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NeoGAFs Kent Brockman
Activision Patent Seeks To Improve VR Shooter Immersion Through Haptic Gun Controller
Activision files patent that may indicate the industry giant's intentions of stepping into the VR market with its own peripheral.
gamerant.com
A new patent by Activision might be the next step for VR, thanks to what the company's new peripheral might mean for first person shooters in virtual reality specifically. The success of this new project may even push improvements on motion tracking controllers entirely, for use on consoles outside of VR environments.
This new patent in question is for a device called a "haptic gun" that Activision is hoping will work in tandem with VR systems, offering real-time feedback in first person shooters. From the description of the item, it sounds like it may be similar to an older Nintendo motion controller peripheral, the Wii Zapper Gun attachment that previously powered titles like Link's Crossbow Training. Activision's controller itself will be comprised of multiple pieces that work together with an undetermined VR system, each of which have different tasks of receiving data to relay to the player as haptic feedback and take motion data to relay to the game.
The figures within the patent do also imply that this new technology won't entirely be for use with current VR systems, but can instead be used for more reality based games like laser tag. From the wording of the abstract and other details, it can be assumed that video games will be the primary use of the "haptic gun", but figure 7 of the patent does show what appears to be two players moving in a shared physical space. A final, additional piece of the patent does also include a headset that is able to give similar haptic feedback to the player's head, although it doesn't appear to be intended to replace an Oculus Rift or HTC Vive headset.
