Is Virtual Reality the Missing Link?
8 years ago
02 Feb
If there is a future âpoker worldâ which will bring the recreational, play-money hobbyists into the same space as the low-stakes, âhiddenâ grinders and lesser-pro level poker aficionados, then according to Alexandre Tomic that place will be a virtual reality oasis â with augmented reality helping to bridge the gap.
Tomic is the brains behind Slots Millions, the first virtual reality casino which features slot machines from 40 different sites including NetEnt, Microgaming, Playtech and Playân Go.
Along with his partner Charles Gross, Tomic has been one of the industryâs leading innovators for a decade now â and his future vision of poker following in his VR slots casino footsteps might not be so far away.
Tomic told CalvinAyre.com recently:
We have the social gaming, where players basically donât play for money but share a lot of the experiences. And we have the real-money players that basically, they play, but itâs almost like they do a shady thing. They hide themselves, you know."
His answer for bringing these disparate groups together resides in the ârelatively untapped technology of augmented realityâ, where players will actually see and interact with each other as they play.
Q;What we think that virtual reality is going to bring is the missing link between social gaming and real-money gaming,â stated Tomic, adding, âWeâre going to be able to design a place, a virtual place where these people can meet, where these people can play together.â;
This might not happen immediately, but Tomic is convinced that it is definitely in the near future for poker, and a step towards bringing the âfor-funâ players into the world of âreal-moneyâ gaming.
So we can see the social players looking at real players, how they play, maybe [it] will take one day, one week for them or one month and they will start playing for real money.â
âPlay-moneyâ poker is a huge part of many of pokerâs biggest sites, and the recent FullTilt âgreenlightâ to operate in the Steam gaming platform, for example, will see millions of previously âuntappedâ poker players being exposed to the games âcash-freeâ version.
Tomicâs vision will see them enticed in to a virtual reality âreal-moneyâ scenario, much as has happened with his own Slots Millions world. The SlotsMillion virtual space has been described as âa casino lobby in the clouds, on the 80th floor of a towering skyscraper set against the backdrop of a futuristic city.â
He explained:
"We build, on purpose, quite a small space because we want to have a lot of slots inside in one place, focus on slots and donât lose themselves in the environment,â Tomic said.
Itâs a multi-player environment so you can bring your friends, you can speak with them and you can chat with them. We have support agents that are also inside. We also have this special place, itâs a big wall where you can play all the poker slots we have in the big mode. You take your iPad, you swipe it, you choose the game you like and you have it on the big wall.â
It doesnât take a visionary genius to understand the appeal that such an option in poker might hold. Imagine, if you will, donning VR goggles such as the Oculus Rift and entering a VR casino, surrounded by machines and poker tables and ârealâ people â all from the comfort of your living room.
âWhen you have the goggles, itâs immersive. Youâre inside, itâs a very, very special experience, but we donât have yet a consumer product which is ready. Itâs going to come next year,â he said, talking of his âSlots Millionsâ casino.
Part of the challenge that virtual reality faces is convincing those who have not tried it just how amazing it really is," said Tomic, late last year. âWhile users are immersed in intricately rendered 3D, their senses are completely tricked into believing they are truly there. Itâs mind boggling, and so are the possibilities for online poker.â
The possibilities for the gaming industry as a whole could indeed be endless -and poker is a perfect vehicle for such a vision - although Tomic admits itâs not quite there yet.
I donât think weâre going to see a rise of virtual reality - and virtual reality in gaming - next year. I donât even think itâs going to come in 2017. As Mark Zuckerberg said, he believes in it but itâs, maybe, five, 10 years so there is no rush to invest in it, but you really have to watch it like milk on fire.â
The Oculus Rift goggles, which should hopefully be available soon, in connection with the incredible VR software capabilities, have the ability to transform poker in a way which the industry has been searching for years now.
Bringing together the traditionally disparate demographics of real-money and play-money poker lovers is one of the main ways for the industry to expand and reverse the trend in both numbersâ and the growing average age - of poker players.
The future is not yet written â but the chances are VR will be high on the wish-list of tomorrowâs poker players.
Comments
You need to be logged in to post a new comment