Chapter 1 Redesigning the VR Experience Zone

Pei Qian nodded. "Yes, you're right. The entire VR experience zone does need to be redesigned."

"Here's the idea: keep all the main units on the racks overhead, with the power buttons accessible via a cable. Then, turn each VR experience station into a cubicle-style setup, with the display screen hanging on the front panel and a foldable tabletop below, complete with a stand for the keyboard and mouse."

"The tabletop should be at the perfect height for standing use."

"Hang the VR headset and controllers on the side panels for easy access."

This way, the tabletop could have two forms: flat or flush against the wall.

When players use it, the default is the flat position, where they can use the keyboard and mouse to find games and enter VR mode on the computer. Then, they can fold the tabletop against the wall to free up space to experience the game.

Since the keyboard and mouse are secured by a small stand on the table, as long as the mouse is placed in the stand before folding the table, there won't be an awkward situation of it hanging in the air.

All in all, if players like playing computer games standing up, then let them play.

Pei Qian thought that these players should be in the minority.

Xiao Peng nodded. "Okay, I'll arrange things according to this plan."

"But... President Pei, have you considered a problem? Moyu Internet Cafe is already a bit overcrowded. If we remove half of the computers in Moyu Internet Cafe 1.0 and replace them with VR setups, wouldn't that further exacerbate this congestion?"

"Then I'll just have to open more branches."

Pei Qian's mouth twitched slightly. This kid, is he threatening me?

So what if you open more branches?

It's not like you wouldn't open branches if I didn't change the VR gaming area. How novel!

You're already opening branches like dropping dumplings in water anyway. Since you're opening them regardless, modifying the VR experience zone will cause the income of all the stores to drop significantly. I won't lose out either way.

Pei Qian waved his hand. "Open them, then. I told you a long time ago that I won't restrict you from opening branches. Open as many as you want."

Xiao Peng nodded happily. "Understood, President Pei! Then I'll start preparing."

"Creating a VR experience zone is no small project; it can't be done in a day or two, especially with building cubicles and purchasing equipment."

"I plan to modify them in batches. It just so happens that I said earlier that I wanted Liang Qingfan to help redesign the internet cafe, but I couldn't find a good time. I can take this opportunity to complete it together!"

"Although such changes are not cheap, I believe that Moyu Internet Cafe will have a completely new look and the operating income will reach a new high!"

Pei Qian said to himself, scoffing several times at Xiao Peng's last sentence.

A new look can be considered, but it would be better if the operating income decreased.

...

Not long after Pei Qian left Chi Xing Studio.

Ye Zhizhou and Wang Xiaobin came to the conference room to hold a meeting with Lin Wan and Cai Jiadong, the current chief designer of Chi Xing Studio, to study some design details of *Animal Island*.

Lin Wan took a few documents from the side, searched for a while, picked out one of them, and then asked the assistant to make copies.

Soon after, this document was distributed to everyone.

Each of these documents was a design plan for the new VR glasses, and the one Lin Wan picked out was the final plan.

Lin Wan said, "President Pei just approved it. Tengda and Shenhua will each add another 10 million in investment. That means the research funding for these VR glasses has reached 40 million."

"So, the design plan for the VR glasses can also be finalized. We'll use the most expensive version."

Ye Zhizhou, Wang Xiaobin, and Cai Jiadong all picked up the document and looked at it seriously again.

Old Song had many ideas before, and he organized several versions based on different research funding and final selling prices.

The version that everyone was most satisfied with was temporarily shelved due to insufficient research funding. Now that the funding is in place, there is naturally no need to hesitate.

Lin Wan introduced, "These VR glasses will use an all-in-one machine + wireless and wired streaming + binocular head 6DOF (six degrees of freedom) positioning system. The lenses have a 4K resolution, a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz, a 125-degree field of view, and a 5000mAh battery that can provide 2.5 hours of continuous gaming..."

Although there are not many VR devices available now, and most of them are abroad, there has been a clear polarization in the development direction of VR glasses.

One type is the pure VR headset that must be connected to a computer and used with a positioning base station, and the other is the VR all-in-one machine with a built-in chip that can be used independently.

Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages.

Relatively speaking, a pure VR headset will definitely have a better experience, a higher price, and be lighter. For example, a certain VR glasses that Pei Qian remembered, which used 8K as a gimmick, achieved a 200-degree field of view and a resolution as high as 8K, which completely crushed the screen parameters of a group of VR all-in-one machines.

However, VR all-in-one machines also have their meaning, because they have more usage scenarios.

VR headsets must be used with a high-end computer, and they must be connected with a cable. This means that they cannot independently watch VR movies, cannot be too far away from the main unit, and the relatively high price makes most players have little desire to buy them.

VR all-in-one machines are relatively heavier, because they have a chip and a large battery inside, but they do not need to be connected with cables, which is more flexible. Moreover, they can have built-in programs, and can play some VR games with lower configuration without a computer, similar to the level of mobile games.

If you want to play large computer games, VR all-in-one machines can use wireless or wired streaming to solve the problem.

This area is actually Shenhua Group's strength.

It is precisely because of his confidence in the wired and wireless streaming technology of these glasses that Old Song is more inclined to use the all-in-one machine solution.

These specific parameters were actually finalized by Old Song after repeated consideration.

