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Indeed, the big tech companies do not seem to understand what users want out of a VR experience. They want "Ready Player One", warts and all. Big Tech wants a

by RajT88 4y ago

Indeed, the big tech companies do not seem to understand what users want out of a VR experience. They want "Ready Player One", warts and all. Big Tech wants all the rough edges filed off, and for there to be little user control. This is why VRChat is so amazing and AltspaceVR is dull and uninteresting. Curated experiences with moderation and controls to prevent copyright infringement don't have broad appeal. A few of these events sound mildly cool: https://account.altvr.com/events/all https://account.altvr.com/events/all But something like VRChat always has something weird and interesting going on. Like, maybe I find a virtual theater where a bad sci-fi movie is playing and I sit down next to a group of Kermit the Frog / Booby Anime girl avatars who are trash talking the movie ala MST3K. Every day of the week you get this!

wpietri 4y ago
Thanks! I really appreciate a comment from an actual VR user describing actual VR use. I find the "but in theory it works great so let's ignore the problems" replies tiresome after a while. How often would you say you use VRChat? I'm especially interested in things that people use in the same way they'd use Facebook or Twitter: multiple times per week and as a default activity when they're bored.
- RajT88 4y ago
  I don't use my VR headset all that often, unfortunately. The last time I was using it a few times a week was trying to figure out if I could get a good working environment set up using my WMR headset. (It's OK with one of the virtual desktop apps you can get on Steam - but not so good I could do more than an hour in it. I haven't even gotten to the point of trying a Teams call to see how the audio and screen sharing works) Nor do I use social media much these days. I think if I was 15 years younger (less demanding job, no wife, no dog, few other responsibilities), I'd probably be in VRChat 3-4 times a week though. It's a dicking around kind of place not unlike the online games I used to play back then. I would use my headset more for watching movies virtually if: 1. Any of my friends had a VRHeadset and did the same (none do; barely any of my friends online game anymore due to family commitments). I used to regularly watch movies using the Xbox Netflix party feature back in the day. 2. My VR setup was more comfortable. Eyestrain is real - as my eyes aren't as great as they used to be. The headset chafes, I am still trying to work out how to consistently make it comfy. All told - middle age prevents me from spending more time in VR, and thus VRChat.
  - wpietri 4y ago
    Thanks! All very interesting. One data point regarding kids: A couple christmases ago I rented the Oculus Quest just to see. It was fun and interesting, and a hot property around the household for the first week or so. I expected that the adults would tire of it, and we did. But to my surprise, the kids did too. They ended up back on the Playstation and their Switches, and they didn't even notice when I returned the Quest. I'm very interested to see where it all goes.

by RajT88 4y ago

wpietri 4y ago

Thanks! I really appreciate a comment from an actual VR user describing actual VR use. I find the "but in theory it works great so let's ignore the problems" replies tiresome after a while. How often would you say you use VRChat? I'm especially interested in things that people use in the same way they'd use Facebook or Twitter: multiple times per week and as a default activity when they're bored.

RajT88 4y ago
I don't use my VR headset all that often, unfortunately. The last time I was using it a few times a week was trying to figure out if I could get a good working environment set up using my WMR headset. (It's OK with one of the virtual desktop apps you can get on Steam - but not so good I could do more than an hour in it. I haven't even gotten to the point of trying a Teams call to see how the audio and screen sharing works) Nor do I use social media much these days. I think if I was 15 years younger (less demanding job, no wife, no dog, few other responsibilities), I'd probably be in VRChat 3-4 times a week though. It's a dicking around kind of place not unlike the online games I used to play back then. I would use my headset more for watching movies virtually if: 1. Any of my friends had a VRHeadset and did the same (none do; barely any of my friends online game anymore due to family commitments). I used to regularly watch movies using the Xbox Netflix party feature back in the day. 2. My VR setup was more comfortable. Eyestrain is real - as my eyes aren't as great as they used to be. The headset chafes, I am still trying to work out how to consistently make it comfy. All told - middle age prevents me from spending more time in VR, and thus VRChat.
- wpietri 4y ago
  Thanks! All very interesting. One data point regarding kids: A couple christmases ago I rented the Oculus Quest just to see. It was fun and interesting, and a hot property around the household for the first week or so. I expected that the adults would tire of it, and we did. But to my surprise, the kids did too. They ended up back on the Playstation and their Switches, and they didn't even notice when I returned the Quest. I'm very interested to see where it all goes.