Many of us have felt that familiar queasy feeling from first person shooters, particularly those that spend a lot of time rushing through cramped corridors. Indeed, for some, it makes virtual reality highly inaccessible, rendering what should be an amazing experience into a blurry, nauseating mess. But word from Valve writer / designer Chet Faliszek is that, those who do find themselves nauseated by the experience should look at the software, rather than the hardware.

Faliszek had a rather profane opinion of the idea that it's the hardware--the actual VR headsets--causing the seasickness, noting that the hardware has matured since its earliest days, and is now no longer the cause. Faliszek actually went so far as to say that, should a user get sick from a VR experience, that user should immediately call the software developer out on it, saying "As consumers and people in the community, hold developers to it. They shouldn't be making you sick. It's no longer the hardware's fault any more. It's the developers making choices that are making you sick. Tell them that you don't want that."

Indeed, Faliszek somewhat contradicted himself, noting that "the easiest way to get somebody sick" involved the controls, particularly keyboards and thumbsticks. A proper example of control in VR, Faliszek noted, came from the Lighthouse system that Valve's Vive system uses. Faliszek notes that such a system is "exponentially better" and that the brain essentially "buys into" such a system, making it smoother and more comfortable.

Of course, one could readily accuse Faliszek of having some bias here in favor of the system released from his employer, but then it's just as possible that it could be among the best on the market. Given that we're still in very early days as far as home-based VR goes, we'll likely have a bit of a wait on our hands until more people can try these systems out and find out just which systems will actually make people sick to use. There's also another problem here in terms of individual impact; what may make one person nauseous may not have that kind of impact on anyone else. While certainly Faliszek has a point about the nature of immersion and the impact of control mechanisms, no one can really say what will make any one user sick and what won't. But considering he's looking more at the software, that makes the most sense anyway. After all, what really cues nausea for most? Lots of sudden movements certainly contributes, among other points, and we're already seen games that cause nausea without the VR effect tossed in.

So in the end, watch your software, and it might be a good idea not to eat a big meal before engaging in a VR session in the early stages. All new technology comes with its share of learning curves, and VR in the home is going to be pretty new indeed.