A multipurpose device will never compete with a purpose built device.

Standard VR controllers need to be able to interact with the world around them to pickup objects, press buttons, Turn dials. Sometimes they double as a weapon, but they don’t do it well. This is because of ergonomics.

On the rear of all pistols is the beaver tail.

With proper grip on a weapon, both thumbs are be pointing at the target, and the area between the thumb and pointer finger, is driven hard into the beaver tail . . . which doesn’t exist on generic VR controllers.

Hand someone a pistol and you’ll know if they know how to handle a weapon, just based on how they hold it.

A design decision was made for most VR shooters. That they value mimicking physical movement to reload the weapon, over being able to get a proper grip on the weapon. Requiring a controller in each hand spells that out. Will reloading in any VR shooter ever improve your reload speed on your carry weapon? No its all virtual.

What value is there in using a controller in the offhand to grab a magazine from your belt, when it means that hand is unavailable to properly grip a pistol? It doesn’t develop muscle memory. Its all a gimmick.

So an area that really could of shined from a training perspective in VR is unable to, muscle memory, and target transition speed.

Another area that could of shined is foot work and physical movement. The marines say it best: Fire without movement is a waste of ammo; movement without fire is a waste of life. This is challenging in VR, because of limited physical space. In an AR solution, where large scale real world environments can mesh to the virtual, there is huge potential.

The one strength that many titles do well is to simulate a stress response. What’s the point of a shot timer, or Pain penalty? Stress. Using a weapon to defend life is stressful, and the point of training under stress is to prepare for that.

Do any current VR titles fit the bill then?

Well if movement, object interaction, and weapons are the issues, which essentially all titles will have eliminates them from my list, its empty right?

I’m going with a very unorthodox pick, but hear me out.

Pistol Whip

The Rhythm shooter?

The Rhythm shooter.

With the latest release of the game, controller offset rotation and position was added. Turn on deadeye mode, which disables aim assist, and get some reps in when you have 5 minutes. Want some more stress? Turn on bullet hell, high velocity, heavies, The design of the game forces you to focus and get good shots under stress, and move while shooting, or you’ll get shot. The main down side is the horrible sights on every single weapon in the game.

The point of repetition is to develop muscle memory. This takes time and money, which are both finite. Five free minutes can be found to put on a headset, and quickly adds up. An hour trip to the range, between dropping off kids, church, and work is worth the result, but what if that hour of free time doesn’t exist, or only can happen once a month? Its costs nothing to get 1000’s of reps in over 20 non sequential minutes with a headset without leaving home. $300 worth of ammo is the same cost as a standalone VR headset.

This is our solution to the problem of grip and ergonomics:

https://augmenteddefense.com/product/xr-pistol-quest-2-controller-sig-320-grip-module/

A SIG 320 Grip module adapter for VR? Yes, practice muscle memory with your favorite after market 320 grip module. And the best part? Trigger pulls under a stressful environment. When your engaged with multiple adversaries, having to focus and get multiple shots off in a tiny window, It triggers the right reactions.

So how did we get to this point?

VR controllers aren’t designed to feel like guns, they are multipurpose devices.

I know it doesn’t make sense for someone to buy a piece of hardware that works in one title. I started pouring over everything out there looking for other titles that fit our design philosophy. Pistol whip is what was left standing, and the more time I’ve spent in it, the more I see it as main stream title that can double as an effective training aid for muscle memory.

Augmented Defense Design Philosophy:

• Your main hand controller is your weapon 1 to 1, ideally the controller or tracker only keeps track of its position, and the weapon weighs, functions, and behaves the same as the real thing.
• Movement – Our platform is designed for real world movement, add content to the space you are in, or create a virtual sandbox if you have a larger physical space available to you.

Development on our software platform: Augmented Defender is currently underway. Our first pistol controller for it is available here: . It also works great in Pistol Whip, which I’ve been using for muscle memory training for the past few weeks.

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