Excavator Harbor Job

Departments: Geology and Environmental Earth Science

Tags: 2 stars, geology, linear, long experience, no height requirement, no leg mobility requirement, no sound requirement, offline, realistic, requires arm mobility, requires controllers, requires head mobility, requires vision, simulation

Excavator Harbor Job is a VR application that attempts to place the user in control of an excavation machine in various scenarios, mostly centered around an area near a harbor, as the name implies. The user uses their controllers to grab various menu options, which control different aspects of the excavator such as moving the machine forward and backward, and controlling the direction of the arm of the excavator. There appear to be various “jobs” that the user can embark on, each in different areas and with different goals.

Link to Viveport

Review

The Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience

Departments: Chemistry & Biochemistry, Geology and Environmental Earth Science

Tags: 4 stars, chemistry, educational, environmental, geology, linear, no height requirement, ocean, offline, requires arm mobility, requires controllers, requires leg mobility, requires sound, requires vision, short experience

The Stanford Ocean Acidification Experience is an application that teaches users about pollution and its effect on the ocean through a short, curated experience. Users see visual representations of molecules, and are transported to various locations to see their effects on the ocean. There are a few moments in which users are prompted to move around and touch various things, but for the most part, it is a relatively relaxed educational experience.

Link to Steam

Review

The VR Museum of Fine Arts

Departments: Art, History

Tags: 5 stars, art, culture, educational, entertainment, fine arts, linear, long experience, museum, no height requirement, no leg mobility required, offline, realistic, relaxing, requires arm mobility, requires controllers, requires head mobility, requires sound, requires vision, simulation

The VR Museum of Fine Arts is a virtual museum in room-scale with famous sculptures and paintings. Each art piece includes a small description of their history. With realistic graphics, the app gives instructors/students the opportunity to study and learn about the history of art around the world or use as a reference piece without the need to be in person.

Link to Steam

Review

Recommendations

Undersea Park
The Messy Truth
The VR Museum of Fine Arts

Google Earth VR

Departments: Architecture + Interior Design, Geography, Geology and Environmental Earth Science

Tags: 5 stars, earth, exploration, geography, long experience, no height requirement, no leg mobility requirement, no sound requirement, offline, open world, realistic, requires arm mobility, requires controllers, requires head mobility, requires vision, simulation, travel, world

Google Earth VR is an application that allows you to virtually transport yourself to various locations in the world by using, as the name implies, Google Earth. Users are placed in a first person POV at whichever location they select, and can move around by aiming at spots on the ground with their controller and clicking. There is a full 360 degree view, as well as other features such as changing the time of day by aiming at the sky and dragging it with the controller. The application also has a menu containing many curated scenic locations, as well as the ability to save the user’s current location in order to revisit it later.

Link to Steam

Review

Recommendations

Undersea Park
The Messy Truth
The VR Museum of Fine Arts