Today’s the day to pre-order Apple Vision Pro, Apple’s first “spatial computing” device. It’s an expensive VR headset that either represents an opportunity to beta-test the future, or double down on past failings of VR promises.
I’m a VR skeptic in many ways. I don’t want anything to do with “the metaverse,” and I’m beyond annoyed by fake demos of people pretending to do creative work by waving their hands around like a wannabe Tony Stark. But I’ve owned several Oculus/Meta headsets, and I’ve had some experiences in VR that keep me coming back.
Will Apple Vision Pro become an indispensable productivity tool? I have no idea. But I do have a short list of experiences that I’d like to have with it.
Tranquil Games that Reward Acrophilia
My favorite game on Meta Quest is Daedalus from Vertical Robot. In it, you loft your spherical self through massive brutalist architectural spaces, with lightweight puzzles standing between you and the end of each level.
There’s just enough problem-solving to keep you occupied, and a wonderful sense of flying through beautiful spaces. I’ve played through it twice and look forward to playing it again.
Daedalus
Land’s End was an early VR game from UsTwo Games, famously the creators of Monument Valley, maybe my all-time favorite iOS/iPadOS game. Land’s End was designed to require no controllers, offering a unique gaze-based interaction model that would be a good fit for the controller-free Vision Pro.
These games are not photo-realistic, or action-packed. They don’t have any people in them, or any elaborate effects. In fact, both were designed for early VR systems with limited graphics, controllers, and range of motion. But they create a profound sense of place with their elegant graphics and sound. And they both play with the fun sensation of vertigo — maybe VR’s best party trick.
Do I want these exact games on Apple Vision Pro? Not necessarily — but I hope developers take their cue to create moody, ambient experiences with just enough structure to provide a sense of purpose.
I think of them as places I enjoyed visiting, and to which I’d like to return.
Just Toot Around Blade Runner a Bit
I’ve never “played” Aircar, but just look at it. There was a Blade Runner 2049 promotional app for the Oculus Go that was never ported to the Quest line, and I still miss it in all its clunky glory. Who doesn’t want to fly around aimlessly through a stormy cyberpunk cityscape?
Aircar by Giant Form Entertainment
Be In Star Wars
Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light & Magic has done some great work in VR out of their ILM Immersive group (formerly ILMxLAB). Vader Immortal is a three-part series that promises a virtual lightsaber duel with the Sith himself, but delivers far more than that, especially in its quieter moments.
VR is very good at imparting scale, and Star Wars is full of big, cool stuff. Seeing a full-sized Star Destroyer fly over your head brings the scope of the Star Wars universe to life in a simple but powerful way.
As a lifelong Star Wars fan, of all the rides and experiences at Disneyland Park in California, my favorite thing to do is just hang out in “Galaxy's Edge” — the official name for what I always just think of as “Star Wars Land.” There’s a full-sized Millennium Falcon there (usually), and just being near it is better than any ride. I’ll grab a snack and sit where I can see it, and just be in Star Wars for a bit. It’s lovely.
In ILM Immersive’s follow-up Star Wars title Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, there’s a moment where you’re in that exact fictional spaceport, but seeing it from a vantage not afforded at Disneyland. It’s a neat bit of world-building, and also a nice semi-direct comparison of experiences. I can only go to Disneyland so often — but with a VR headset, I can just be in Star Wars, standing near the Millennium Falcon, any time I want.
That’s me eating my Ronto Wrap in the background.
But honestly, one of my favorite moments is a simple and stupid one that comes early in the game. You’re walking down a hallway of a rusty space freighter, looking out the window at the massive planet below. A sound brings your gaze down to see that a “Gonk Droid” has brushed past you. I went from marveling at the scope of the world to giggling with delight at seeing this dear old friend from my childhood, who has about 20 seconds of screen time in A New Hope, and probably an original series soon on Disney Plus.
For all the effort ILM Immersive has put into Vader Immortal and Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, I would actually just love a “Star Wars Studio Tour” app. Let me walk through virtual editions of the sets from the original trilogy — and then wave my hand and have them seamlessly become the fully-fleshed-out fictional settings.
John Knoll’s Death Star walkthrough, from “Star Wars Archaeology Panel | Star Wars Celebration Europe 2016” — I want to go to here.
Be Real (High) Places
BRINK Traveler. Teleport to beautiful natural scenery. It’s great.
Honestly this app has more features than I want. They had me at being there.
Save Money on Contractors with Sketchup
I went too far.
We recently remodeled a bathroom in my house, and of course I built the whole thing in Sketchup, then imported it into Cinema 4D and rendered it in Redshift. What I kept wanting to do, however was walk through the space in VR.
Pretty much the day we finished construction, Sketchup released a VR viewer app. It’s not even that great, but it’s great.
In fact, I used it to create an interactive maze “game” for my family. Nothing moves or happens in it, but it’s a cool little experience that was easy to create.
Movies, Sure, But Not 3D Movies
3D movies will be amazing on Vision Pro, they say. Finally we can watch 3D movies without any of the technical limitations of uncomfortable glasses or dim projection.
Except we have to watch them alone, with heavy goggles.
3D doesn’t make movies more immersive. It’s usually distracting and dumb, and most filmmakers do it wrong. Eliminating the technical presentation issues won’t change that.
But I’ll definitely watch some regular old movies on this thing. $4,000 is cheap for a home theater — even one you have to use alone.
Appreciate (and Maybe Make?) Immersive Art
I’m not interested in VR as a filmmaker. I love movies the way they are, and every experience I’ve had with narrative VR video has reinforced that opinion.
Artist Goro Fujita (left), working in Quill (right). Note how the desktop-like animation timeline floats in 3D space alongside his creation.
But when 360º storytelling is taken seriously as its own art form, more akin to interactive theater than to movies or games, it can be quite compelling. An artist I admire in this arena is Goro Fujita. He’s done some beautiful pieces using the Quill app, which is was briefly owned by Meta. In the early days of the Meta Quest, Quill Theater was a neat was to see fresh, fun creative expression in your headset on a regular basis.
As with the games I mentioned above, many of the Quill pieces I’ve experienced stick with me to a surprising degree. My memory treats them like places I’ve visited, and occasionally calls me to return.
While you can experience Quill creations on Quest, to create them requires tethering to a Windows PC. This limitation has kept me from spending much time with the app, but I am impressed by it. It starts as simple and fun as Google’s Tilt Brush, but gradually builds to sophisticated animation and sound controls. Now that Quill is once again in the hands of its original developer, I hope it, or something like it, can thrive on Apple Vision Pro. I’d like to create with it, but I’m also excited to see what others make.
If there’s a fresh, compelling immersive experience created by an artist, not a mega-brand, awaiting me every time I put on the Vision Pro, I’ll reach for it every day.
Curious to learn more? Fujita gave a long and excellent talk (seemingly conducted in VR) on interactive storytelling.
The Biggest Smallest Product Release in Apple History
The Vision Pro is too expensive to be popular, and too important not to command our attention. Major companies are opting out — for now. Indie developers are jumping in. It could wind up feeling like the early days of the iPad, where we all figure out how we want to use this new thing together.
I’m excited to have some memorable experiences in Apple Vision Pro. But the creative tools have to be there to make these experiences personal.