Found Article + Response: On Choosing Virtual Reality over the Physical World · 6:57pm Jul 15th, 2016
I read this amazing in-depth article today about how virtual reality affects people both positively and negatively. It comes from a gamer's perspective who played Diablo II when they were 13 and how it made them happy and changed their life. It talks about the effects of virtual reality today and what is expected for the future of the medium.
I've pulled three excerpts from this, but it's full of amazing gems. I made a response to this after the excerpts comparing it to writing as a form of alternate reality for the mind.
Read the article here:
https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/real-life-is-not-enough-on-choosing-virtual-reality-over-the-physical-world
Excerpt 1:
Excerpt 2:
Excerpt 3:
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My Response:
I absolutely love the idea of virtual reality. An acquaintance of mine made a VR Ponyville for use with the Oculus Rift, which you can download here: http://kaitouace.com/vr/
I remember the first time I tried his Oculus Rift demo. It was at BabsCon 2014 in California. All he had was a simple preview of the game, which was a single room with statues of the pony models standing idle around the interior. I remember putting on that VR headset and finding myself in awe of the sights around me. I knew it was fake, but my mind wanted it to be real, and I'm very much stuck in my head most of the day, so I was suddenly thrust into this amazing world where everything was so vibrant, colorful and inviting.
The demo room was small and gray, like the interior of a castle. Behind the pony models and across the room was a single window which showed rolling green hills like you see in the distance of the show. I couldn't exit the window, but I stood there, thinking about what it would be like to go outside.
And then later, he updated the game with a complete model of Ponyville, including the ponies. And I was in paradise for the five minutes he let me play until the game reset itself.
Almost every convention I went to where MyLittleTies was, I found Igor's booth and tried out his newest version of the demo. It looked more beautiful each time, with more wonderful things to do and there was always that feeling of joy.
I remember flying like a pegasus high above the town and then purposely letting go of the flight button to drop down. I saw the ground rush up to meet me and I physically braced myself for impact. The experience was so real to my senses that I felt I had to prepare myself for hitting the ground. I remembered that moment from two years ago and still think about it today.
All I've ever wanted to do was create. So on this site, that's what I do. I make worlds for all of you, all the while living in my head while they play out, whether it be a science fiction fantasy about companionship and changing one's life like "Equus Metamorphosis," a psychological horror involving a human who has wanted to go back to paradise for two decades like "The Wishmaker: Megan's Descent" or intimate romance where the reader gets to feel a little bit of the happiness when they are loved like "Pony and You: Night of Comfort with Pinkie Pie." I keep making stories because the world inside my head is happier than the world outside it.
I like to think that what I write is really just an accurate re-telling of the fantasies I experience on a daily basis. The stories are ways to share that with everyone else, so every comment, every fav, every upvote is a way of saying "Hey, your stories matter to us too."
That one Ponyville VR demo inspired me to download Unreal Engine 4 and try my hand at making virtual worlds. One of the days I'd like to go back and try again, but I managed to get a few things created in very basic fashion before dedicating myself to some other tasks. This is the one I'm most proud of. It's Vinyl Scratch's apartment:
Vinyl's Apartment was based on this art:
http://pre10.deviantart.net/2926/th/pre/i/2014/159/d/0/vinyl_s_apartment_by_template93-d7lgbex.jpg
All I've ever wanted to do was make places like this:
https://derpibooru.org/29
What are your thoughts on all this? I'm interested to hear what you guys have to say :)
You can find MyLittleTies twitter here. The creator of the game is named Igor. :)
https://twitter.com/mylittleties
Well thank you for the article and the kind words! I am kind of blown away that you remember the old original demo I had, that I threw together just a few weeks after getting the Oculus, the old DK1 variant, with low res, and tracking issues. It really was just a grey, marble room, with pony statues and that one window you could gaze out of.
I like to think that my current project has introduced more in the fandom to VR in general, and if it inspired you to create, then I am humbled beyond measure to see that. I still really don't know what I am doing, or where it's headed, but I am really glad that people at conventions really seem to enjoy it, even in the state it's currently in.
VR is the difference between saying that you played a game of Ponyville, and that you visited Ponyville, and I hope to see more such things as the technology takes hold, because there are many virtual worlds I'd love to visit, and it'd be amazing to bring friends along with me too.
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You're welcome! *hugs* I know that demo was super simple, but it still holds a lot of positive memories for me and makes my memory of BabsCon 2014 that much more vivid. Proof that virtual reality experiences are just as valid as "real world" experiences. You wouldn't happen to still have that demo for download, would you? The DK1 room? I just would like to see it again.
