Trying out an Oculus Rift virtual reality demo being used to promote Dos Equis in Austin and other cities. Credit: Christian McDonald / AMERICAN-STATESMAN
If you've been interested in trying the Oculus Rift virtual-reality headset technology but haven't had a chance to make it to events such as Engadget Live or Game On Austin, you have your chance this evening. Oculus Rift is not yet available in retail form to buy, but developers and early-adopters have gotten their hands and eyes on it. And you can, too, if you don't mind using it for what is essentially a beer commercial.
Dos Equis is promoting its figurehead, The Most Interesting Man in the World in a virtual reality demo that will be shown at Maggie Maes from 8:45 p.m. to 10:45 p.m. tonight (Thursday). This follows a similar demo that was set to take place at Takoba Wednesday night and that is touring in about 21 cities.
Dos Equis brought the demo (and a six pack of Dos Equis) to the American-Statesman on Monday and I had a chance to give it a try. The demo puts you in a giant party room where revelers, including Interesting Man, interact with you and you have a 360-degree view of everything around you. Other Oculus Rift demos I’ve tried, including one about “Game of Thrones” were computer-generated; it’s a little jarring to see the technology used with live actors. The resolution is not what you would call HD and it takes a lot of adjusting to not have the view appear blurry, but it’s an impressive bit of tech nonetheless.
The whole promotion is part of an online treasure hunt campaign. You can find out more about that here.
A still from an Oculus Rift demonstration created for Dos Equis. Credit: Dos Equis
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