Hope you’ve got some mints at the ready; this new VR game uses your breath as an integral mechanic.
Breath Tech from indie developer Brett Jackson (best known for his 2016 VR adventure, Dimensional) is an intriguing little experiment for the Oculus Rift. It’s a short puzzle game that uses the microphone embedded in the Rift to detect the sound of your breath, which then materializes in the virtual world. You’ll use it to solve escape room-style puzzles, blowing out candles, pushing a ball around a maze and even making bubbles when submerged underwater. Check it out in the trailer below.
“I want to encourage other developers to investigate using breath detection and for manufacturers to consider adding low-cost breath sensors in future generation HMDs,” Jackson told UploadVR in an email.
“The more that we represent a user’s physicality in the virtual world the more natural it feels. You’ve experienced it with your hands or seeing your shadow / reflection move with you,” Jackson wrote in a developer blog. “It’s the same with your breath, but breath is less visual than the former examples so you are less likely to question the accuracy of the representation.”
Could this be the first step to seeing better breath-detection technology integrated into future VR headsets? For now, Breath Tech is available to download for free on Oculus Home. There’s also a Vive version available here although Jackson notes that the Rift’s microphone is better suited to the experience.
