An Early Look at the Sega DreamCatcher
This is the age of Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. Gaming companies are gearing up against each other with a varying degree of headsets that will either transform the world around you or put you in a whole new one altogether. It's been a dream of ours since the 80's really, and there are few gaming companies that have wanted to catch this dream more than Sega. Finally, with the technological innovations of our age, it is coming to pass and Sega is coming back to the gaming entertainment system business with their own iteration, the Sega DreamCatcher.
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The Sega DreamCatcher works very differently than other popular mediums such as the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive. The DC's harness basically wraps around your entire head and features a rather large viewing area that is capable of producing a completely realistic field of view. The side portion contains a set of surround sound headphones that aid to immerse you in the experience and the the wiring runs through to the rear portion and exits out behind you into a reclined seat you have to sit on when using the device. Wires run out from the sides of the seat and attach to an elbow harness and run up and in to the attached gloves that have sensors built in all of the joints and the fingertips to detect your hand placement and movement. The major concept that puts the DreamCatcher in a field of it's own is that the primary unit contains neurological sensors that are pressed up against your forehead and temples. It is Sega's ambition that these sensors will make it so that you don't necessarily have to buy any games for the system, but instead, the system will create fluid images and virtual experiences from your very thoughts.
Instead of spending money on gaming software, Sega encourages you to buy "DreamPacks". These packs, tested for the past few years, consist of brain boosting and enhancing medicine, which is one reason the DreamCatcher has been slow to come to the field just yet. Partakers of this virtual experience have to be over 18 and sign a legal consent form to use the unit until enough data has been gathered about the effects of the medicine used to make sure it is 100% safe for constant use. Things in the pack include herbs such as ginkgo and chemicals such as melatonin and antihistamines and more. These medicines take about 30 minutes to kick in and put you in a relaxed R.E.M. state which is when the device truly begins to shine. The DreamCatcher's appeal is that it literally attempts to do exactly the thing it is named for, catching your dreams, but instead of being a helpless floating entity watching what occurs, you can actually take an active role and move through your dreams entirely at will.
A number of DreamCatcher units are being tested in clinical fields and Psychiatric offices across northern Europe and results have been astounding. Sega does warn however that users should be extremely cautious with using the device when under the influence of alcohol and definitely strong drugs as they can turn the experience into a definite nightmare that can prove to have permanent neurological damage in the subject, and that's why all initial users are also required to take a drug test before picking up their purchase.
Sega has high hopes for this venture and thinks it will boost their company back up to becoming a major player in the entertainment system field since the eventual failure of the 1998's Sega Dreamcast. So far, results have been astounding and video captured from numerous volunteers has shown a vastly varying experience that has been both extremely fun and very insightful for many who have taken part. Sega hopes that, by the time they release the headset to all consumers, that they can figure out a way to create shared experiences that pull imagery from one player (a host) and allow multiple players to join them in their created world. Until this can be achieved, the current version will only consist of a single person experience, but rest assured, this experience is an absolute dream to behold.
Oh yeah, Happy April Fool's Day everyone. ;)