Oculus Rift at 13?

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Devil Ledbetter

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Please help out a clueless old mom. My 13-year-old son has saved $350 and now wants with all his heart to buy an Oculus Rift.

I know I can just say "no" to this, but I don't like to be knee-jerk reactionary ("It's unfamiliar to me, so you can't"). I don't know enough about it to tell whether or not its appropriate. Yes, I have Googled the Oculus Rift quite a bit, but between not being a gamer myself all the jargon and casual machismo on the gamer discussion boards ("Yeah I threw up, big deal") it's all kind of whaaaat? to me.

So if anyone has any opinions on this at all, I'd love to hear them.

Here's what I can tell you about the kid in question.

  • He just turned 13 and is going into 8th grade.
  • He's very smart.
  • He's very creative (builds things from scratch, especially flying things that actually fly, rockets, functioning cardboard replicas of advanced weapons, air and water foils, etc.)
  • He's very incredibly unbelievably lazy when it comes to anything he doesn't want to do. His room is a pigsty, he doesn't seem to grasp what a trash can is for even though I've formerly introduced him to ours numerous times, and so on.
  • His grades are absolute crap. Well, they're crap because he doesn't turn in homework, even homework we've sat on his head to make him complete. But he aces all of his tests. Yeah, he's that kid.
  • He would do nothing but play video games all day if we let him.
  • He gets ocular migraines.

I'd appreciate anyone's thoughts on this.
 
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ShaunHorton

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Well, to start with, despite all the hype and everything, the Oculus Rift isn't even commercially available yet. There is talk of a release date in 2015, but all you can get right now is the development kit, focused towards game designers. So you have time still. You just have to take him on their website and show him. "Look, this isn't for playing yet. There's no games available except under very special circumstances. "

Looking deeper, the comments on a consumer model are thus:

On April 30, 2014, Business Insider titled an article to assert that the consumer version of the Rift will be released in 2015, based on a partial quote attributed to "Management at Oculus VR." The quote in question indicates that the company would be "disappointed" if the headset is not released commercially before 2016, but representatives of Oculus assert that no release date has yet been announced.
 
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Devil Ledbetter

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Well, to start with, despite all the hype and everything, the Oculus Rift isn't even commercially available yet. There is talk of a release date in 2015, but all you can get right now is the development kit, focused towards game designers. So you have time still. You just have to take him on their website and show him. "Look, this isn't for playing yet. There's no games available except under very special circumstances. "

Looking deeper, the comments on a consumer model are thus:

It's the development kit that he wants. He believes it will be compatible with his computer based video games.
 

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Well, it's my understanding that the development kit is for programmers and developers, as well, no games commercially available are set up to be compatible. So no, it won't "just work" with his computer-based video games.

Honestly, were it me, I'd let him have at it. It'll most likely be a good lesson in disappointment and how things don't always work like we think they should.
 

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Is the question whether or not he should get the Oculus Rift because of its potential addictiveness or because of his age?

For his age, I don't believe it is any better or worse than any other game he'd play. If he is restricted, he would remain restricted. If he could play anything anyway, this won't add to that. It's just another way to play games, not necessarily a new game.

As for the addictiveness and its potential downfall, that's where it remains in your court. I'd have to think that it will be incredibly engrossing (after all, that's why people play games) so there is some validity to the concern. Think about it this way, the Oculus Rift is literally a headset you put over your eyes and play games in virtual reality. You could obviously see its pros and cons.

Finally, it seems like your main concern is that you don't want to immediately squash the idea. I think that's awesome. You can, at least, have the conversation with him regarding everything mentioned in this thread, especially that it seems like it is for developer-use only. The rest is, obviously, your call.
 

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He saved 350, I think that's a big deal at his age, no? (Unless he gets a lot of pocket money, obviously)
And he knows exactly what he wants to do with it.
You say he loves to build things and be creative.
Worst case scenario, he gets disappointed, it won't be compatible with his games... and he'll learn a lesson, that you can discuss with him.
Best case scenario, it spurs his creativity and he actually learns what to do with it? Which gives him endless possibilities and might be good, since he sounds like the VERY clever kid who is completely unchallenged at school an therefore bored out of his mind.
If he gets it, limit his time with it, until you're sure it's safe for him. (I don't know how you manage his TV/computer time...)
 

