Playing games in virtual reality can be an incredibly immersive experience, but a major problem is the question of how to track a player’s feet. One solution is the 3dRudder, a kind of balance board that players can steer with their feet, and now the device is making its way to PlayStation VR users in the US for the first time.
The 3dRudder basically looks like one of those exercise balance boards, with a flat circular surface suspended off the ground by half a ball. Players plant their feet on it and move them in different ways to perform different movements in-game. Tilting toes forward to walk forwards, for example, and leaning heels back walks backwards. Leaning sideways strafes, while rotating it left or right turns the character.
We went hands-on (or feet-on) with the 3dRudder back in 2016, and found it to be fairly intuitive, and more immersive than steering with a control stick. It definitely seems like a more elegant solution for moving around virtual worlds than the dreaded teleportation method that’s still so common these days.
It also looks far more practical than strapping on a pair of VR boots, buying an expensive, living-room-filling treadmill, or donning an entire haptic suit.
The 3dRudder has previously been available for PC-based VR systems like the Oculus Rift, but now it’s coming to the PlayStation VR as a licensed accessory. It’s meant to slot nicely into your controller setup, pairing up with the regular DualShock 4 controller or the motion-sensing Move wands.
At launch it’s compatible with 35 games, including Space Junkies, Firewall Zero Hour, Intruders: Hide and Seek and Sairento VR. That list is supposed to grow over the coming months and years.
The 3dRudder is due to launch in the US and Canada on September 4, and it’s already available in Europe. It’ll be available for US$119 or CAD 159. Check it out in action in the video below.
Source: 3dRudder
