Lindsay Robertson

LE 1310-402
Nate Reynolds
05/7/2015

Virtual Reality Entertainment

Virtual reality is escapism in its finest. We as humans seek to escapes the struggles and
hardships of life we face every day. Media outlets, social activities, even drugs and alcohol all
provide a way of becoming or going somewhere to merely escape the reality we live. This is the
appeal of Virtual Reality, be anywhere you want, do anything you want and be anyone you want,
all while in the comfort of your own home. No repercussions, no consequences, this seems to be
what most advocates for the technology seem to be attached to. Ever since I was little there has
always been a fascination with virtual reality that I did not quite understand, to know why
someone would want to have this ability to basically escape, what were they escaping? The very
idea was mystic if not farfetched, virtual reality has been a theme of many books, TV shows and
movies, all exploring the idea of a Virtual Reality that can do exorbitant things. So here we are in
2015 still waiting on the technology to catch up with the concept. It seems that Virtual reality is
now at the forefront of tech gurus and companies all hoping to be the one who can get there first.
Literal races as companies vow to be the champion of our desire to escape reality. As these
companies race and developers work painstakingly, we must ask ourselves is it worth it? What
are the consequences and to what extent should we go? In hopes to explore virtual reality I will
discuss not only these questions but dive into the advances we have made with the technology
and just how far we have gone in regards to Virtual Reality as a tool for entertainment. This is
not to take away from all the other advances and work of those who have dedicated their lives to

Virtual Reality, but without having a focus such as entertainment the possibilities would be
endless.
Virtual reality in entertainment is not a new concept; it has been explored for many, many
years. Some would say that it was first introduced in early art work, based on plays that artists
would argue, to convince the audience that belief in what was happening on stage should be
reality. The 1920s with the first flight simulator is also argued as the first device used in the
modern use of the term. Most in the Virtual reality community would argue however that it was
the Sensorama that really made virtual reality relevant to the argument. A multimedia device
developed by Morton Heilig which gave theater goers an interactive experience. It included
sounds, smells and things such as fans to simulate movement (VRS, 2012). As the idea of an
interactive environment that a user could manipulate and change based on their own movement
and speech was not really developed until the early 1970s, where MIT enabled users to walk
through the virtual world of real life Aspen, Colorado (VRS, 2012). Not until the 1990s did
virtual reality take off and at the same time lose its momentum, many people were let down by
promises of a whole new experience, just look at the Virtual Boy developed by Nintendo, a
virtual bust one might say (Nowgamer, 2010). The technology and concept could never really
coincide, it was either too hard to achieve or an underwhelming let down. Developers have been
searching for years for the right way in which virtual reality can be practical, affordable and easy
enough to have in the home as well as having the quality the users expect.
Fast forward to recent years where game designers had now started to grasp the idea that
simply staring at a screen, toggling a few nobs and mashing some buttons has become old and
monotonous. Take the Nintendo Wii or any of the other concepts like Xbox Kinect or the
PlayStation Motion, all based around the simple idea that your actions, although limited, is what

controls the character on the screen. This idea was reinvigorating in terms of video game
entertainment to the general public, it was something new and more importantly something they
had been waiting for. Even Oprah Winfrey claimed the Wii as the first gaming console for
everybody (Johnson, 2013). The Wii and now other consoles had finally gotten over the
obstacle that gaming was no longer a boys only club. Everyone was doing it, Moms, Dads,
Grandparents, people of all ages were enticed by the idea that they were the ones in control; it
was in a sense the emergence of Virtual Reality in the home. As the gaming world reaped the
benefits of now having a more personalized and literal hands on experience so did the
developers, the attraction of what some would call the casual gamer gave enough momentum
for companies to invest and focus on the potential possibilities and revenue a true Virtual Reality
concept it could garner (Grubb, 2013).
In 2014, two companies unveiled their plans and systems they hoped to have in the home
in the next few years. The first was the Oculus a relatively smaller and newer company hoping
to make strides in the world of Virtual reality and gaming. The other was the giant company
Sonys Morpheus. Both brought back the idea we always saw on TV and in the movies,
depicting the future where they would someone would casually be wearing a head set and gloves,
while immersed in VR. The same concept that Nintendo tried in the early 90s with the Virtual
Boy previously mentioned. Apart from the familiarity of design, the two platforms brought to
light a whole new gaming experience. The advances in technology allowed the gamer to control
their environment by the motion of their body and to where their sight was set on the screen, they
now have the complete control as to where they both look and move, while literally being
engulfed in the game play itself. Although both are relatively new, the very idea is becoming the
talk of the town in gaming conventions all over the world (Gaudiosi, 2015). Although

