The boundaries of virtual reality have been pushed once again as a VR device capable of sending fragrances to users has been announced, sure to be regarded as a marvel even though gamers are having a difficult time in thinking of a game that would not produce foul odors of sweat, blood and rotting viscera (ero-gamers naturally have a better class of odor in mind).
The “Vaqso VR” (a device made by a firm of the same name) is a relatively small device that latches onto the bottom of a pair of VR goggles with magnets, releasing scents at select times that will differ between games and can range from the musty scent of gunpowder to luxurious shampoo – with the developers naturally looking into expanding their smell repertoire.
Nastier odors have not escaped the realm of possibility as well, as the developers have mentioned that they intend to replicate the scent of rotting flesh and sewage for games like Resident Evil, additionally mentioning that the smell can diminish depending on the player’s distance from the source of the smell.
A few images of the device:
The VR device dispenses its odors via cartridge, with tiny fans blowing the scent toward the player once signaled to by the game; the current prototype can only hold three cartridges at once but the developers are attempting to fit five total for the final product.
Cartridges last about a month and the device itself is battery operated; a release date has not been revealed yet, and nor is the fidelity of its olfactory assault quite clear so far.
It would be a hit in Japan if it can release the smell of pussy.
Would they even know what a pussy smells like with how little time guys in Japan have for dating?
Buy sushi, let it rot for a day. Et voila.
Smells like (lol) a proof of concept that won’t reach a sustainable price tag, if it even bothers getting anywhere NEAR market.
A single “monochrome” smell will be boring by the third encounter – like hearing a character use ONE shouted phrase on EVERY attack.
A mixed set, for a game that has you in a narrower range of environments and conditions (eg forest zone only) can prepare a more complex brew. This mixture could work as one cart, gently released as ambiance, like a one-track music score, varied only in intensity. Extra cartridges would have to be used to supplement this with nuances (eg more woody, more muddy, more wet as appropriate) rather than be their own one-trick ponies.
For a second example, your base brew would be a scene of metropolis urban post/midwar building debris, with fine-response sliders towards odors concrete, metallic, smoky.
Smell is theoretically more powerful than audio, but we couldn’t synthesize immersive-grade and we sure as f♥♥k couldn’t do it with prefab’d carts.
Focus on the VR porn market. I’m sure it’s going to be huge, and even a tiny slice of the pie should be lucrative.
This is a bit ahead of it’s time.
See also: Terrible ideas.
It’s time for another Good Idea, Bad Idea.
Pfft. In development. Ubisoft aready has something like that which they used for their PV for South Park: The fractured but whole. It reeked b♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥y.