12 ms·

What do you mean by the new medium going forward? What are you expecting it to replace, or do you not expect it to replace anything?

godzillabrennus 10y ago
It's the first time humans will move from speaking in binary with one another to interfacing with one another in binary. Good luck to regimes like China keeping up with their censorship like they can today when we can all talk and exchange ideas in a VR world while speaking what seems to be the same language in realtime.
- nine_k 10y ago
  If other forms of internet communications are any indication, China will have its own virtual universe, shut off from any outside influence, "harmonized" with the party line, requiring real names and such, and likely larger than any Western one.
  - paavokoya 10y ago
    >requiring real names and such If facebook and google have any say, then America will too.
    - nine_k 10y ago
      Google, fortunately, retracted the real names policy a year or so ago. Sometimes common sense still wins.
carlosdp 10y ago
I personally don't think it'll so much "replace" as much as open up new doors. As in Cinema/TV didn't "replace" theatrical performances, theatre is still around and strong, but the audience has mostly shifted to movies/TV because it is more scalable and flexible. There's a bunch of apps that are trying to make virtual desktops in VR or 360 movies and the like. I don't personally buy into those that much, I think 360 movies are difficult to make interesting and virtual desktops are more for Augmented Reality. Besides the obvious (VR games), I think there is a potential for a new form of entertainment (maybe a hybrid of theatre/cinema), for more advanced design tools that make faster work of 3D-based design, for educational experiences. Some things might be "replacements", but there are a lot of possibilities that a VR environment opens up for things that would not be compelling or practical on a 2D screen with common input controls.
- coldtea 10y ago
  >I personally don't think it'll so much "replace" as much as open up new doors. As in Cinema/TV didn't "replace" theatrical performances, theatre is still around and strong, but the audience has mostly shifted to movies/TV because it is more scalable and flexible. Theatre is niche whereas once it was mainstream though. And it has been ages since its been culturally relevant in the way movies are discussed etc, even for high-bro audiences (e.g. since the 50s or so in the US, or around the 70s for European audiences).
  - 2muchcoffeeman 10y ago
    Movies are still like theater though. You can go all things you might do at the theater at the movies: Eat a snack, have a drink, whisper commentary to your significant other. Essentially it's scalable theater. With VR, you're trying to be 'inside' the media. Imagine a bunch of people feeling around for their drink or bumping heads as they try to whisper. I think if this iteration of VR becomes successful, it will be because they found a niche for themselves. But I can't imagine it becoming the default medium for anything, not even games.
    - H3g3m0n 10y ago
      You can put the other people in the VR experience too. Google at IO/2016 showed some experiment with schools using cardboard where they raytraced where each student in a classroom was looking at. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuceLtGjDWY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuceLtGjDWY With full body tracking and depth cameras you could put 3d avatar bodies in. Obviously the face would be obscured by the headset, but it's dark in a cinema and people are normally looking at the screen when watching TV at home. So it might actually end up being more social. Even with just simple 3d positioning of the headset and input devices with a simple visual indicator is enough to get a sense of someone being present. Add a microphone and 3D spacial positioning of voices. Of course the current generation of technology would make that hard and rare. Not too many people you know will buy a $1000 headset. Everyone would need to bring that and a fairly powerful computer to the one place. Although physically being present in the same room isn't required.
tfinniga 10y ago
A new medium never really replaces an old medium, it just starves all other media for time. So far VR is great for games, experiencing immersive environments (eg destinations), and some design/creation (eg tiltbrush). I think it will get better as time goes on, but it is already really compelling. I realize I'm an early adopter, but my enthusiasm is only increasing. WebVR is fascinating, and it's possible to create, for example, a really compelling shopping experience where you could see the actual size of objects before buying.
- flashman 10y ago
  Whoever comes up with a way for furniture and homewares retailers to demonstrate their products in your home is going to make a fortune, whether it's an open system or a whitelabel platform for scanning rooms, ingesting models and integrating with a shopping cart.
  - BHSPitMonkey 10y ago
    IKEA literally already has such an app in Steam. [1] http://store.steampowered.com/app/447270/ http://store.steampowered.com/app/447270/ [2] http://www.ikea.com/us/en/about_ikea/newsitem/040516_Virtual-Reality http://www.ikea.com/us/en/about_ikea/newsitem/040516_Virtual...
    - fudged71 10y ago
      It even has swedish meatballs
    - spb 10y ago
      That's not really what OP is talking about - it's just a single pre-assembled kitchen scene containing only a few Ikea items.
      - Obi_Juan_Kenobi 10y ago
        It's a start. I already have my apartment mocked up in Sketchup, and I imagine it's not that hard to import that. It'll be hack-y at first, but it seems like a very achievable target for professional interior designers, etc. The tech could easily trickle down.
corysama 10y ago
I like the Chris Milk quote "VR is the last medium." Because VR (eventually) encapsulates all of our senses and all of our actions, all other media, past and future, can be encapsulated in VR.
- morcheeba 10y ago
  smell-o-vision disagrees :-) It depends on how you define VR ... if you define it as covering every sense, then yes, by definition is encapsulates all other media. But if you define it as how its implemented, then no, because net every sense has been implemented. Smell, temperature, wind, acceleration, weightlessness, full-body touch ... we're a long way from the holodeck.
  - gnaritas 10y ago
    True, but those are all enhancements that will come to VR, not themselves new mediums.
    - paavokoya 10y ago
      You could say that the interactivity/3D of VR was an enhancement to the TV.. and therefore not a new medium
      - adrusi 10y ago
        VR is new and thus not well defined. The name, at least, is inclusive of all technologies that simulate a sensory experience, in a way that "television" never was.
      - gnaritas 10y ago
        No, because TV was never meant to simulate reality, and simulating reality is what VR is and that naturally includes all the senses.
saluk 10y ago
VR is interesting. It gives content creators a lot more options to engage participants, but it also takes an axe to their knees in their ability to control things. The author has no control over where the participant is looking - and with room-scale tracking, very little control over where the participant is standing either. The most successful content in my view capitalizes on this freedom, and provides new spaces for participants to express themselves. You do not have to roll on the floor to dodge lasers in the arcade shooter Space Pirate Trainer, but it is fun to do, gives you a workout, and was not programmed into the game. If it replaces anything, it will be things like museums, casual sports (ping pong, pool etc that require big space commitment for a singular activity), and social interaction tools like skype.
skriticos2 10y ago
The travel industry (packaged trours) say it will replace catalouges. Sounds plausible for me and as far as I heared there are a few pilots going on.
- acchow 10y ago
  Great application. Will also replace pictures in real estate listings I suppose.
  - cableshaft 10y ago
    I just got done apartment hunting recently, and there's walkable virtual tours of just about every apartment, at least in my region on apartments.com. Basically a bunch of 360 panoramic shots with spaces you can click on the ground to traverse to the next spot that gives you another view, and it fades between the two, kind of like moving down the street in Street View with Google Maps. It did a pretty damn good job of giving you a feel for the apartment (we toured many of them afterwards). Obviously actual VR would be better, but what they've got now is pretty darn good already, and definitely a lot better than pictures. That being said, I think most home listings still rely on low-res still pictures, which is a shame.
- SixSigma 10y ago
  People still use catalogues?

