If you don’t have the budget for a $700 Oculus Rift headset and a $1000 VR-ready gaming PC, here’s a far cheaper solution. A die-hard Commodore 64 fan created a pair of virtual reality goggles for the classic 8-bit computer that can be easily found for just a few bucks at thrift shops around the country.
Jim_64 added an LCD display to a cheap pair of VR goggles that mirrors what’s seen on an old CRT TV connected to his Commodore 64. Not surprisingly, there aren’t a lot of people still producing games and content for the C64, so Jim_64 had to code his own virtual reality (a term used very, very loosely here) adventure game called Street Defender.
As with most of the games that were available for the Commodore 64 back in the 80s, the graphics on Street Defender are terrible at best, and it’s questionable how much of an immersive experience this headset actually provides. But this is another one of those ‘let’s do it because we can’ hacks, and the fact that a computer that dates back to 1982 can pull off anything close to VR is impressive in its own way. Also, the price is right.