Following up on some pretty promising previews of his virtual reality glasses, or head mounted displays (HMD), John Carmack started demoing the device in Bethesda’s booth at E3. The impressions are pretty good and suggest that the immersion factor seems to be really great.

The device is not actually the same one that Carmack previewed recently, but is instead an HMD made by a Texan builder and virtual reality enthusiast. Note however that it works along the same principles and uses the techs identical to Carmack’s.

Carmack talked quite a bit about common issues with previous attempts at virtual reality glasses, all of which seem to have fallen short of the intuitiveness and latency required for serious, if not even pleasurable, gaming. He mentioned that a latency of about 20 milliseconds is the point when gaming becomes a bit of a pain in one’s behind.

Carmack once again pointed out that he expects the glasses to be a $500 do-it-yourself project. In fact, he even mentions the hacker/maker crowd's interest, as there is still much to do when it comes to ergonomics, focusing adjustments and software integration.

He also mentioned the option of improved screens, as the device’s only possible shortcoming would have to be resolution. While this will probably result in even more optimization, we’re somehow not concerned with Carmack around - he could probably optimize a marriage if he really wanted to.

You can find videos where Carmack details the device here.