Tech Tools: HTC Vive

Imagine being underwater, standing on the deck of a shipwreck as whales skim past, pausing to eye you up before swimming away. Or how about turning your living room into a light painting, creating light effects with swipes of controllers, adding coloured snowfalls and rainbows. Maybe shooting up some zombies or dealing with a sarcastic robot is more up your street. It’s all possible with HTC’s Vive virtual reality headset.

The device, set for release early next year, includes a headset, two controllers and cameras. A set of headphones completes the package.

Those cameras create a boundary for the play space too. Walk too close to the edge and you’ll get a warning in the game, avoiding any embarrassing incidents. The controllers, meanwhile, give you the opportunity to interact with your environment through triggers and touch pads. In the games they act as guns; in the light painting app you can scroll through different effects and paint in front of you.

It's completely immersive, to the point where you feel disoriented when you finally remove the headset. Htc. com