standard input controller for Cardboard-style VR?

For Christmas I got a Cardboard-style headset. It's comfy and the optics seem good, but the included Bluetooth clicker thing, despite the claims on the box, just flat-out doesn't work with my iPhone. From the Amazon reviews I see that this is a common complaint.

But without some means of input, options for VR interaction are pretty darn limited. I found one mini game where you shoot at things just by looking at them and holding steady for a moment, but that gets old pretty quick.

So, it has me wondering:

Has the Cardboard (and compatibles) community settled on a small number of input solutions? E.g., can I go to Amazon and buy some handheld clicker/wand/gun/whatever, and expect (1) that it will work with a fair number of apps, and (2) a fair number of other users will have it?

And do any of them have some sort of visual marker on top, so that if it's in view, I can detect that in my code and see where it is (e.g. for aiming)?

Or is it a complete mess, with no standard input solution at all?

 

I guess I'm talking about something like this, but standardized and off-the-shelf... and with the trigger, of course. These guys tried for a $30k KickStarter, and raised barely 1/10th that, so... not so much, with them. But it's such an obvious idea, surely somebody is selling these. Right?

 

The problem is that some of the controllers are cool, but there is no mass consumers using mobile VR controllers so if you develop a mobile vr game for gaze only input you reach the most players.

Nolo VR is great https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/243372678/nolo-affordable-motion-tracking-for-mobile-and-ste
but be careful because OUYA was great too.

I think the most standardized gaze input solution for mobile VR (which works for all mobile vr, including gearvr) is the GoogleVR gaze input system. Here's a video on the new 1.20 sdk and how to use it.

 

Drat, that's what I thought, but I was hoping there was some great standard-ish solution that I had simply missed.

 

As @Selzier says, gaze compatible control is best, you catch all users with that.

But it's also a good idea to at least allow users with some kind of input to use that as well. Users with any kind of button input should be allowed to use that to expediate the reticule timer; so catch any control button or key input and use that to timeout the timer, this way users with controllers at least dont have to wait for the gaze reticule to wend its way round.

Oh and don't bother with the cardboard screen-touching trigger, indeed don't listen to touchscreen at all because some phones in some viewers produce random noisy touch inputs where the phone screen touches rubber pads in the viewer.

The holy grail would be a game that supports gaze and also bluetooth or otherwise connected controllers, so something like @selziers movement stuff and then if any controller input is heard then the game switches to that or augments it. Easiest scheme is to listen for any analog stick or any button, and have your game input be just X/Y analog (all sticks map to 1 analog input) and 1 button (all buttons map to 1 digital input), that mixed with gaze gives a lot of possibilities.

I made this game (using another engine) that's compatible with any connected HID controller:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.silicondroid.galaxyvrfull

You have to allow users to define their controls, some HID pads don't play nice, some analog sticks appear as keys etc. it's a headache, I get many bad reviews due to janky controllers or bad bluetooth bindings etc.

 

It's my old Shiva 3D friend Fraser, hey mate!

Your VR game is amazing (Shiva3d engine) and is probably the best example of Bluetooth controller usage in a mobile VR game. And you're correct, when I made the Movement Pack, it was so I could support ALL devices in my game regarding movement. So if the user only has a gaze-based device, they can use the waypoint system (or lookwalk). And if they have a 'button' like CardboardV2 and GearVR, then they can use autowalk. Or if they have a bluetooth controller, they can use that for movement.

Best case scenario, there's a settings menu where they can select their input method, Gaze-only, single button, or bluetooth controller. And perhaps for gearVR or Idealens builds, you make even more input options for the touch/swipe pad.

 

Hey Selzier, yes good to catch you old friend! I saw your nice asset get "staff pick", and your jam win... woot woot, congrats.

So your Movement Pack already covers the base I mentioned, I should've known... you're all over the problem like a man obsessed!

I started a new game for cardboard/daydream with unity, a mech walker cockpit based shooter but this time with online multiplayer, felt I was missing the boat a little with ShiVa3D and VR, a very fast engine for mobile, but things are moving in mobile VR world and I have to keep up.