"This could be a science lesson on the innards of sharks."
Chance Ivey, game design lead for Chaotic Moon's whimsical Oculus Rift demo SharkPunch, was only half-joking when he made that comment to me as I exploded a megalodon with my fist in virtual space. That's because the minigame, which incorporates a visor-mounted Leap Motion controller to let users punch sharks in 3D, actually has firm roots in an educational simulator the Austin, Texas-based company's been developing for prospective clients. Yes, that connection may be hard to swallow at first -- after all, how does a frenzied, and fun, game of shark carnage assist players with learning? The simple answer is that it doesn't, but by no means does that lessen SharkPunch's educational origins in the slightest.
Chaotic Moon's proper Oculus Rift education demo begins by placing a user within a virtual classroom. At the front of this room is an interactive periodic table that the "student," acting on instructions from a nearby teacher, uses to pull elements together and create a molecule of H2O, also known as water. Once that goal's been achieved, the molecules begin to multiply in a chain filling the room and, eventually, transforming into water; water which then floods the classroom. It's at this point the student finds him/herself immersed in an undersea environment populated by swimming fish. Chance told us that it was this tempting virtual environment that prompted a multitude of users to wonder aloud, "Can I punch those fish?" If you've ever submerged yourself in the Oculus Rift's VR world, you'd understand the impulse.