It inspires me to this day <3 :) I still want to make a Pony VR experience that's about exploration and discovering a new world. I know you introduced me to such an amazing world that has stayed with me as one of the most incredible parts of my convention-hopping experience in 2014.
I hear you there! I would love to make worlds to have people visit them. Can you imagine a more comprehensive virtual Equestria? Or just the interior of Canterlot Castle? Oh it could happen! And I could use Unreal Engine 4 to do it!
https://www.unrealengine.com/what-is-unreal-engine-4
I myself am very interested in VR. *Star Trek holodeck anyone*
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Hah, I am sure I do actually... I never put that up for download, but I've got the source on my machine at home. It'd just need to be re-compiled in the new UE4 so it'd be compatible with the CV1/DK2, but I'll take a look for it! It was really crappy tho!
Oh thank you! That really means the world to me, and I am very glad to hear that indeed! I can't want to see what you end up making, and look forward to getting lost in more virtual worlds!
4093635
I would LOVE a holodeck...that doesn't malfunction at least once every season when the writers run out of plot. :P
Have I ever told you what my large paranoias/delusions are? To summarize, I'm sometimes afraid that nothing I see is truly in the physical world. I get immersed in stories and games enough already, no need to make it virtual.
Also, have you ever heard of the Virtual Boy? It was one of Nintendo's biggest flops, in which they tried to make a virtual reality gaming device. They rushed it, and what came out was heavy, ate batteries about as fast as that group of kids ate your 5 M&M's, was completely red and black, and was a platform upon which creating games was... extremely difficult.
These new VR headsets should be far better, right?
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Oh the new VR headsets are TONS better than the wonderful monstrosity that was the Virtual Boy. I remember that system! I remember playing it too and the weird feeling it gave your eyes. There was...a tennis game and...um...Wario?
Well, you could put that to paper/keyboard and type out that into story form. I bet it would be fantastic if you just put your mind to it :)
4094270 Oh, I forgot to mention that I went to I psychologist. Out of 4 possible disorders, we tackled the elephant in the room first: The possibility of Paranoid schizophrenia. Turns out the symptoms I had are too weak to truly be paranoid schizophrenia. When I got back, we'll look at Sensory processing disorder, Insomnia, and finally, ADHD, which is what the psychologist believes I have.
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Ah good! That one's out of the way. Now you just gotta tackle three more *hugs*
4094318 MY LEGS. THEY WON'T. STOP. BOUNCING.
Seriously, I probably have ADHD.
Nice analysis.
4094489
Thank you! :D
4094535 Happy to help.
I personally don't see why anyone who is completely healthy and able-bodied would or should choose some virtual reality over the actual reality, and thought it wouldn't be that much of a popular wish, but then I read Friendship is Optimal and it suddenly became obvious that a lot of people apparently would upload in a heartbeat, apparently considering the problems and drawbacks involved insignificant.
Of course I can see why you would want to use it and make a trip into it, it wouldn't be much different than playing a video game or watching a movie on a big screen, except much more engaging and, arguably, exciting, but never leaving? I don't know...
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Actually, that was the EXACT discussion my readers and I had with each other, where I thought that uploading was actually equivalent to the death of the mind and a copy was simply made instead of the actual person being inside the machine. I wrote "Equus Metamorphosis" as a positive take on humans being able to change themselves on their own free will without coercion from an optimizer AI. I would NOT upload myself, but I would wear augmentations. :P
I would love to make trips into a VR world. I personally would like to create worlds that people can visit, interact with others and then leave when they've had their fill. Difficult thing to do right sometimes, but it's what I want. you're right that if you are able-bodied, then why would you consider *staying* in the virtual environment? I think some would, but not as many as stories lead us to believe.
Also Pokemon GO's popularity is on the level of how the pony game was in Friendship is Optimal...
4127322 I am also interested to some degree in virtual reality, but only as a sort of recreational thing, like video games are now. Not something I would want to spend the majority of time on.
And so CelestAI was apparently clever enough to not use ponies, but pokemon to reach its goals, so as to avoid raising suspicion among those who had read about Friendship is Optimal. That's clever, but to be expected from a powerful AI, I guessThings are getting more portable and realistic these days... I recall trying a star wars based deal back in the 90's during a class trip...of course it wasnt eyeglass friendly and I ended up getting a headache, but outside of the thing preventing me from moving away it was interesting
4145655
Yeah, the technology really has come a long way. The refinement and portability of it all really makes a difference. I remember those giant VR platforms they had in the late 90s that you could turn around on with the VR goggles and shoot all around. So cool, but so limited at the time. They had the head tracking down though.
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For anyone curious, watch the movie 'Hackers'. Such tech can be seen in the film.