entertaining, there is a lot to improve; even the president of Sony Computer Entertainment thinks
so. We dont believe that VR is necessarily going to replace the conventional games that people
have been playing and developers have been making for over 25 years, VR will give developers
another way to entertain people. Youll see even more variety of gaming experience by having
the VR option (Gaudiosi, 2015). It is a far way until they get to where most would consider
complete control over their environment, let alone being in a complete separate world but its a
start.
I completely understand the idea that gaming is not the only form of entertainment out
there; with that being said it was interesting to note that huge strides have been made in the
world of outdoor recreational activities. The GoPro for example, is the little camera that is both
durable and easy to use and has made extreme sports easier to capture. Everyone and anyone
who does not want to be limited by bulkiness of a traditional camera have looked towards the
GoPro or cameras just like it for its lightweight out of the way design. As of last week GoPro
recently purchased a company out of France that specialized in Virtual Reality. What this means
is now as the two companies merge technology users will be able to not only take pictures of
their environment but do it in a way where they will then be able to perhaps have an immersive
and explore able world from all perspectives (Murphy, 2015). How we interact with the world is
changing and virtual reality is making that a possibly. The very idea that Microsoft recently
announced the Microsoft Hololens which is software that can make your home and office
environment completely interactive (Microsoft, 2015). The idea that now you can change and
transform basically anything around you at any given time shows that the possibilities will be
endless. Entertainment will be a complete interactional experience where only your imagination
will be your limitation.

Although I briefly described some of the innovations and history of Virtual Reality in
regards to entertainment, the real questions are what are the consequences of this phenomena and
how will it impact society? There are a lot of concerns that VR could make us become distant as
a society but I do not believe this will be the case. Take a look back onto so many aspects of
entertainment or what many had considered society killers, everything from TV, computers,
the internet and so many other countless wonders have all been seen from a negative point of
view. I firmly believe that with what I have discussed so far only opens the world to the
opportunity for socialization, the possibilities really are endless. The very idea to be able to
explore new places and cultures in a way that surfing the net just cant do is something that
already has VR advocates hoping for. The future for VR is something that the world should
embrace; the uses go far beyond what I described in the world of entertainment. Imagine a world
where our dreams, aspirations and more importantly our goals are no longer hindered by physical
limitations. Beyond gaming the possibilities go far deeper, medical breakthroughs, language
barriers, and the very way we treat this planet can be altered by innovations such as this. I
understand that the risk with technology such as this can bring unattended consequences but the
risk, in my opinion, is well worth it.

Bibliography

1. Virtual Reality Society, VRS. (2012), How Did Virtual Reality Begin?
http://www.vrs.org.uk/virtual-reality/beginning.html
2. NowGamer. (2010). Complete History Of The Virtual Boy
http://www.nowgamer.com/complete-history-of-the-virtual-boy/
3. Johnson, JJ. (2013). Goodbye Nintendo Wii, Groundbreaking Console Ends Production.
http://www.inquisitr.com/1001514/goodbye-nintendo-wii-groundbreaking-console-endsproduction/
4. Grubb, JG. (2013). RIP, Wii Nintendo ceases production of its first
motion-control console. http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/21/the-wiisend-nintendo-ceases-production-of-its-motion-control-console/
5. Gaudiosi, JG. (2015). Sony could win the virtual reality game. Here's
why. http://fortune.com/2015/04/02/sony-virtual-reality/
6. Murphy, MM. (2015). GoPro is getting into virtual reality.
http://qz.com/393688/gopro-is-getting-into-virtual-reality/

7. Microsoft, (2015). Microsoft Hololens. https://www.microsoft.com/microsofthololens/en-us