[grandmaster789]

Graphics programming for VR is only slightly more difficult than normal. Some screenspace techniques don't work as well, and everything is done in a stereo pipeline. The Oculus also requires some distortion and calibration of the distance between the eyes is very much preferred. Basically that's it.

Replicating the real world is still very far off, but there is an estimate where the resolution offered by the screen matches the average density of receptors in the eye. I don't recall exact numbers, but I seem to remember Michael Abrash having said something about it. Probably somewhere in the range of 8k displays per eye.

[runewell]

8k may not be high enough for true "reality like" vision in an HMD. A good article on the matter can be found at http://bit.ly/1bCyIcj .

What's cool is that mobile manufacturers have already committed to creating screens capable of much higher-density screens than current technology. The VR space was a bit nervous regarding display technology due to the diminishing returns of higher-resolution screens but recent announcement makes hi-resolution VR not only possible but likely regardless of the success of individual VR companies.

[hatu]

Game engines are pretty well encapsulated so it might be as easy as popping another camera into the scene and configuring them to feel right.