VR is for Kids!

I need to start this article by admitting that I'm a little jaded. I've been developing VR games myself since late 2013.

It takes a lot to get me excited about a VR title. There's a lot of standing in one spot shooting things or doing mundane tasks with some immature jokes layered over-top these days. Not really my thing.

Shortly after I started making my first VR game, my daughter Quinn was born. Though early on it made developing a bit difficult (as I work from home), she is more excited about VR now than I ever was!

And here is the problem. Not as much now that she's almost 5, but until recently, her hands weren't big enough to reach the buttons with her thumb while holding the controller. Never-mind the fact that she can't see the controller and have me communicate what to so while wearing the HMD. She's meant to look at the panel that says "Ready", point an imaginary laser pointer at it, and hit a button with her thumb. In recent updates, this has been streamlined. Now I can hold the controller and simply press a button, but I digress.

Another great example of this is Medium by Oculus. It's a fantastic 3D sculpting tool where the user can build and paint amazing artworks of art. Quinn LOVES it. She walks around our living room making giant castles and flowers made out of white foam. There's just one problem. The tool selection and sizing options are way too complicated. We're lucky she can manage to pull the trigger and create a stream of "clay". It would be so helpful to just have a few buckets of paint of the floor that she could dip her brush in. ![](

I swear that she mostly plays the educational stuff. I just don't have video of it :P As always, follow me @anticleric to hear more rants about VR and stuff