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2022: Playstation Portable VR emulator
PPSSPP is the leading open-source emulator that brings the PlayStation Portable (PSP) experience to modern devices, allowing you to enjoy your favorite PSP titles in crisp full HD resolution. Whether you're on a PC or an Android device, PPSSPP breathes new life into classic games with enhanced visuals, smooth performance, and features like texture upscaling, transforming graphics originally designed for the PSP’s small screen into something that truly shines on high-resolution displays.
As part of the dedicated PPSSPP development community, I’ve taken the next step in immersive emulation: building a port of a true VR PSP emulator for the Meta Quest 2. This project reimagines classic handheld gaming by placing you directly inside the experience.
With full head-tracking support, games gain a new sense of depth and presence. The Quest 2’s wireless controllers are automatically mapped to the original PSP control scheme, enabling intuitive, motion-driven gameplay without the need for additional setup. This prototype opens the door to experiencing PSP titles in a whole new way — not just playing them, but inhabiting them.
This VR extension of PPSSPP represents a unique fusion of retro gaming and modern technology, offering a glimpse into the future of immersive emulation.
2023: DolphinXR
Dolphin is a highly acclaimed open-source emulator that allows players to experience Nintendo GameCube and Wii games with enhanced visuals, improved performance, and a host of modern features. With support for high-definition rendering, save states, and custom controller configurations, it has become the go-to solution for preserving and enjoying Nintendo's beloved legacy titles on PC and other platforms.
For me, Dolphin represented an incredibly exciting opportunity — not just to revisit classic games, but to reimagine them in Virtual Reality. The Wii's innovative motion controls were a natural fit for OpenXR-compatible VR controllers, opening the door to a whole new level of immersion. I envisioned players swinging swords, tossing bowling balls, or aiming their trusty Wii Remote — now a VR controller — in fully 3D spaces. Games like Metroid Prime 3, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and Wii Sports had the potential to feel more real and intuitive than ever before.
I began early experimentation on bringing Dolphin to standalone VR headsets, prototyping how head tracking and motion controls could be integrated to faithfully replicate — and even enhance — the original gameplay. The project showed enormous promise, and I was genuinely excited about the potential to breathe new life into these iconic titles through VR.
However, despite my passion and technical progress, the road wasn’t without challenges. I encountered difficulties in establishing a collaborative relationship with the core Dolphin maintainers, which made it hard to gain the support needed to move the project forward within the official development ecosystem. Around the same time, Nintendo initiated legal action against other emulator-related projects, casting uncertainty over the future of VR and emulator integration for their platforms.
Out of respect for the community and to avoid unnecessary legal risk, I made the tough decision to step away from the project. While it was disappointing to put it on hold, I still believe this concept holds incredible potential and hope the idea might be revived someday under more favorable conditions.
Even in its early stages, the work served as a proof of concept for what motion-based emulation in VR could become — an inspiring glimpse into the future of immersive retro gaming.
2023: VirtualBoy Go contribution
The Virtual Boy was one of the earliest commercially available virtual reality headsets, marking a bold and ambitious step into the world of immersive gaming. While it offered a fairly limited experience by today’s standards and ultimately did not achieve widespread commercial success, it remains a significant milestone in the history of virtual reality and gaming innovation.
In recognition of its unique place in gaming history, an emulator for the Virtual Boy was developed by Patrick for the Meta Quest, allowing users to relive this nostalgic experience on modern hardware. However, the emulator had been broken and unusable for several months. I took the initiative to fix and restore it, ensuring that this piece of gaming legacy continues to be accessible and appreciated by a new generation of VR enthusiasts.
2024: CitraVR immersive mode
Citra VR is an impressive port of the Citra emulator for the Meta Quest, developed by Amanda Watson. This project brings the rich library of stereoscopic 3D games from the Nintendo 3DS into an entirely new dimension—virtual reality. Initially, the emulator displayed the 3DS's stereo visuals on a floating 3D screen in front of the user, offering a basic but functional VR experience.
I proposed a simple yet transformative rendering tweak that dramatically enhanced immersion. By increasing the viewport size of the rendered scene by a factor of three to five, we created a more expansive, enveloping visual field. I initially dubbed this approach VR180, as it resembled a 180-degree immersive view. However, after some discussion within the community, we agreed to adopt the name Immersive Mode, which more accurately captured the nature of the experience.
Surprisingly, this enhancement required only about five lines of code—but the effect it had on gameplay was profound. It shifted the feel of the emulator from simply watching a 3D game to actually being inside its world.
Building on this foundation, the legendary VR developer DrBeef took the concept even further. He added support for 6DoF head tracking, allowing users to physically move within the game environment. Although this feature is only compatible with a limited number of titles due to technical constraints, the result is nothing short of breathtaking when it works. It transforms a simple handheld gaming experience into something far more visceral and immersive—pushing the boundaries of what's possible in VR emulation.
2024-2025: WinlatorXR
Winlator is a powerful compatibility layer that brings the Windows API ecosystem into the GNU/Linux environment, allowing users to run many Windows applications and games natively on non-Windows platforms. While often mistaken for an emulator, Winlator is not emulating hardware — instead, it translates Windows system calls into their Linux equivalents in real time, enabling seamless execution of Windows software without the need for a virtual machine.
One of the standout aspects of Winlator is its support for Oculus Touch motion controllers, offering a unique way to interact with Windows games and apps in an immersive setting. With careful input mapping, you can use the precise motion tracking of these controllers to navigate menus, control gameplay, or manipulate in-game objects — opening up new possibilities for hybrid desktop-VR experiences.
As part of its experimental features, Winlator includes a “pseudo VR mode,” designed to simulate basic head tracking by mapping head rotation to mouse movement. While this does not offer full 6DoF (six degrees of freedom), it creates a 3DoF-style experience that can give a sense of presence in certain games or applications — particularly those designed for first-person perspectives.
However, it's important to note that this feature is still in an experimental phase. The pseudo VR mode does not yet offer natural motion handling, and users may experience motion sickness or disorientation due to the indirect input mapping. It's best suited for short sessions or testing purposes, and should be used with caution, especially by those new to VR or prone to simulator sickness.
Even with these limitations, Winlator showcases a fascinating intersection of Linux, Windows compatibility, and emerging VR input paradigms, pointing toward a future where users might freely blend traditional software with immersive interfaces — all without needing to leave their open-source environment.