Facebook has made progress in its social VR network with Oculus Rooms. The app is now available for Gear VR users who want to interact with their friends in virtual reality.
Oculus and Facebook has been developing their new app which focuses on social networking for users in VR. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has envisioned the marriage between VR and social media in the last decade but it seemed impossible until now.
The Oculus Rooms app is currently available only for Samsung Gear VR users. It brings users into the virtual apartment similar to the Oculus Home app.
Facebook users connected to the Oculus Rooms app will be able to interact in VR with their friends who have the same setup, Mashable has learned. The chat area allows the interaction using the 3D bodies and not just text which is the usual channel of communication in social networking.
Oculus Rooms' user bodies are just floating heads of the avatars which can be customized by each person. They can change the color, hair style and some facial features to be different from the others. Unfortunately, the choices are quite limited for now.
There is still a huge room for improvement as users are still not allowed to interact with the greater public. They will not be able to interact with someone that is not their friend on Facebook.
Oculus Rooms also offers three games inside the VR experience namely "Pairs," "Words" and "Lights," Wareable reported. They can also watch in the TV area although the support for video playback is still unavailable at the moment. It does offer a variety of content that can be watched on a larger virtual cinema screen inside the room.
Facebook and Oculus will continue to develop the VR social network experience. The Oculus Rooms app may receive improvements in the following months and support for other headsets besides Gear VR could also be possible.
Watch a demo of the app below: