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Happily, VR should work in the opposite direction to books, TV and the internet. In addition to some games involving intense cardio work, it also forces the br

Happily, VR should work in the opposite direction to books, TV and the internet. In addition to some games involving intense cardio work, it also forces the brain to constantly judge distances and using your arms and hands to interact with visual stimuli keeps you engaged while transferring attention between objects and concepts. At least, that's the thinking. I don't have a source to prove any of that.

webmaven 4y ago
> Happily, VR should work in the opposite direction to books, TV and the internet. [snip details] > At least, that's the thinking. I don't have a source to prove any of that. You have a very narrow conception of games that will be played in VR. I rather imagine that 3D immersive environments will be popular for many sorts of activities, including ones diametrically opposed to your exemplars, such as puzzle type games that reward hyperfocus, voyeuristic immersive drama and reality shows (algorithms like NERF are about to make converting SPoV video into 3D environments and content straightforward), and narrative heavy interactive fiction. I'm not at all certain what genres and formats will prove popular, particularly with the general public, but I'm pretty sure that none of it is going to save people from their own impulses and obsessions. “The drawers, he knew, were full of beetles. Hundreds of thousands of beetles. He was free, now, to do nothing with his time but study them, sketch them, annotate them, classify them: specimen by specimen, species by species, decade after decade. The prospect was so blissful that he almost keeled over with joy.” — Greg Egan, Permutation City
- samplatt 4y ago
  Puzzle games that reward hyperfocus and minimal-movement and minimal-thinking are always always going to be preferred to be played on other platforms than VR, mostly because of the convenience factor but also because of VR's anti-convenience factor of a heavy weight on your face, lenses fogging up, etc. These issues are never going away. I feel like the rest of your comment kinda proves my point more than it proves the opposite? Forcing yourself to engage in cerebral activities simultaneously utilising different motor, language and problem-solving skills is GOOD. I'll say though that quoting Greg Egan is putting the cart before the horse, because his brand of end-point transhumanism sorta assumes that we WON'T destroy ourselves through Huxwellian dystopias before getting to that level of technology. Read Egan's Zendegi for a more realistic take for how that technology integration will go down.
  - swayvil 4y ago
    Desire runs the world. The future consists of progress in our ability to realize our desire. I think we can agree on that. 2 ways to realize desire. 1) Impose my desire upon the real world and 2) create a fantasy. The second is easier. So the future (for everybody but scientists, mystics and other such weirdos) is a deeper dive into fantasy. We busily work to that end.
  - webmaven 4y ago
    > Forcing yourself to engage in cerebral activities simultaneously utilising different motor, language and problem-solving skills is GOOD. I'll concede the point, because I wasn't contesting the utility, but the popularity.

webmaven 4y ago

> Happily, VR should work in the opposite direction to books, TV and the internet. [snip details] > At least, that's the thinking. I don't have a source to prove any of that. You have a very narrow conception of games that will be played in VR. I rather imagine that 3D immersive environments will be popular for many sorts of activities, including ones diametrically opposed to your exemplars, such as puzzle type games that reward hyperfocus, voyeuristic immersive drama and reality shows (algorithms like NERF are about to make converting SPoV video into 3D environments and content straightforward), and narrative heavy interactive fiction. I'm not at all certain what genres and formats will prove popular, particularly with the general public, but I'm pretty sure that none of it is going to save people from their own impulses and obsessions. “The drawers, he knew, were full of beetles. Hundreds of thousands of beetles. He was free, now, to do nothing with his time but study them, sketch them, annotate them, classify them: specimen by specimen, species by species, decade after decade. The prospect was so blissful that he almost keeled over with joy.” — Greg Egan, Permutation City

samplatt 4y ago
Puzzle games that reward hyperfocus and minimal-movement and minimal-thinking are always always going to be preferred to be played on other platforms than VR, mostly because of the convenience factor but also because of VR's anti-convenience factor of a heavy weight on your face, lenses fogging up, etc. These issues are never going away. I feel like the rest of your comment kinda proves my point more than it proves the opposite? Forcing yourself to engage in cerebral activities simultaneously utilising different motor, language and problem-solving skills is GOOD. I'll say though that quoting Greg Egan is putting the cart before the horse, because his brand of end-point transhumanism sorta assumes that we WON'T destroy ourselves through Huxwellian dystopias before getting to that level of technology. Read Egan's Zendegi for a more realistic take for how that technology integration will go down.
- swayvil 4y ago
  Desire runs the world. The future consists of progress in our ability to realize our desire. I think we can agree on that. 2 ways to realize desire. 1) Impose my desire upon the real world and 2) create a fantasy. The second is easier. So the future (for everybody but scientists, mystics and other such weirdos) is a deeper dive into fantasy. We busily work to that end.
- webmaven 4y ago
  > Forcing yourself to engage in cerebral activities simultaneously utilising different motor, language and problem-solving skills is GOOD. I'll concede the point, because I wasn't contesting the utility, but the popularity.