Is There a Future in Virtual Reality?
As technology in animation continues to advance towards the hyper-real, the next logical destination seems to be virtual reality. But as virtual reality has progressed and is slowly introduced into the consumer market, it hasn’t had the world-changing effect that many people predicted it would. While some consumer products such as the Oculus Rift have certainly had their success, other forms of media have continued to dominate the general public. Is it too expensive? Are we not ready as a society to adapt this sort of technology? These are legitimate possibilities, but I believe the reason virtual reality has yet to take off is because of something more deeply rooted in our psychology.
The hyper-real certainly has a powerful draw as people want to live in a world where they make the rules and win or lose at their choosing. But this separation between the real world and the virtual one, I believe, is important. While these virtual worlds can be consuming at times, we are very far off from replicating anything close to the everyday complexities of the natural world we live in. And so, while this technology will continue to develop and remain prevalent, it will do so as a tool to teach us things that we can transfer into our real lives, and not as a replacement for those lives themselves.
I think that this is a very interesting point to make. It definitely draws us back to that idea that even though animation is becoming increasingly realistic, it will still never be the reality that we live in every day. I also want to add another possible explanation as to why virtual reality has not skyrocketed. I think that there is an underlying fear in individuals. This virtual reality can seem so real to people that they are incapable of moving because for some reason their brain is telling them that this is real. The reality of something so realistic is amazing, yet at the same time terrifying.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a very interesting point to make. It definitely draws us back to that idea that even though animation is becoming increasingly realistic, it will still never be the reality that we live in every day. I also want to add another possible explanation as to why virtual reality has not skyrocketed. I think that there is an underlying fear in individuals. This virtual reality can seem so real to people that they are incapable of moving because for some reason their brain is telling them that this is real. The reality of something so realistic is amazing, yet at the same time terrifying.
ReplyDeleteI agree that there's no way VR will ever become the main way to consume media. I think it's comparable to the 3D viewing option for movies. I remember when that was a big thing and everyone wanted to see movies in 3D but then the excitement wore off and now... when's the last time anyones paid the extra 5 dollars for that added headache to your movie ?
ReplyDeleteOver the summer I actually invested in a Virtual Reality add-on for my Playstation, and I was thrilled with it for the first like month or so. Like all new things however, it grew old and I don't use it as much (still very happy that I bought it though). I believe that as the future of VR grows, it will not become the next way to consume media unless there is a massive change in price or overall experience. It is super interesting, but after a while, I feel like it might grow out of it and get tired of the experience. It kind of relates to the 4D moving seats in movie theaters, they were popular a few years ago because it added to the experience, but after a few years they took most of them out because people got sick of them. This is a possible outcome with the VR if it becomes the next big thing.
ReplyDelete