During 2016, virtual reality has been an on-going discussion as it pertains to traditional sports and how the new technology can be leveraged by professional sports leagues, college athletic departments and media companies.
But how about, let’s say, sailing?
One Melbourne-based startup, MarineVerse, is hoping its current virtual reality offering, VR Regatta, will bring attention to the non-traditional sport and inspire people to participate.
“I believe virtual reality can greatly enhance sailing training, be a great way for all ‘landlocked’ sailors to stay connected to their hobby and introduce more people to sailing,” Greg Dziemidowicz, Co-Founder of MarineVerse, told Yachting World in July.
“VR enables us to provide sail training and education at your home. It’s a fun and engaging tool to reinforce what you are already learning on the water.”
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Founded by Greg and Olga Dziemidowicz in January, MarineVerse has created a few prototypes along with VR Regatta, with the latter being the only free sailing game from the company available on Steam in Early Access. It is currently compatible with HTC Vive and will be integrated into Oculus Touch once it releases next month.
Since VR Regatta’s launch in June, Greg and his team have added a few key features to enhance the user experience, including multiplayer mode, night-time sailing and alternative boat types. As Greg explained via email, VR Regatta underwent a makeover over the past few months and will continue to receive regular updates in the future such as better and more realistic boat handling in addition to more detailed sailing environments and boat structures.
For now, Greg and Olga still plan to moonlight with MarineVerse and VR Regatta and are anticipating the game’s full release sometime next summer. Future plans are also in the works to support other virtual reality devices like Google Daydream and Samsung GearVR while the team is in early-stage discussions about targeting PlayStation VR.