Realistic light play is certainly one of the most powerful aspects to make a space feel physical. Both shadows and material shading. A low poly scene can still feel fantastically real with some fancy lighting effects. Mhmm…

    • Curtrock

      @Andreas: wish I could share your enthusiasm about the STEM. I am a backer, yet I’m beginning to not care anymore. With the announcement of SteamVR & the Lighthouse tracking system and the rapid evolution of various VR hand trackers, it feels like the STEM might already be relegated to the “niche” category. Still a great controller, but not entirely relevant anymore. When I backed their Kickstarter, they were the 1st & only input solution….a few short years later & ……However, if they can resurrect the HUGE potential that their “MakeVR” tech was pointing to, I might change my mind.

      • Heh, I’m also a backer :P For the five tracker kit nonetheless. SteamVR/Valve/HTC has shown their system with great potential, for sure, I’m super excited by that. If they also release some sort of module/pack to put on other things to track them, like a Haptech gun… exciting times for sure :P

        That said, I have experienced tracked hands with the Hydras, but being tethered by short cables were annoying. I hope the STEM will arrive early enough to give me at least six months of having a wireless Hydra set with increased range and little distortion before the Vive system releases :) And who knows, with ValveTime™ the release could be pushed back :x

        And indeed, software for VR will be the next frontier when hardware becomes commonplace.

    • Nick vB

      I still remember the light sabre from HydraCoverShooter, having the actual Hydra model in game was a great idea. I spent most of the time just drawing glowing patterns on the walls with it though! lol