NBC’s popular late night talk show The Tonight Show with host Jimmy Fallon has debuted a new segment called Virtual Reality Pictionary which uses the HTC Vive and Google’s Tilt Brush VR paint app.
Jimmy Fallon is no stranger to VR. As far back as 2013, when Fallon was hosting Late Night, he saw a pre-DK1 version of the Oculus Rift that was held together with gaffers tape. In 2014, Fallon demoed Sony’s PSVR (back when it was still called ‘Project Morpheus’) on The Tonight Show. He’s also had the HTC Vive on the show in a number of one-off segments.
Embracing the HTC Vive, The Tonight Show has debuted a new segment (which seems to be designed for recurring use) called Virtual Reality Pictionary, employing the headset and Google’s Tilt Brush VR paint app to play—you guessed it—pictionary. The the entire segment in the video at the top of the article.
In pictionary, pairs of players take turns drawing and guessing. The drawer is shown a word that the guesser doesn’t know, and the drawer must draw the word in a way that the guesser can guess the word correctly from the picture alone. One point for a correct guess within the time limit.
Fallon, Tonight Show announcer Steve Higgins, and guests took turns playing Virtual Reality Pictionary; the audience chose from a number of cards on the set which determined the word that would need to be drawn.
The set appeared purpose-built for the HTC Vive; there are two couches to either side—leaving a large space in the center for the VR user—and a huge screen in the back projecting the VR view. The Vive’s Lighthouse base stations were set up in relatively unintrusive locations. More than once, Fallon told guests during the segment that the setup ‘cost a million dollars’, suggesting that the show spent quite a bit of time and money for the set. That makes us think the segment could be recurring, and that the headset may see regular use on the show.
Tilt Brush actually got its own experimental pictionary game (which the creators call ‘Tiltasaurus’) back in September. It lets the VR-user see a word inside the headset that the non-VR users can’t see (you can even add your own words to the inbuilt dictionary). While the VR user draws, those outside the headset can look at the computer monitor to guess the word. It’s a fun time (and a great drinking game).