Devil Ledbetter

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Well, it's my understanding that the development kit is for programmers and developers, as well, no games commercially available are set up to be compatible. So no, it won't "just work" with his computer-based video games.

Honestly, were it me, I'd let him have at it. It'll most likely be a good lesson in disappointment and how things don't always work like we think they should.
Haha. I'm seriously thinking about this approach.

Is the question whether or not he should get the Oculus Rift because of its potential addictiveness or because of his age?
Both. He loves videogames so much that I have to wonder how much of a bad idea it is for him to have a more immersive experience. How much more immersed in those worlds could he possibly be, and how could it be good for him?

For his age, I don't believe it is any better or worse than any other game he'd play. If he is restricted, he would remain restricted. If he could play anything anyway, this won't add to that. It's just another way to play games, not necessarily a new game.
This is a really good point. Thank you. We do limit his computer time to an hour a day and he does everything he can to get around that limit.

As for the addictiveness and its potential downfall, that's where it remains in your court. I'd have to think that it will be incredibly engrossing (after all, that's why people play games) so there is some validity to the concern. Think about it this way, the Oculus Rift is literally a headset you put over your eyes and play games in virtual reality. You could obviously see its pros and cons.
Me, I only see cons but that's because I'm obviously not a gamer.

Finally, it seems like your main concern is that you don't want to immediately squash the idea. I think that's awesome. You can, at least, have the conversation with him regarding everything mentioned in this thread, especially that it seems like it is for developer-use only. The rest is, obviously, your call.
Thanks. I try not to immediately quash anything that my kids feel is important, even if my initial interior reaction is "that's ridiculous."

He saved 350, I think that's a big deal at his age, no? (Unless he gets a lot of pocket money, obviously)And he knows exactly what he wants to do with it.
It's a big deal. Some of it is birthday gift money he's saved, but a good chunk is earnings from mowing lawns.

You say he loves to build things and be creative.
Worst case scenario, he gets disappointed, it won't be compatible with his games... and he'll learn a lesson, that you can discuss with him.
Best case scenario, it spurs his creativity and he actually learns what to do with it? Which gives him endless possibilities and might be good, since he sounds like the VERY clever kid who is completely unchallenged at school an therefore bored out of his mind.
If he gets it, limit his time with it, until you're sure it's safe for him. (I don't know how you manage his TV/computer time...)
Maybe we should encourage him to set him up to start programming his own games. He'd be all about that, I'm sure.

I agree that the worst case scenario is disappointment, since we already limit his computer and gaming time. I guess it's the "Here's a device that will make him even more engrossed in gaming" is what bugs me about it.
 

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I agree that the worst case scenario is disappointment, since we already limit his computer and gaming time. I guess it's the "Here's a device that will make him even more engrossed in gaming" is what bugs me about it.

However, if that's his passion and he's clever and can get into gaming development etc. you might have a very cool future ahead :)
If he doesn't get disappointed and actually does something with that kit, he will learn from it, learn new things, experience new things and that's never wrong. Just limit his time, like you already do with gaming and make sure he doesn't lose his other interests, especially the social ones.
 

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I dunno, I feel like a $350 lesson is a bit much for a 13 year old. There are cheaper ways to get into game development, things like RPG Maker or other programs you can buy on Steam. Right on the purchasing page for the Dev Kit, you have to click a checkbox that straight up says "I realize this is for developers and is NOT for consumer use." I think you're more likely to end up with a frustrated 13 year old who blew $350 on something he can't use now, and might not be able to use when the actual device comes out. If he puts the money aside and waits until next year, saves some more, he'll be able to buy the real thing with a few games for it, too. He needs to learn patience and smart spending decisions.
 

kaitie

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I dunno, I feel like a $350 lesson is a bit much for a 13 year old. There are cheaper ways to get into game development, things like RPG Maker or other programs you can buy on Steam. Right on the purchasing page for the Dev Kit, you have to click a checkbox that straight up says "I realize this is for developers and is NOT for consumer use." I think you're more likely to end up with a frustrated 13 year old who blew $350 on something he can't use now, and might not be able to use when the actual device comes out. If he puts the money aside and waits until next year, saves some more, he'll be able to buy the real thing with a few games for it, too. He needs to learn patience and smart spending decisions.