The binocular head 6DOF positioning system used by the all-in-one machine simply means that no positioning base station is required. Instead, there are two cameras in front of the glasses that take pictures of the real environment and locate them based on the pictures taken.

Although the accuracy will be slightly worse than that of the base station, the difference is not obvious, and ordinary players cannot feel it.

Moreover, these two cameras have special uses. When the player leaves the safe area, or in some special cases, the glasses will no longer display the game screen, but will display the real scene taken by the camera.

However, this picture is relatively blurred, like the picture seen by patients with three or four hundred degrees of nearsightedness.

Another very important parameter is the screen quality.

The resolution of VR glasses directly determines the player's experience. The first-generation VR glasses all used 2K resolution, but 2K resolution is obviously not enough and must be increased to 4K.

In fact, even 4K cannot completely eliminate the screen-door effect of VR, but the cost of increasing the resolution further is too great, and it is difficult to achieve with current technology.

In order to obtain the best gaming experience, a refresh rate of 120Hz is also necessary. If it is only 60Hz, there will actually be some stuttering, and the smoothest gaming experience cannot be obtained.

If the main function is watching movies, 60Hz is enough, but if you want to play games, you must use 120Hz.

The field of view is the viewing angle of the VR glasses. If it is small, players will feel like they are looking through a crack in the door, which is relatively cramped.

However, the viewing angle cannot be infinitely large, because the larger the viewing angle, the larger the lens. The larger the lens, not only is the cost higher, but the original resolution will also be stretched.

For example, a 100-degree field of view can maintain 4K, but if it is stretched to a 200-degree field of view, the resolution may only be 2K.

The overlapping field of view of human eyes is 124 degrees, the range seen when attention is focused is 25 degrees, and the maximum horizontal viewing angle of both eyes can reach 188 degrees.

That is to say, after the VR glasses achieve a 200-degree field of view, they will bring players an ultimate immersive experience, and there will be no black borders in the field of vision.

But this is too extravagant after all, and it is not a solution that can be adopted at this stage.

Old Song set the field of view at 125 degrees, which conforms to the normal overlapping field of view of the two eyes. Although the corners of the eyes will still catch some black borders, there is no cramped feeling of looking through a crack in the door.

The screen quality plus the chip of the all-in-one machine will obviously greatly increase its energy consumption. A 5000mAh battery is only enough to play for 2.5 hours.

This battery life is actually more appropriate, because VR games are different from computer games. The immersion is too strong, and playing too much will cause dizziness and fatigue. It is actually more reasonable to rest after playing for two hours.

Of course, if you connect to the line, you can play while charging, so there is no time limit, but the movement will not be very convenient.

This battery is not small, so it is necessary to adopt a rear-mounted design to balance the weight of the entire glasses, that is, the battery part presses on the back of the player's head.

In this way, the price of this VR glasses is set at 4599.

It still exceeded everyone's psychological bottom line.

In fact, at the beginning, everyone wanted to try to control the price at around 3,000 yuan, so that the price would be more affordable for consumers and more conducive to the popularization of the equipment.

But there is no way, many parameters are added and cannot be reduced, and the price will naturally not be reduced.

Everyone read the information carefully and basically understood it.

Because the specific parameters of these VR glasses will affect some things in the game.

Game design can be said to be an art of "dancing in shackles", because in all eras since the birth of games, its specific content has been limited by hardware parameters.

How to do the best possible job under limited hardware conditions is a test that all designers must face.

Everyone did not immediately get to the point, but chatted casually for a few words first.

Lin Wan asked, "How is the situation at Shang Yang Games?"

Wang Xiaobin smiled and said, "*Fitness Battle* is considered a success. At the beginning, I was worried that the refund mechanism would cause a sharp drop in revenue, but it didn't. Instead, it further stimulated players' enthusiasm for recharging."

"In addition to continuing to release new props for *Fitness Battle*, there is basically no other work."

Lin Wan asked again, "So what will be the next new project?"

Wang Xiaobin shook his head. "I don't know. We'll wait for President Pei to give us the task. We two also have some ideas, but they are not very mature."

This topic ended here, and Lin Wan sorted out the information, preparing to move on to the next topic.

But at this moment, Ye Zhizhou, who was sitting next to him, suddenly looked up, as if he had realized something.

"Wait, I suddenly thought of something!"

"Maybe President Pei has already hinted at our next new project?"

Wang Xiaobin and Lin Wan were both surprised: "Huh?"

Ye Zhizhou suddenly became excited and said to Wang Xiaobin, "What did President Pei say when we met President Pei at the door just now?"

Wang Xiaobin tried hard to recall: "Uh... President Pei said, let us fully cooperate with the work of Chi Xing Studio. If it's really not possible, the matters of Shang Yang Games can be put on hold."

Ye Zhizhou said, "Isn't that right?"

Wang Xiaobin still looked confused: "How is that right?"

Ye Zhizhou paused and explained, "The matters of Shang Yang Games can be put on hold, which means we don't need to rush to start new projects or conceive new games."

"Fully cooperating with the work of Chi Xing Studio is obviously not just helping with the game design. After all, no matter how much we cooperate, the design work is mainly based on the designers from Chi Xing Studio."

"But our cooperation is not necessarily limited to this. We can also do things that can help VR glasses!"

"For example, we can also develop a VR version of *Fitness Battle*?"

"I suddenly realized that *Fitness Battle* and VR, isn't this a match made in heaven?"