godzillabrennus 10y ago

It's the first time humans will move from speaking in binary with one another to interfacing with one another in binary. Good luck to regimes like China keeping up with their censorship like they can today when we can all talk and exchange ideas in a VR world while speaking what seems to be the same language in realtime.

nine_k 10y ago
If other forms of internet communications are any indication, China will have its own virtual universe, shut off from any outside influence, "harmonized" with the party line, requiring real names and such, and likely larger than any Western one.
- paavokoya 10y ago
  >requiring real names and such If facebook and google have any say, then America will too.
  - nine_k 10y ago
    Google, fortunately, retracted the real names policy a year or so ago. Sometimes common sense still wins.

carlosdp 10y ago

I personally don't think it'll so much "replace" as much as open up new doors. As in Cinema/TV didn't "replace" theatrical performances, theatre is still around and strong, but the audience has mostly shifted to movies/TV because it is more scalable and flexible. There's a bunch of apps that are trying to make virtual desktops in VR or 360 movies and the like. I don't personally buy into those that much, I think 360 movies are difficult to make interesting and virtual desktops are more for Augmented Reality. Besides the obvious (VR games), I think there is a potential for a new form of entertainment (maybe a hybrid of theatre/cinema), for more advanced design tools that make faster work of 3D-based design, for educational experiences. Some things might be "replacements", but there are a lot of possibilities that a VR environment opens up for things that would not be compelling or practical on a 2D screen with common input controls.

coldtea 10y ago
>I personally don't think it'll so much "replace" as much as open up new doors. As in Cinema/TV didn't "replace" theatrical performances, theatre is still around and strong, but the audience has mostly shifted to movies/TV because it is more scalable and flexible. Theatre is niche whereas once it was mainstream though. And it has been ages since its been culturally relevant in the way movies are discussed etc, even for high-bro audiences (e.g. since the 50s or so in the US, or around the 70s for European audiences).
- 2muchcoffeeman 10y ago
  Movies are still like theater though. You can go all things you might do at the theater at the movies: Eat a snack, have a drink, whisper commentary to your significant other. Essentially it's scalable theater. With VR, you're trying to be 'inside' the media. Imagine a bunch of people feeling around for their drink or bumping heads as they try to whisper. I think if this iteration of VR becomes successful, it will be because they found a niche for themselves. But I can't imagine it becoming the default medium for anything, not even games.
  - H3g3m0n 10y ago
    You can put the other people in the VR experience too. Google at IO/2016 showed some experiment with schools using cardboard where they raytraced where each student in a classroom was looking at. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuceLtGjDWY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuceLtGjDWY With full body tracking and depth cameras you could put 3d avatar bodies in. Obviously the face would be obscured by the headset, but it's dark in a cinema and people are normally looking at the screen when watching TV at home. So it might actually end up being more social. Even with just simple 3d positioning of the headset and input devices with a simple visual indicator is enough to get a sense of someone being present. Add a microphone and 3D spacial positioning of voices. Of course the current generation of technology would make that hard and rare. Not too many people you know will buy a $1000 headset. Everyone would need to bring that and a fairly powerful computer to the one place. Although physically being present in the same room isn't required.

