Facebook Horizon
| Facebook Horizon | |
|---|---|
| Information | |
| VR/AR | Virtual Reality |
| Developer | |
| Publisher | |
| Platform | Oculus |
| Device | Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest |
| Type | Experience |
| Genre | Adventure, Casual, Exploration, Puzzle |
| Input Device | 2 Oculus controllers |
| Play Area | Room-Scale |
| Game Mode | Multiplayer, MMP |
| Language | English |
| Release Date | in beta |
| Price | sign up for beta testing waitlist for free |
| Website | https://www.oculus.com/facebook-horizon/ |
| Infobox Updated | June 14, 2021 |
Facebook Horizon is a VR App.
Description
Facebook Horizon is a free-play, choose-your-own-adventure and create-your-own-adventure virtual experience. You can create and customize your own avatar and join groups of up to 8 friends or strangers to solve a puzzle or complete a challenge. You can also build your own world and interact with other avatars as little or as much as you like.[1]
Facebook Horizon has not been released to the public yet, but you can sign up for an invite-only, beta testing waitlist through Facebook in the US and Canada.[1]
Facebook shut down Oculus Rooms and Facebook Spaces on October 25, 2019 in favor of developing Facebook Horizon further.[2]
Features
- Community Guides - available in-app at the Plaza to show you the ropes (avatars with "Community Guide" on their name tag) [3]
- Safe Zone - you are a controller-click away from taking a moment away from the action
- Set Boundaries - how close another avatar can be to you
- Quick Controls - including safety features like muting, blocking, or reporting another player
Being a virtual community experience, users may run into situations they may want to leave; this is made possible by clicking the shield button which takes you to your Safety Zone. Your Safety Zone blurs other avatars in your view[5] and enables to you take a moment to yourself, and if you choose, allows you to report other users to a training specialist. You can include footage recorded on an on-going, rolling basis by your Oculus headset in your report.[1]
Note that Facebook may use your data to show you personalized ads. Your Horizon profile information such as your username, avatar, and mutual Oculus friends on Horizon are accessible to others within the app, as well.[3]
Reviews
Hardawar, a contributor at Engadget, noted the potential of the app given its versatile creation mode and expansion beyond the use cases for Facebook Spaces, Oculus Rooms, and Oculus Venues, during their own beta testing in 2020. However, they also noted the security concerns given it is a massive, multi-player, public world that will need to be worked out before releasing to the public.[6]
Feltham, a contributor at UploadVR, found the different worlds impressive, but questioned the novelty and purpose of the Horizon experience. He noted the rapid progression of codeless game development in the industry, which is not unique to Horizon, but also included that Facebook Reality Labs’ Head of Experiences for Product Marketing, Meaghan Fitzgerald, considers the social element differentiates Horizon from other apps. After Feltham's interview with Fitzgerald and Ari Grant, a Product Management Director at Horizon, it seemed that only time would tell the true purpose and differentiating features of Facebook Horizon.[5]
System Requirements
You must have a Facebook account to use Facebook Horizon. [3]
Images and Videos
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://www.oculus.com/blog/facebook-horizon-invite-only-beta-is-ready-for-virtual-explorers/
- ↑ https://www.oculus.com/blog/introducing-facebook-horizon-a-new-social-vr-world-coming-to-oculus-quest-and-the-rift-platform-in-2020/
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 https://support.oculus.com/233855804598497/
- ↑ https://www.oculus.com/facebook-horizon/community/
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 https://uploadvr.com/facebook-horizon-preview/
- ↑ https://www.engadget.com/facebook-horizon-oculus-vr-hands-on-170017517.html
