3 ms·

This is related to an issue I am trying to solve. I want to know if its possible to make an application that will make some task more efficient for people in V

by daheza 11y ago

This is related to an issue I am trying to solve. I want to know if its possible to make an application that will make some task more efficient for people in VR rather than on a 2d screen. I am having difficulty finding ideas that are more involved than just using the space in vr as an infinite 2d screen. Even with an infinite 2d screen though we have issues in vr because text is not very legible. I am at GDC right now seeing if I can get ideas based off the games people are making.

potatolicious 11y ago
Personally I'm not convinced this is a particularly promising avenue of exploration - I can be very wrong, of course. A couple thoughts on VR-as-workspaces: - The 2D screen has a lot going for it - I think it's tempting to regard 2D screens as something that only exists in this form because of technological limitations. On the contrary I think 2D screens have evolved into their present forms because they are extraordinarily good for what they do. - Movement is consistently underestimated. Even ignoring the current resolution limits of VR, any workflow where the user must move a lot physically is destined to fail. Swinging your head around just to perform everyday tasks is a complete non-starter no matter how good the underlying technology is. One of the core features of computing today is that you can use almost all functionality while barely moving - this is a feature, not a bug. There is a reason why enormous, gigantic monitors are unpopular for everyday work, and it's not just because of cost. There is also a reason why software-based multi-desktop and screen-area management is vastly more popular than multi-monitor setups, and it's not just because of cost. Physical movement in computing is a big deal. Similarly this is also the deep hole that motion inputs fell into and never found their way out of. Minority Report's cool arm-waving UI looks cool, but is incredibly annoying (not to mention physically tiring) thing in real life that no one in their right mind would want to use for more than 45 seconds. This is part of what I was talking about when I say the VR/AR is currently all tech demos - they are really cool, but many of these things are strictly worse than the status quo, in a way that's not even due to the limits of VR/AR tech. A lot of the lack of excitement in this space IMO is because we have this cool tech but we keep trying to find a hole into which to shove it. A large percentage of the stuff we see coming out of VR development seems to be "hey, what if we can replace [perfectly good, functional thing] with a VR headset?", to everyone's collective groans.
- TuringTest 11y ago
  How about Entertainment? Being virtually transferred to a remote location, either as tourism or to watch any kind of show (concerts, live theater, sports) should have obvious appeal for any spectator. Watching performances should be a larger market than other niche entertainments that benefit from VR like hardcore gaming. The increased sense of presence is an instant upgrade over the limitations of TV and handheld devices, assuming the shortcomings of VR discomfort can be avoided.

by daheza 11y ago

potatolicious 11y ago

Personally I'm not convinced this is a particularly promising avenue of exploration - I can be very wrong, of course. A couple thoughts on VR-as-workspaces: - The 2D screen has a lot going for it - I think it's tempting to regard 2D screens as something that only exists in this form because of technological limitations. On the contrary I think 2D screens have evolved into their present forms because they are extraordinarily good for what they do. - Movement is consistently underestimated. Even ignoring the current resolution limits of VR, any workflow where the user must move a lot physically is destined to fail. Swinging your head around just to perform everyday tasks is a complete non-starter no matter how good the underlying technology is. One of the core features of computing today is that you can use almost all functionality while barely moving - this is a feature, not a bug. There is a reason why enormous, gigantic monitors are unpopular for everyday work, and it's not just because of cost. There is also a reason why software-based multi-desktop and screen-area management is vastly more popular than multi-monitor setups, and it's not just because of cost. Physical movement in computing is a big deal. Similarly this is also the deep hole that motion inputs fell into and never found their way out of. Minority Report's cool arm-waving UI looks cool, but is incredibly annoying (not to mention physically tiring) thing in real life that no one in their right mind would want to use for more than 45 seconds. This is part of what I was talking about when I say the VR/AR is currently all tech demos - they are really cool, but many of these things are strictly worse than the status quo, in a way that's not even due to the limits of VR/AR tech. A lot of the lack of excitement in this space IMO is because we have this cool tech but we keep trying to find a hole into which to shove it. A large percentage of the stuff we see coming out of VR development seems to be "hey, what if we can replace [perfectly good, functional thing] with a VR headset?", to everyone's collective groans.

TuringTest 11y ago
How about Entertainment? Being virtually transferred to a remote location, either as tourism or to watch any kind of show (concerts, live theater, sports) should have obvious appeal for any spectator. Watching performances should be a larger market than other niche entertainments that benefit from VR like hardcore gaming. The increased sense of presence is an instant upgrade over the limitations of TV and handheld devices, assuming the shortcomings of VR discomfort can be avoided.