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Want to Know What Virtual Reality Might Become? Look to the Past

nytimes.com

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Re: Want to Know What Virtual Reality Might Become? Look to the Past

#31

Clicking this link takes me to a login page with no ability to access the content in any way. I screen shotted it because I've actually never seen something like this before: http://i.imgur.com/1YBFuiU.png Also, doing the web link brings me to the same login page.

Something about blocking cookies or javascript stops the web search from working, or technically keeps their block working. I just search it in IE.

Re: Want to Know What Virtual Reality Might Become? Look to the Past

#32
post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a big difference between the 3-4 steps and 5-6 steps. Just as you can't simply assume that everything in books automatically translates to film, you can't simply translate everything in film to VR. My Vive had performance issues where my background environment would randomly pop-up during games. I thought that was a feature called "Chaperone." You're not going to be in constant amazement or think you're in so…

Darkened theaters are rather like a screen stuck to your face. After a while you really stop noticing the 'static' background and people just focus on the screen.

This is true, but there is still a significant difference. You have to actively engage your eyes to have that immersion. This is also the case when you can explore and look around a VR environment. There is a difference in agency. Naievely use the conventions of film in VR, however, and you can lose that. Everyone wants to be able to peer into another's POV. No one wants to be strapped into it. Doing VR wrong can change VR from the former to the latter.

Re: Want to Know What Virtual Reality Might Become? Look to the Past

#33

I think some Steve Jobs-ian thinking about the experience as a whole is called for at this point. VR/AR equipment needs to be friendly to the social experience and to social experiences, otherwise it's going to be out-competed through network effects by other equipment that has an advantage there. Current VR "room-scale" equipment seems to be optimal for 1) god-like player experiences, where you can survey a world, t…

the social nut in VR is going to be the hardest one to crack. It will be big when the solution appears. But we're not close to one yet.

The approach we're taking now is the "avatars and voice" approach, where you interact with other people through VR puppets, essentially. These puppets can mimic your body language and facial expressions and are supposed to increase the depth of human communication through nonverbal cues. The truth is, after experimenting heavily with this, I've found most of it to be pretty gimmicky.

It seems the human mind naturally gravitates to such ideas (e.g. second life), but it never pans out. I'm not sure what the right answer is, or if theres even one.

Re: Want to Know What Virtual Reality Might Become? Look to the Past

#34

I think some Steve Jobs-ian thinking about the experience as a whole is called for at this point. VR/AR equipment needs to be friendly to the social experience and to social experiences, otherwise it's going to be out-competed through network effects by other equipment that has an advantage there. Current VR "room-scale" equipment seems to be optimal for 1) god-like player experiences, where you can survey a world, t…

I wanted to get into VR but it's too cost prohibitive right now.

You need a powerful computer. That means either buying a very expensive rig from a brand name seller (Alienware or Razer), or building one on your own.

The former is cost-prohibitive. The latter is skill-prohibitive.

A smartphone, on the other hand, is cheap and requires no technical know how to buy and use

Re: Want to Know What Virtual Reality Might Become? Look to the Past

#35

I think some Steve Jobs-ian thinking about the experience as a whole is called for at this point. VR/AR equipment needs to be friendly to the social experience and to social experiences, otherwise it's going to be out-competed through network effects by other equipment that has an advantage there. Current VR "room-scale" equipment seems to be optimal for 1) god-like player experiences, where you can survey a world, t…

I wanted to get into VR but it's too cost prohibitive right now. You need a powerful computer. That means either buying a very expensive rig from a brand name seller (Alienware or Razer), or building one on your own. The former is cost-prohibitive. The latter is skill-prohibitive. A smartphone, on the other hand, is cheap and requires no technical know how to buy and use

The Playstation 4 VR is rather in-expensive and has a good selection of high quality content.

And I too think AR (augmented reality, known from Pokemon-Go) has higher potential/adoption rate. We will see it in our every day life soon, everywhere. And everyone has a smartphone, no need for a helmet.

(And for VR a "CAVE" is very cool. It's a special purpose small room where projectors point to 3 or 4 walls and the floor and you can just carry light&inexpensive 3D red-blue or shutter glasses and walk around eg with your friends. That's something we will probably see more and more in public locations too.)

Re: Want to Know What Virtual Reality Might Become? Look to the Past

#36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally think the things that have the biggest potential in VR are games like Tabletop Simulator, where both the game itself and the context of "being with other people playing a game" are part of the experience.

Being at the same table with others playing a tabletop game is like being gods in a competitive pantheon playing with a world. I think we're essentially talking about the same "thing" -- it's just that our culture's level of understanding of it is still nascent. Most of our experience of this thing is through tabletop games. Now, we are just getting into the possibilities of VR for the "thing."

A multiplayer Populous is what I am thinking.

Re: Want to Know What Virtual Reality Might Become? Look to the Past

#37

Clicking this link takes me to a login page with no ability to access the content in any way. I screen shotted it because I've actually never seen something like this before: http://i.imgur.com/1YBFuiU.png Also, doing the web link brings me to the same login page.

Because I have a habit of browsing NYT first thing in the morning, I tend to use Incognito mode. Never had it go through the nag screens then, but part of it may be ublock origin.

Re: Want to Know What Virtual Reality Might Become? Look to the Past

#38

I think some Steve Jobs-ian thinking about the experience as a whole is called for at this point. VR/AR equipment needs to be friendly to the social experience and to social experiences, otherwise it's going to be out-competed through network effects by other equipment that has an advantage there. Current VR "room-scale" equipment seems to be optimal for 1) god-like player experiences, where you can survey a world, t…

I wanted to get into VR but it's too cost prohibitive right now. You need a powerful computer. That means either buying a very expensive rig from a brand name seller (Alienware or Razer), or building one on your own. The former is cost-prohibitive. The latter is skill-prohibitive. A smartphone, on the other hand, is cheap and requires no technical know how to buy and use

VR right now is still targeted very much at gamers, many of which already have a capable enough system, or could get there easily enough with a few upgrades. As a side effect of putting together a good gaming PC I have everything I already need for VR save the actual headset. It's still expensive, but it's a good deal less than the total cost of a good gaming PC.

Re: Want to Know What Virtual Reality Might Become? Look to the Past

#39
post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally think the things that have the biggest potential in VR are games like Tabletop Simulator, where both the game itself and the context of "being with other people playing a game" are part of the experience.

> I personally think the things that have the biggest potential in VR are Porn. Let's be realistic.

When people can have the sensations of sex in VR porn media, without needing to interface bodily fluids with pieces of hardware, then porn VR will, in the words of Dennis Miller, "make crack look like Sanka." Or perhaps, when porn media makers figure out how to work the current forms of immersion to their advantage, there will be an uptick.

Right now, the increase in the quality of experience of VR porn over a screen and a pair of headphones is still marginal.

Re: Want to Know What Virtual Reality Might Become? Look to the Past

#40
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I personally think the things that have the biggest potential in VR are games like Tabletop Simulator, where both the game itself and the context of "being with other people playing a game" are part of the experience.

Wouldn't that be more of an AR experience? Similar to the game in the original Star Wars on board the Falcon?

It could just as easily be a VR experience, one which the HTC Vive would be particularly well suited to.
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