'Transcendence' is a series by Pimax, highlighting unique stories of our users and how VR has transformed their lives, gaming, racing, and flight simulation adventures. Today, game developer and YouTuber, Alexander Goncharov.
Alex about Virtual Reality:
I've loved games since childhood: 8-bit consoles, PC games, retro handhelds, and now VR. Gaming has always been more than just a hobby for me, it’s the way I live.
I have been reading books since I turned 3 years old. I liked it since reading, simply teleported me into amazing beautiful worlds full of adventures and excitement. As soon as I was 6 years old and I got my first PC things have never been the same really since then because now I could not only be a bystander who observes the action observes that adventure and kinda like passively reads about it but I was the guy who experiences all the adventures and all the nice stories to live through it
As the time went by, gaming evolved hand in hand with the technology. Graphics became photo-realistic, and previously unheard-of gaming genres have emerged. The complexity and variety of what games have to offer simply skyrocketed.
But for me, the core value of gaming always stays the same. It's about a story that you can experience to live through and to feel through and about all the fresh unique experiences you can get through the gameplay.
Then came virtual reality. I suddenly realized that in VR I could do things I could never even imagine doing in real life, for example feeling time with my hands in "Superhot VR". It wasn't even about escaping reality. It was more about experiencing life in a whole new way
Then I realized, that VR is simply the next evolutional step for gaming as a whole. I learned about myself that letting people know about VR and sharing the greatness of those experiences with them makes me happier, and so it led me to a new career path as a game designer and a VR content creator.
Certain games left a huge impact on me. Finishing the original "Mafia 1" game. When I was a nine-year-old boy, it opened my eyes to the complexity of happiness, human relationships, and morality. But also old school RPG games like "Fallout" showed me the importance of my choices and that the world around me will indeed respond to my actions, for the better or worse.
When it comes to VR, very few things will compare with exploring your own cozy yet mysterious solar system in "Outer Wilds", the cracking sound of your space suit helmet, zero gravity falls right into the black hole, the fatalism of an exploding supernova, and the warmth of a marshmallow on a stick over a campfire.
When I started "Red Dead Redemption 2" in VR, I basically set up myself for an adventure in the Wild West, drinking in saloons, helping funny strangers, and riding around the hills. I lived through all of that in VR in 90 hours. And the funny thing is that when, probably next week, I watched a western movie about cowboys and bandits and stuff, I felt like that movie was shot about me because of those people, buildings, houses, horses, and nature. It all makes sense. I've been there and I've felt it. And the feeling is pretty similar to if the movie is shot for example in your hometown and you can recognize every spot, every place, and every angle.
I would say, VR offers experiences that are incredibly real. You are not watching your character moving on a flat screen in front of you. You are the character. You are inside the game, and the game world is now your world.
Whether it's living through stories, or getting a top kill score in a competitive shooter, socializing in a VR chat with strangers, or driving rare cars, or maybe even exploring new worlds. VR makes it all possible. The things are now so close and so real. Just reach out with your hand, grab a VR headset, put it on, and enjoy your dreams coming true.
