Dean Hall: Sees VR as "a very expensive Wii"

Dean Hall, the developer best known for creating DayZ, has shared his thoughts on virtual reality and creating games that are right for each individual platform.

"In reality I see this as a very expensive Wii. The Wii was successful because it offered simple, fun, approachable experiences at a low cost. We don't know what kinds of games will sell well, how big the market will be, and so on," he posted on Reddit.

"So our steps with VR are exploration and we're not banking the studio on it. I fear some studios are so swept up with the possibilities of VR they're putting everything into it when we don't know anything about the VR game market. How many people will be buying VR games? and how much will they pay?"

He said his greatest concern was over creating games that people could play for more than 20 minutes while still feeling engaged and comfortable. He also pointed out the upcoming machines are very different in terms of features and capabilities.

"I see a lot of media treating Oculus and Vive as having a relationship like PS/Xbox. Personally I see them as fairly different. While there is some overlap that seem, at least initially, like they are focused in different areas. While you can use each to do what the other is, they're both designed at the core quite differently and seem to me to be retrofitted to also do what the other is," he explains.

"For example, the Vive is focused on positional tracking right from the get-go and it is clear when you use it. Games designed for one or the other work best, IMHO, and I would offer EVE Valkyre as a great example. CCP sat down and made a game for the Oculus and the result was outstanding."

Hall is currently working on a third-person, isometric game called Ion set in space.