To answer this, I thought of how people interact with video games today.
Sitting in a relaxed couch, talking with friends, using a controller they’re familiar with and being a safe distance from the screen. I’ve concluded that for VR to become a widespread entertainment device, it should follow some of the same guidelines.
- Design
Anything that goes on your face, has to be comfortable.
Think about buying a new pair of sunglasses, only to learn 2 hours later that they’re too tight on your jawline. An uncomfortable experience can ruin a great product.
Battery life, heat, weight, build quality, price — all of these must be considered when designing for the human face. The last thing we need is another Samsung Galaxy scenario.
However this all falls apart if the price is too high, VR must be affordable enough that people can justify buying one.
2. Who Else is Gonna be There?
Games like Fortnite and Animal Crossing are transcending play, becoming social platforms in their own right.
On April 23, 2020, players of Fortnite logged in to watch a 3D digital avatar of Travis Scott teleport around a beach, tower against a blood-red sky, and launch audience members into outer space. It was all part of a 10-minute virtual concert, the game’s biggest event ever, and 12.3 million players were reported to have tuned in. The Travis Scott attendance surpassed the previous Fortnite milestone for the over 10 million players who logged in for an in-game Marshmello DJ set in 2019.
1. How to use subtle AR filters to survive your Zoom meetings?
2. The First No-Headset Virtual Monitor
These artificial experiences are so potent that they go viral in the real world!
3. Safety
Virtual Reality is the first device that offers auditory + visual immersion.
Unfortunately this has also tacked on some new problems we’ve never dealt with before.
“Many people report headaches, eye strain, dizziness and nausea after using the headsets. Such symptoms are triggered by the VR illusion, which makes the eyes focus on objects apparently in the distance that are actually on a screen just centimetres away.”
– Science Focus
Battery life, heat dispersion, weight, materials — all of these are extremely critical to creating a safe experience for VR.
Conclusion
Even today with all the unknown health risks, the number of VR users are growing and people are enthusiastic about this technology.
Eventually the costs of hardware and manufacturing will decrease, thus bringing about affordable consumer level VR headsets, on that day we should ask ourselves: will our virtual memories becomes greater than our earthly ones?
