Since I have VR I also checked out several "social VR" apps, including of course AltSpace, HighFidelity and now VRChat.
(I have been on VRChat a few times previously but it was always empty, but on Feb 1st they went live on Steam...and ever since there is tons of people on there)
VRChat (for me) blows ALL VR apps including many games out of the water, it is so amazing and I have seen/experienced so many things there it borders the hideous. It is not only extremely well-done from a technical point of view, but provides tons of things to actually do, including games like CTF, bowling etc. There are hundreds of worlds since everyone can build words and avatars using their SDK and upload them. And uh, it's FREE.
So after an amazing week hanging out in VRChat where I have seen extremely cool stuff (check out that MMD stage with the dancing anime, it's amazing even if anime is not my thing at all!), let me just recap a typical day today:
* One of the hosts/mods there, Gunter has a weekly talk show. I have seen Gunter a few times on VRChat, he is very cool. He has a custom avatar like I have, except that I am a hot girl
and his avatar is actually how he looks in real life. He is this "pony tail dude with tatoos" sort of person.
I LOVE about his avatar the way he moves in VR, his gestures etc. When he talks, etc..it looks very real how he points and moves his arms/hands..unlike some of us who are sitting on a chair when we are in VR. I mean I can also move my arms etc....but it just comes across as very real when he does it. Very "animated" in the most-real sense.
So..I haven't attended this talk show yet and this was the first show after VRCHat went on Steam, also sort-of like a test run for them.
The space for the show is very well designed, with video screens on the wall, audience seating and then of course in the middle Gunter the host and there was two guys, VR game developers. This first "test" talkshow was about the latest and upcoming VR games, topic was "ok", more like casual chitchat. Saw some trailers for upcoming games like Robo Recall etc.. As said it was only just some type of test-run for this show.
Because VRChat has seen explosive growth since they're on Steam.....there had been a recent influx of trolls and of course they disrupted the talk show for a few minutes. One of them made racist comments...and someone else somehow managed to mute everyone. So they had to reset the room and everyone had to manually un-mute people, each and every one. Well,stuff happens. Anyway, VERY good impression from this talkshow alone, eg. compared to AltSpaceVR. There was about 30 or so people there.
After some break many folks went to "The Pug" which is a bar in VR, sort-of like a favorite hangout where you can also often meet devs and other folks from VRChat. I see that McMuze is there. (McMuze is a live-performer who plays guitar in VR and I have also seen him on HiFi previously. I had a short chat with him the day before about VRChat and how amazing I think it is. I told him it's great to see him there since what VRChat needs is more events/live performances to make it really perfect).
So I went to "The Pug" and there is about 25 people or so, and McMuze performing his live music. There were also most devs and also Gunter from earlier. (Gunter sort-of reminds me of Kramer from Seinfeld ...this time he had a differently clothed avatar and was smoking a fat cigar while dancing on the floor, lol). And of course there was lots of guys with hideous avatars from robots to giant marshmallow men and the usual skeletons etc, always lots of fun seeing what custom avatars people have)
What I love about The Pug is how the people in there are "totally going with it" you REALLY feel you *are* in an actual bar, somewhere. For example, the bar tender asks what you want and gives you drinks (or food, or whatever). There are chairs and tables, etc..and people actually sitting there and talking well..like in real life.
Some anime toon girl (I am starting to like these avatars) was going around and serving shots and putting food on the tables. Virtual burgers and whatnot. Somehow, someone came up with the idea to reward the performer with the virtual food, so they piled up all kinds of plates and drinks around the stage for him
There is also a portable camera in VRchat, currently just one (I think devs have it) but they plan to give everyone one. So people went around and took pictures and selfies etc. The pictures then come out of the camera like from a Polaroid, you can pick them up, even pin them at the wall in VR...or tweet them etc.
I had a good laugh seeing the bartender in VR actually bothering to take virtual bottles and glasses and put them back into the storage thing behind the bar so that everything is neatly in its place.
Not to mention the games they have in VRCHat like CTF or the Sheriff/Bandit game.
The coolest thing is that the guys there are extremely motivated, friendly and helpful. I am on their Slack dev channel just to learn about Unity, Blender, making custom avatars etc. Everyone is working on something, building and adding stuff....they also have guides on Youtube etc. about working with Unity and how to design worlds or games.
It's simply VERY good and if you have a Rift or Vive, check it out. One of the best VR experiences by far.
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