Job Simulator VR Review
By Precious Hinton
Developer: Owlchemy Labs
Publisher: Owlchemy Labs
Platforms:Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, PSVR
Genre:Simulation Video Game
Price: $14.99
Today I went to a job simulator ran by robots using virtual reality. Yes, it was exactly what it sounds like. The simulator provided realistic imitations of a variety of jobs. When I put on the Oculus Quest headset, I entered the simulator. Upon entry, I was immediately greeted by a floating computer robot. The robot told me that his name was job bot. Job bot then let me know that he would be my tour guide throughout my time in the job simulator. The place and scenery of the simulator was nothing short of amazing.
When I started to look around this job simulator, I noticed a sign that said: “For Humans Only”. This is when I realized that there would be a lot of humor presented in the simulator. Everything about the place was so unique and well thought out, so I started to look around for more gems. While observing the place, I began to think that it looked like a museum of some sort. The walls and most of the objects in the simulator were white and light blue. This gave it a very high-tech look.
Then I started to notice a few more details. Details like the built-in movie theater, the exhibit hall, the simulator hours screen, huge portraits on the walls, and four floating models that I could press a button. The four models were labeled stapler, office building, the commute and the businessman. I pressed the button to each model and was told a small description about each. While listening to the descriptions, I noticed that they were being read in a robot voice. That’s when I realized that this job simulator was completely run by robots.
After listening to each description of the models, I turned back to Job bot. He said: “Hello human, why don’t you take my business card”. I figured that I would be directed to a human from this point on. Using my virtual hands, I grabbed his card. Then Job bot told me that it was time to go to work! Job bot then pulled out a tray of job cartridges for me to choose from. I looked through the jobs and decided to start with the office job. After making my decision, I put the cartridge in the simulator machine and pulled the lever.
In the midst of transitioning to the office job, Job bot told me before I left that he had something important to teach me. He taught me how to return to the job simulator’s main menu where the cartridge tray and job machines were. I can even remember the humor in this lesson when he said: “You don’t want to get trapped in a virtual reality, now do you?”
After learning how to return, I traveled to a super detailed work office. Job bot escorted me to the desk, and I took my seat. Surrounding my desk space, I could see many other desks. I heard continuous typing and the sounds of phones ringing constantly. I took a look at my workspace and noticed things like a telephone, stapler, computer, printer, a coffee maker, stacks of books and more. On the wall were post-it notes, a clock, and a few humorous posters.
Then Job bot appeared. He told me that most humans start their day of work in the office off with a snack and a cup of coffee. Out of nowhere, a floating table appeared with a few doughnuts and coffee cups. I grabbed my cup to make my coffee in the coffee maker on my desk. Using the coffee maker was just like using an actual coffee maker. Once my fresh coffee was done, I drank it all up. I also grabbed two of the doughnuts and virtually ate them by putting them near my mouth. While virtually eating the doughnuts and drinking my coffee, the sounds effects made me feel as if I did it in reality.
Now I was ready to officially start my first day on the job. Job bot showed me where my assignment cards were, so I grabbed the first one. It instructed me to check the emails on my computer. When I tried to turn the computer on, I noticed that it had no power. Then I realized that it wasn’t plugged in. After plugging it in, I pressed the power button again and my computer came on. Then I was stuck because it asked for a password. I looked around and found the password on a sticky note. From there, I logged in, checked all the emails and was ready for my next assignment. When I grabbed the next assignment card, it told me to do some hiring.
I went through the resumes in the drawer below my desk and hired two people. I continued to collect about five more assignment cards and followed their instructions. Finally, I got a promotion. The virtual boss gave me a name plate with my new rank on it. Then I realized that my work in the office would never come to an end. There was always a new assignment for me to do. Noticing that, I went back to the main menu. When I got there, I saw the job cartridge tray again. I grabbed the convenience store one, put it in the simulator machine, and pulled the lever.
When I got to the store, Job bot greeted me and told me to always keep the customers that come in happy. I started to look around and noticed that I was behind the desk of the store counter. Outside I could see the cars passing by. Inside I saw that it was a pretty small store. The store had about three isles, an ATM machine, and also a restroom. The restrooms were unique because one of them said humans and the other said bots. The first order of business was to turn on the security cameras and clean up the trash that was left on the table. Then I opened up my store and took the first customer. After satisfying about five different customers, I felt like I really knew what it was like to be a store clerk. Then it was time to leave the job simulator, but I knew that the experience would never leave me. Being in the job simulator was the most interesting VR experience yet. If anyone wants to know what it is like to do certain jobs, I would recommend they try Job Simulator VR.
Story: (5/5) The story of this VR experience was very unique. It showed a world where humans could come to a robot museum to encounter different jobs. The scenery makes the user feel like they are surrounded by robots that are welcoming them by continuously calling them “human”.
Visuals: (5/5) There were very cool visuals of the robots and all of the machines. There was no blurring whatsoever. Everything that was shown in the headset was high definition. HD visuals were shown when users looked up, down, side to side, and even behind them.
Playability: (5/5) Users were able to engage with robot customers and employees, play with objects lying around the different job spaces, press buttons to see/hear reactions and practice working different jobs.
User Interface: (5/5) The system connected with its users by constantly using the tour guide’s voice to give instruction. It also had endless activities that the user could do outside of the actual instructions.
Replay Value: (5/5) Users were able to replay different job scenarios within the job and they even had the option to leave one job and explore the jobs that they had already experienced over again.
Overall Score: (5/5) Overall, the Job Simulator VR experience was very unique.