This is my thought, too. I'd tell him that it's not going to work the way he thinks, and he should either wait until next year, or try to find something else to buy.

Another thing worth mentioning, though I'm not sure if he would care about this, is that it's never really a good idea to buy the very first technology that comes out, and this is still developmental. The first products tend to be very buggy. I won't even buy a game console unless it's been out for a few months because generally the first generation that comes out has so many problems that people I know end up buying one, having to return it, or get it repaired, and so on, and I don't want to spend hundreds on something that might fail in a year because of a glitch.

It's generally just a smart idea to let something be released, and then read reviews after a couple of months to see what people think and what kind of problems they're having with the product. It's possible that this will be released and everyone will love it, and it's possible that it won't work quite right or that the games aren't fun, or anything of that nature.

He might be perfectly willing to risk that much money on a product that doesn't work well, but I'd at least mention that there are usually a lot of problems with tech and that it's worth waiting. Something in the development stage, unless he's someone who is very seriously into developing things himself (which it doesn't sound like he is right now), just isn't going to be likely to be a good risk. If he waits until it is commercially released, a lot of kinks will have been worked out and it will almost certainly function better than anything he can buy now.

ETA: This is also something I'd personally be tempted to do, but I'm not sure if it's the best solution, but I would also be tempted to tell him that before he can buy something like that, that he has to show he is able to turn in his homework and bring up his grades. While this particular item isn't going to have a ton of games right now, because it has the potential to be a huge time sink and make him less likely to want to do homework, I'd be really tempted to make a condition for that as well. I'm not sure if that's the best way of improving that, but I figure it's worth considering.
 
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Devil Ledbetter

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I dunno, I feel like a $350 lesson is a bit much for a 13 year old. There are cheaper ways to get into game development, things like RPG Maker or other programs you can buy on Steam. Right on the purchasing page for the Dev Kit, you have to click a checkbox that straight up says "I realize this is for developers and is NOT for consumer use." I think you're more likely to end up with a frustrated 13 year old who blew $350 on something he can't use now, and might not be able to use when the actual device comes out. If he puts the money aside and waits until next year, saves some more, he'll be able to buy the real thing with a few games for it, too. He needs to learn patience and smart spending decisions.
Excellent points! Thank you.
 

Devil Ledbetter

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ETA: This is also something I'd personally be tempted to do, but I'm not sure if it's the best solution, but I would also be tempted to tell him that before he can buy something like that, that he has to show he is able to turn in his homework and bring up his grades. While this particular item isn't going to have a ton of games right now, because it has the potential to be a huge time sink and make him less likely to want to do homework, I'd be really tempted to make a condition for that as well. I'm not sure if that's the best way of improving that, but I figure it's worth considering.
Absolutely. That's already the "deal" during the school year. The results haven't been much to brag about, though. He will do just enough to get off the grounding and go right back to his old habits. Our daughter was the same in middle school but thankfully matured out of that.

I love when he's grounded from the computer. He builds really cool things, and he plays his violin and the piano.
 

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It's too bad I didn't see this thread earlier, as my housemate and I actually have two Oculus Rifts -- the original and latest release of the developer's kit.

A smart and savvy teenager could absolutely get it working with a fair number of today's games -- more relevantly, many of the best game development engines now have Rift support built in, and there is a burgeoning community of small indie developers making games that use Rift support. If he's interested in building games some day, learning and building small Rift experiences would be a good place to start.

What you might want to do, though, is ask him to build a small experience in Unity or Unreal (two of the game engines -- both have free 'learning' versions he can play with) to demonstrate that he understands the sort of tools he'll need to master if he wants to build content for the Rift.

If you want, you can also check out http://www.riftenabled.com/ -- it has a database of games that have Rift support built in, and it's quite large. The technology is incredibly reliable (we've been testing it for over a year) and if he's determined and has saved up his own cash, it's a really neat piece of hardware -- game changing, really.

I work in entertainment tech and we're actively building support for VR into products, so he's not wrong about it being important to the future of entertainment. :)
 

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Maybe tie it to his grades? If he gets a B average, then you will buy him the Oculus Rift hardware and SDK in lieu of any Christmas or birthday presents? It's hard to say because I don't know if your son is born to program for 3D or just unrealistic about his own abilities.
 
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