The catacombs underneath City 17’s Quarantine Zone are dark and infested with zombies. Had by alien monsters called head crabs, a renowned Half-Life staple, they roam the tunnels, assaulting anybody they satisfy. You believe you have an ideal trap: an explosive barrel in a pathway that’s blocked by 2 zombies. Perfect videogame logic. You fire a quick shot from your pistol and hide behind a close-by corner, glimpsing out to view them lumber better.
They step forward, practically there … Until the lead one sees you, raises out its arms, and swings them wildly, knocking the barrel off the table and sending it flying previous your head. You don’t bother to take a look at where it went. You can’t take your eyes off the zombies. Here’s where, in the virtual truth environment of Half-Life: Alyx, you might discover aspects of them that you would not in any other medium. Like how huge their arms are. Or how they’re taller than you You start shooting, backing away, your heart in your throat.
VR can be an intense and strange experience. While primarily fancy smoke and mirrors– motion tracking plus wraparound screens and just the correct amount of sensory deprivation– virtual reality, as a medium, conveys a sense of being that many mediums do not. When it’s working properly, it gives the impression that you’re actually physically occupying an unique, digital area. It’s not quite the complete realism that VR’s most signifi