Virtual Reality is defined as an artificial environment that
is created with software and presented to the user in a way that the user
suspends belief and accepts it as a real environment. You may have heard people
talk about VR just in the gaming industry, but games are not what VR is exclusively attached to. The last couple of years, VR has recently been a big
talking point, with major companies announcing and releasing headsets; the HTC
Vive, Oculus Rift or PlayStation VR for example. In my opinion, VR will
start in the game industry and move to other mediums like interactive movies,
or just environmental scenery that you can look around in the virtual world,
and at some point, in the future I believe VR will merge with AR (Augmented
Reality).
Augmented Reality is the blending of virtual reality and
real life, as developers can create images within applications that blend in
with contents in the real world, for example; the Microsoft HoloLens. Both AR
and VR are similar that the goal is to immerse the user, but uses different
ways to achieve said goal. What should virtual reality be? Should it just be
focusing on video games or should it grow to be a different medium. Not grow
out of games but expand into other avenues. We’ve seen VR headsets release and they don’t generate a lot of buzz, yeah we hear people praising how good it is when
they try it on, but how many gamers actually have a VR headset or a device that
can run VR? Or how many gamers even want VR
in their gaming? There’s a community of people who are in that VR 'talking
space’ world but outside of that isn’t millions of people wanting to buy
headsets. The PlayStation VR came and went in my opinion. It released, some
people bought it, but it isn’t for everyone and PlayStation should be or
should’ve been selling it as it was and
is for everyone. They need a big developer with a big game to save their headset, or when the next PlayStation
console arrives they need to have a new model PlayStation VR and try to resell
the idea of the PlayStation VR with a different strategy. On the other hand I
feel that it’s easier to sell the idea of VR to PC owners, especially with the
power and back of Facebook with Oculus Rift.
Went on a bit of a tangent there, but nonetheless, what is
Virtual Reality? In the year 2017, I don’t think we fully know and fully
understand what VR is going to be in the future. My guess? VR and AR with somehow merge together into some sort of new medium of
entertainment. Yes, VR now is used mostly for games and even just short 360
degree movies, but it may expand to other aspects in our life somehow. I don’t
own a VR headset, and I don’t really want or need one at this very moment.
Maybe I’m just waiting for VR to grow into something else, remember VR is in
its infant stages and it’s only a matter of time before we see something really
special with the medium known as VR. Or maybe it’s just a phase in the game
industry and will go away in the next couple of years, who knows? We now wait
for the future to decide……
References
Rouse M, 2015, virtual
reality, WhatIs TechTarget, viewed 2 May 2017, <http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/virtual-reality>.
McKalin V, 2014, Augmented
Reality vs. Virtual Reality: What are the differences and similarities?,
Tech Times, viewed 2 May 2017, <http://www.techtimes.com/articles/5078/20140406/augmented-reality-vs-virtual-reality-what-are-the-differences-and-similarities.htm>.