tfinniga 10y ago

A new medium never really replaces an old medium, it just starves all other media for time. So far VR is great for games, experiencing immersive environments (eg destinations), and some design/creation (eg tiltbrush). I think it will get better as time goes on, but it is already really compelling. I realize I'm an early adopter, but my enthusiasm is only increasing. WebVR is fascinating, and it's possible to create, for example, a really compelling shopping experience where you could see the actual size of objects before buying.

flashman 10y ago
Whoever comes up with a way for furniture and homewares retailers to demonstrate their products in your home is going to make a fortune, whether it's an open system or a whitelabel platform for scanning rooms, ingesting models and integrating with a shopping cart.
- BHSPitMonkey 10y ago
  IKEA literally already has such an app in Steam. [1] http://store.steampowered.com/app/447270/ http://store.steampowered.com/app/447270/ [2] http://www.ikea.com/us/en/about_ikea/newsitem/040516_Virtual-Reality http://www.ikea.com/us/en/about_ikea/newsitem/040516_Virtual...
  - fudged71 10y ago
    It even has swedish meatballs
  - spb 10y ago
    That's not really what OP is talking about - it's just a single pre-assembled kitchen scene containing only a few Ikea items.
    - Obi_Juan_Kenobi 10y ago
      It's a start. I already have my apartment mocked up in Sketchup, and I imagine it's not that hard to import that. It'll be hack-y at first, but it seems like a very achievable target for professional interior designers, etc. The tech could easily trickle down.

corysama 10y ago

I like the Chris Milk quote "VR is the last medium." Because VR (eventually) encapsulates all of our senses and all of our actions, all other media, past and future, can be encapsulated in VR.

morcheeba 10y ago
smell-o-vision disagrees :-) It depends on how you define VR ... if you define it as covering every sense, then yes, by definition is encapsulates all other media. But if you define it as how its implemented, then no, because net every sense has been implemented. Smell, temperature, wind, acceleration, weightlessness, full-body touch ... we're a long way from the holodeck.
- gnaritas 10y ago
  True, but those are all enhancements that will come to VR, not themselves new mediums.
  - paavokoya 10y ago
    You could say that the interactivity/3D of VR was an enhancement to the TV.. and therefore not a new medium
    - adrusi 10y ago
      VR is new and thus not well defined. The name, at least, is inclusive of all technologies that simulate a sensory experience, in a way that "television" never was.
    - gnaritas 10y ago
      No, because TV was never meant to simulate reality, and simulating reality is what VR is and that naturally includes all the senses.

saluk 10y ago

VR is interesting. It gives content creators a lot more options to engage participants, but it also takes an axe to their knees in their ability to control things. The author has no control over where the participant is looking - and with room-scale tracking, very little control over where the participant is standing either. The most successful content in my view capitalizes on this freedom, and provides new spaces for participants to express themselves. You do not have to roll on the floor to dodge lasers in the arcade shooter Space Pirate Trainer, but it is fun to do, gives you a workout, and was not programmed into the game. If it replaces anything, it will be things like museums, casual sports (ping pong, pool etc that require big space commitment for a singular activity), and social interaction tools like skype.

skriticos2 10y ago

The travel industry (packaged trours) say it will replace catalouges. Sounds plausible for me and as far as I heared there are a few pilots going on.

acchow 10y ago
Great application. Will also replace pictures in real estate listings I suppose.
- cableshaft 10y ago
  I just got done apartment hunting recently, and there's walkable virtual tours of just about every apartment, at least in my region on apartments.com. Basically a bunch of 360 panoramic shots with spaces you can click on the ground to traverse to the next spot that gives you another view, and it fades between the two, kind of like moving down the street in Street View with Google Maps. It did a pretty damn good job of giving you a feel for the apartment (we toured many of them afterwards). Obviously actual VR would be better, but what they've got now is pretty darn good already, and definitely a lot better than pictures. That being said, I think most home listings still rely on low-res still pictures, which is a shame.
SixSigma 10y ago
People still use catalogues?