Discussing PlayStation VR at a GDC talk this week, Sony Computer Entertainment America Senior Dev Support Engineer Chris Norden revealed that submitted games dropping below 60 frames-per-second could be rejected:
Frame-rate is really important; you cannot drop below 60 frames-per-second. Ever. If you submit a game to us and it drops to 55, or 51… we’re probably going to reject it.
He added, “I know I’m going to get flak for this, but there’s no excuse for not hitting frame-rate. It’s really hard, and I’m not going to lie to and say it’s extremely easy… it’s really difficult.” Norden then said, “60hz is the minimum acceptable frame-rate. Everybody drill that into your heads.”
To help developers with frame-rate issues and potential nausea triggers, Sony will launch an optional VR consultation service. “We have a team of VR experts that will play the game…and look for technical correctness,” he explained. “We’re not going to beta test your title or anything, but we’re going to provide you kind of a report of ‘oh, this is a possible nausea trigger. Oh, here you’re dropping frame-rate.'”
Elsewhere in the talk, Norden recommended that developers keep a defined “play space” in mind for PlayStation VR, whether it’s standing, sitting, or having a small area. Furthermore, devs will have the option of sending a warning if you reach the edge of the play area, as well as a warning to let you know when you’ve left the PlayStation Camera’s view.
As for a players’ IPD (interpupillary distance), PlayStation VR is designed to accommodate a wide range of them, and there will be a way to set it in the system software for each user.
[Source: Road to VR, Gamasutra]
