Modeling Reality with Virtual Worlds
Virtual worlds can be used for many different instances, such as for gaming (perhaps the biggest), or to escape life, a la Dwight Schrute (best character and best show in the entire world, I've seen every season/episode at least 10 times). Things like mimic-ing a natural disaster and using that simulation to figure out what you should do, or what you shouldn't do. The Army, Navy or Military can use this virtual reality as a training mechanism so that they can be prepared when its time for combat. The virtual world is a representation of the real world, and can have cons as well. One, for example, is lagging in the virtual world. It doesn't seem realistic when the game lags, and can lead to all sorts of problem with user interface that is critical to that sustainability of virtual worlds. It's hard for developers to create the same type of virtual world we live in the reality due to the simple physics of it; there are too many small 'dings' to fix every time a new update/bug comes out.
In the article "After Second Life, Can Virtual Worlds Get a Reboot?" Jacki Morie talks about her experience as a virtual reality developer and how she feels Minecraft has changed the narrative for virtual reality. "It’s digital LEGOs if you will, but it’s a space for kids to exercise their imagination and to connect with others to also want to build and create things." She says that while the name 'virtual worlds' has lost its gas, Minecraft has taken over by storm and this whole genre of gaming/experimenting is far from over. In contrast, the article entitled "I've Been In That Club, Just Not In Real Life" by Dave Itzkoff, he explains his view on this virtual reality space by saying "The result is an experience that feels like a mash-up of Facebook and Grand Theft Auto, with a dash of the indie-rock Web site Pitchfork thrown in for good measure." He is not a fan of how MTV has been trying to make its own little world, and then using shows like "Laguna Beach" and other hit shows to get that message across. My understanding of it is that they take a strip of downtown Manhattan and turn it into their own existential world that has little to no similarities with the real world, in the sense that the author described it as a "Grand Theft Auto" like simulation.
My personal opinion about where this is heading in the future is that we will see less VR, and more AR. Augmented reality is the ability to shape the way we see things, without having to 'warp' to another destination. For example, SnapChat and other new games in the App Store on an iPhone allow you to see dinosaurs on your camera when you take a picture that look very realistic, but don't require you having to put on goggles and gloves to try and act like you're there. The future is AR, and with such little development done with VR over the past decade it's hard to see why anyone would think otherwise.
In the article "After Second Life, Can Virtual Worlds Get a Reboot?" Jacki Morie talks about her experience as a virtual reality developer and how she feels Minecraft has changed the narrative for virtual reality. "It’s digital LEGOs if you will, but it’s a space for kids to exercise their imagination and to connect with others to also want to build and create things." She says that while the name 'virtual worlds' has lost its gas, Minecraft has taken over by storm and this whole genre of gaming/experimenting is far from over. In contrast, the article entitled "I've Been In That Club, Just Not In Real Life" by Dave Itzkoff, he explains his view on this virtual reality space by saying "The result is an experience that feels like a mash-up of Facebook and Grand Theft Auto, with a dash of the indie-rock Web site Pitchfork thrown in for good measure." He is not a fan of how MTV has been trying to make its own little world, and then using shows like "Laguna Beach" and other hit shows to get that message across. My understanding of it is that they take a strip of downtown Manhattan and turn it into their own existential world that has little to no similarities with the real world, in the sense that the author described it as a "Grand Theft Auto" like simulation.
My personal opinion about where this is heading in the future is that we will see less VR, and more AR. Augmented reality is the ability to shape the way we see things, without having to 'warp' to another destination. For example, SnapChat and other new games in the App Store on an iPhone allow you to see dinosaurs on your camera when you take a picture that look very realistic, but don't require you having to put on goggles and gloves to try and act like you're there. The future is AR, and with such little development done with VR over the past decade it's hard to see why anyone would think otherwise.
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