This is a piece of news that should prove exciting for movie buffs, horror fans and gamers alike, as word emerged from Jamwix that it has created a breed of software that will allow for films to be distributed specifically for the Oculus Rift. While that by itself might make a pretty impressive news, what's even better here is that Jamwix's new software is set to work with one particular movie, a title that some may never have even heard of, but one that would work quite well nonetheless.
Jamwix's new software is known as "Chimera," and it allows current releases to be converted into a kind of immersive 3D experience, the exact sort of thing that the Oculus Rift will really need to make it perceived in the market as more than just another gaming peripheral. But the really good news here is what title is first to run on Jamwix's new Chimera system, and it's a little-known title from XLRator Media called "Banshee Chapter."
"Banshee Chapter" was big news on the film festival circuit--it took "Scariest Film" at both the 2013 London Fright Fest and Toronto's After Dark Film Festival--and it follows a young man with a journalistic bent who's looking into the concept of a new mind-altering chemical created by a set of CIA experiments back in 1973. Having seen this one myself, I can assure you that, in normal channels, it's pretty scary stuff, and the idea of watching this thing through an Oculus Rift that actually lets me feel like I'm there--complete with horrible basement crawls and exploring abandoned facilities--leaves me scared downright green.
But at the same time, I'm extremely enthused about this development for one particularly good reason: this is exactly what the Oculus Rift needed. Sure, most everyone's looking forward to this for its gaming potential, and with good reason. The idea of roaming Tamriel or the Capitol Wasteland or anywhere else for that matter strikes me as a jolly gaming holiday under normal circumstances, and with the Oculus Rift, it will feel increasingly like I'm there. But if the Oculus Rift were just a gaming peripheral, it would have an inherently limited market and only be able to go so far in terms of its overall development. But the more uses that the Rift can show off, the better its overall position will prove to be. That means it will be able to carry on farther as it appeals to a wider market than it could as just a gaming tool. This is the kind of thing that could easily be used as a replacement for brick-and-mortar museum attendance, for symphonies, for operas, for plays, for movies and just about any other form of art. It's got the extremely real potential to make a mostly online society, one where you come up for air long enough to eat food and then you go back into the net. It's like a weird voluntary form of the Matrix, but one that's actually enjoyable.
There are a lot of ramifications when it comes to something like this, but the combination of the Oculus Rift and a potent horror movie like Banshee Chapter together in one package is extremely exciting. Not only for what it is by itself, but also for the distinct potential it represents. This could be huge. And we could be just seeing the tip of the metaphorical iceberg.
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