If you’re the type who favors a virtual reality (VR) headset more than anything, chances are you’ve cried “WoW!” multiple times in a row already. The excitement is even more intense for first-timers, although some are prone to nausea. Still, the experience is mind-blowing, and that even is an understatement.
Enter “World Of Warcraft,” the most popular Massively Multiplayer Online Roleplaying Game (MMORPG) there is. As thrilling as it already is, we hadn’t been given the chance of experiencing it in VR, but we might have an inkling what it could be like, thanks to this awesome fan who made Blizzard’s game a makeover and uploaded it on YouTube.
WoW on VR
User Jason Trenkoski, aka Ultra, uploaded two videos taking a walking tour through the two prominent cities of “World of Warcraft,” Dalaran and Stormwind. The experience was actually created for the HTC Vive by friend Puffycheeks using Unity for a project called VR Gameworlds. Fans of WoW know for a fact that the 2D experience restricts a player’s sense of scale, but Ultra’s videos present a different kind of satisfaction, almost to the point of wanting to bombard Blizzard with requests to roll out a VR support for the game.
The “walking experience,” as Trenkoski calls it, is merely a concept and sadly isn’t playable. The videos show almost the entirety of the cities sans the characters, but you could spot one or two.
Only, interaction is very minimal. Check out Ultra’s WoW VR exploration below.
Looking back two years ago, someone actually modded “World of Warcraft” to be compatible with Oculus Rift. Not completely or perfectly, mind you, but to a degree that hasn’t been done until now. See what Hoopermation managed to accomplish in this video:
Blizzard ‘looking at’ VR
WoW with VR support, albeit plausible, might take a while to materialize.
Blizzard has not said a word about it, although November last year in an interview with Trusted Reviews, the company’s EVP of Corporate Operations Gio Hunt mentioned it’s “looking at” launching some of its franchises in VR.
“You can just imagine once that occurs, what we could do with some of our universes, in an augmented or virtual reality way,” Hunt told the publication.
“So we’re absolutely looking at all of that, and once we see a substantial opportunity there, you can imagine we’ll be there.”
The guys at Blizzard can envision “World of Warcraft” through a VR headset and seem to like the idea, but so far they have no plans to invest in such venture. This is sad news, but at least they are keeping their minds open to the idea.
