Interested in looking at VR to game with my young twins

subbytna · 23 Jun 2022 at 09:41

Ok I've got identical 6 year old boys. I've borrowed a VR set af ew years ago and was a bit of fun and now I'm possibly looking to get proper VR set to use for the house.

No idea really where to start or what's the better option to have, given it'll also be used by the kids....probably MOSTLY used by kids but I'd love to game on it too.

Has VR got to the point where it's self contained now, or do I still need a PC hooked up to run stuff? My PC is decent enough but it's in my office and I'd be looking to get the VR for the livingroom use.

What's the best VR option to buy, given the above points?

chroniclard · 23 Jun 2022 at 09:43

Quest 2 is self contained, pretty brilliant overall and "reasonably" priced. Huge thread on them in VR section.

Unsure when the next version is out though.

Unseul · 23 Jun 2022 at 10:14

subbytna said:
Ok I've got identical 6 year old boys. I've borrowed a VR set af ew years ago and was a bit of fun and now I'm possibly looking to get proper VR set to use for the house.

No idea really where to start or what's the better option to have, given it'll also be used by the kids....probably MOSTLY used by kids but I'd love to game on it too.

Has VR got to the point where it's self contained now, or do I still need a PC hooked up to run stuff? My PC is decent enough but it's in my office and I'd be looking to get the VR for the livingroom use.

What's the best VR option to buy, given the above points?

I wouldn't let a 6 year old play that much on it for several reasons to be honest. i let my then 8 year old play a little, and still let him play now.

It wouldn't fit very well to start with. On top of that, research shows that until the age of around 10, they're still developing their sense of their world related to their physical movements. Though i suppose stationary experiences wouldn't be effected by that. I wouldn't expect them to necessarily look after it properly, falling over is not uncommon for first time VR users, and children who can get more easily absorbed into worlds could easily injure themselves or damage the headset.

q2 is completely standalone, with the option to play via PC as well (wirelessly too), so with a decent enough connection, you could still do pcvr in your living room.

Craig R · 23 Jun 2022 at 10:53

Not designed for 6 year olds' heads. They'll go cross-eyed trying to focus.

drakulton · 23 Jun 2022 at 11:03

A mate has a 4y old daughter and he can't get her off the Q2. Hsd to buy a battery pack to balance the headset as the strap would not keep it in place. No issues with IPD, although she is well supervised when she's using it.

subbytna · 23 Jun 2022 at 11:32

I'm very strict with the boys game time (minecraft or phone games) They have to earn gaming hour (tuesday, thursday and Sunday for an hour - 3 x 10min goes each, with a timer) by making their beds, clearing dinner tables etc. I prefer to boot them outside to play with real kids and they do that, daily. I see what too much screen time does to a kid (sister in laws kid is just ridiculous and I'm sure is addicted to her phone and she's only 10) and mine won't be going down that route

However I also want to treat them (and me lol) with the odd go of VR too. I think the Quest sounds an option to investigate.

Unseul · 23 Jun 2022 at 11:54

subbytna said:
I'm very strict with the boys game time (minecraft or phone games) They have to earn gaming hour (tuesday, thursday and Sunday for an hour - 3 x 10min goes each, with a timer) by making their beds, clearing dinner tables etc. I prefer to boot them outside to play with real kids and they do that, daily. I see what too much screen time does to a kid (sister in laws kid is just ridiculous and I'm sure is addicted to her phone and she's only 10) and mine won't be going down that route

However I also want to treat them (and me lol) with the odd go of VR too. I think the Quest sounds an option to investigate.

They'd love it, just make sure you're supervising. You can set it up to stream what they're seeing so you can easily watch what they're doing and help them out etc.

Tykey · 23 Jun 2022 at 11:55

Definitely recommend Quest 2. If i had one as a 6 year old.......<mind blown> lol

melmac · 23 Jun 2022 at 11:56

Oh, I just answered your post in the Specs thread. You don't need a PC for the Quest 2 and for kids you wouldn't need a PC as there are lots of fun games to play standalone. As Kids they will probably like the First Steps intro as much as any game.

subbytna · 23 Jun 2022 at 11:57

Unseul said:
They'd love it, just make sure you're supervising. You can set it up to stream what they're seeing so you can easily watch what they're doing and help them out etc.

Streaming bit you mentioned, would that have to be shown on a PC monitor or would it be on the livingroom TV? PC is upstairs so pointless if we're downstairs.

subbytna · 23 Jun 2022 at 11:58

melmac said:
Oh, I just answered your post in the Specs thread. You don't need a PC for the Quest 2 and for kids you wouldn't need a PC as there are lots of fun games to play standalone. As Kids they will probably like the First Steps intro as much as any game.

That's good to know about simple games for them without the PC option being needed.

I'd be looking to utilise the PC for gaming myself and let them do their thing with the other simple games.

melmac · 23 Jun 2022 at 12:00

subbytna said:
Streaming bit you mentioned, would that have to be shown on a PC monitor or would it be on the livingroom TV? PC is upstairs so pointless if we're downstairs.

It can stream to a TV, or to your phone.

Unseul · 23 Jun 2022 at 12:04

subbytna said:
That's good to know about simple games for them without the PC option being needed.

I'd be looking to utilise the PC for gaming myself and let them do their thing with the other simple games.

You'd be surprised at how good a lot of the standalone content is. A group of us from here play regularly on Monday evenings and have a great time.

subbytna · 23 Jun 2022 at 12:08

Unseul said:
You'd be surprised at how good a lot of the standalone content is. A group of us from here play regularly on Monday evenings and have a great time.

What sort of games are there? When I DID get the use of teh VR a few years ago, it was Steam VR i tried and it wasn't great.

Any recommedations of games that I can look at now?

drakulton · 23 Jun 2022 at 12:17

subbytna said:
What sort of games are there? When I DID get the use of teh VR a few years ago, it was Steam VR i tried and it wasn't great.

Any recommedations of games that I can look at now?

Just check out the titles/reviews on the oculus store. Sidequest also has some games that are nor authorised by oculus yet.

Unseul · 23 Jun 2022 at 12:34

subbytna said:
What sort of games are there? When I DID get the use of teh VR a few years ago, it was Steam VR i tried and it wasn't great.

Any recommedations of games that I can look at now?

Walkabout mini golf is a classic. Eleven table tennis is very good. Beat saber, pistol whip are very good. Real VR fishing is a nice relaxing game. There's tons of experiences out there, plenty of them free, silly and a lot of fun.

serious_adam15 · 23 Jun 2022 at 13:00

Theres also job simulator & vacation simulator games that are quite cool for my young ones. Also fruit ninja (i think its PCVR though) and Traffic Jams.

Craig R · 24 Jun 2022 at 14:08

drakulton said:
A mate has a 4y old daughter and he can't get her off the Q2. Hsd to buy a battery pack to balance the headset as the strap would not keep it in place. No issues with IPD, although she is well supervised when she's using it.

A 4 year old has an IPD of 58mm or higher??

chroniclard · 24 Jun 2022 at 14:16

Gorilla Tag.

drakulton · 24 Jun 2022 at 15:11

Craig R said:
A 4 year old has an IPD of 58mm or higher??

I've no idea. I don't make a habit of measuring 4 year olds IPDs. She may look like Admiral Ackbar