We can do this right now on the Index. You need:
- A computer that can output 144 fps consistently without drops.
- Well-positioned lighthouses.
- Software that only moves the virtual world in response to the player moving in the real world (except via blink teleportation).
Unseen Diplomacy, The Lab, and Half Life Alyx, when played with the right settings or hardware, should make basically no one motion sick.
Unfortunately, people don't like blink teleportation because it usually sucks. Games like Unseen Diplomacy are able to create large spaces without teleportation, but have pretty large play space requirements. IMO, there's room for more creativity in this space. Budget Cuts, for example, manages to make blink teleportation really work.
I wanted to go deeper (esp. with VRChat) so I eventually caved in to free movement. It was very motion sickness inducing at first, but doing it bit by bit you get used to it after a while.
Personal recommendation for any VR experience: I have a bar stool in my VR space where I can lie on or just sit. The difference from a chair is that it doesn't offset you vertically when you lie/sit, which tends to mess with games.
Tiny note, snap turn can cause motion sickness! (And even personally, I have friends who get motion sick from it.) It's obviously better than "smooth turning", but just changing the direction can be disorienting. There's really no replacement for 360 degree tracking.
But I am excited for what's going to come, now that VR is getting some serious investment.
My wishlist:
- lighter, less bulky, less ridiculous looking, more comfortable headsets; the dream would be something like a pair of regular glasses, or goggles - higher resolutionAnd, with time, I'd like to see hardware become less expensive, giving it a chance to become more mainstream.