Gaming is an immersive medium, but it’s also one that most people enjoy while sitting down in a chair or on the couch. While sitting is great (it’s my favorite!), it does get in the way of feeling like you’re really in the action. But a company called Force Dynamics can help fix that with one of its products.
Force Dynamics builds giant rigs called motion platforms, which are hulking hydraulic-powered chairs that can interpret in-game motion and make you feel like every turn and jump you take is really happening to you. We’ve seen things like these in arcades before, but Force Dynamics will build these machines for anyone, and that means you can use it with all kinds of different games … like Grand Theft Auto V. Earlier this week, Force Dynamics got developer Rockstar’s open-world crime game running with its 401CR motion platform, and the results look like they could give you actual whiplash.
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If this looks like something you may want to put in your home — maybe you can put your kid’s bedroom out in the garage — you better tap into your savings. Force Dynamics builds these devices for custom orders. Each 401CR comes with its own PC, three monitors, a 900 watt surround-sound speaker system, and a top-of-the-line force-feedback steering wheel. And none of that even touches on the rotors, motors, and servos that actually make you feel like you are taking a tight turn.
Force Dynamics says that the 401CR can make you feel like you are taking 2Gs of force when you accelerate or take a hit. It does that through fast tilts and rolls that simulate not just the turning of a vehicle, but also what momentum and centrifugal force do to your body.
All of that hardware isn’t cheap. Force Dynamics doesn’t have a price on its site. Instead, it works with each customer on an individual basis, but estimates put the device at several thousand dollars.
But as we move closer to virtual reality, something like this sounds like it could make for an incredible cockpit experience. Just imagine rigging up a 401CR with a Hands On Throttle-and-Stick-style controller and booting up Elite: Dangerous with the Oculus Rift … sorry — I need to go talk to my financial adviser.