From: ai474@freenet.carleton.ca (Farrell McGovern)
Subject: Re: DESIGN: Is there really such a thing as text-based VR?
Date: Fri, 8 Mar 1996 09:18:28 GMT
Message-ID: <Dnxz6s.EtA@freenet.carleton.ca>
Organization: The National Capital FreeNet


From: ai474@freenet.carleton.ca (Farrell McGovern)

> From: Robin Hollands <R.Hollands@sheffield.ac.uk>
> 
>>	It was a cold night, the wind was blowing, and there was a
>>hint of frost in the air.
>>
>>	There, that is a piece of a virtual reality...
> 
> Er, no - that was a line of narrative. Incidentally it also goes to
> reinforce my point about subjectivity. How cold was the night? Was it
> cold for an Eskimo, or only cold for Idaho?

	First, calling them Eskimo's gets them mad...

> 
>>	Virtual Reality consists of the use of information [in a
>>computer] to communicate a reality that is different from our
>>"mundane" reality.
>>
> 
> Says who? And why does it need a computer? The early flight simulators

	That is why I put the [] around in a computer. Most of the
discussion and infomrationin this newsgroup is oriented around the use
of computers for the creation and use of VR Enviorments.

> Point 1, I didn't restrict my original argument to graphical VR, but
> to all sensory synthesising interfaces - graphical, audio, tactile,
> olfactory etc. Point 2, the argument was not one of immersion. A
> cinema viewer could get very immersed in a movie, but the movie isn't
> VR because it is purely a passive experience. The degree with which
> someone can get immersed in a story regardless of how restrictive the
> interface is, is a tribute to both the power of the imagination of the
> user and the skill of the story teller. Incidentally, if you asked
> most of the general public what VR was after the release of Lawnmower
> Man, you'd have probably got a much more ambitious reply that what is
> generally regarded as VR these days! Stick Joe Public in a half decent
> HMD system with stereo audio, and then let him loose on a MUD and ask
> him which is the most realistic (not engaging, interesting etc. - just
> realistic) and I don't think the reply would be much of a suprise.

	Differenet types of VR affects different people differenet
people in differnet ways, and MUDS work for some...and others need a
fully imersive graphical envriorment. At the VR Cafe I consult to,
users come out of different games with widely differenet
feelings. Most can't take more than about 5 minutes the first time
around...even relativly simple ones like DOOM. When you ad more
"realism" with something like Hexen, or a true stereoscopic game like
Descent, the older the person is, the less likely they can stay in it
for lengths of time over 3-5 minutes.

	We had one person who had played a lot of Descent on their
home computer, and managed about 20 minutes the first time under VR
before he had enough...then he had to be helped to a chair, and
couldn't stand for about 10 minutes.

ttyl
     Farrell
     VR Consultant,
     Reality Bytes VR Cafe & Bar
     http://www.realitbytescanada.com