Virtual Reality

Everyone has heard the term “Virtual Reality”, but just what is virtual reality? Virtual Reality primarily refers to an interactive experience between a human and a computer system that takes place in a simulated environment. It is important to know that the interaction between both parts traverses a full circle (the computer system’s output becomes the user’s input and vice versa). The outputs of the computer system are mainly visual and auditory while the human’s outputs are mainly based on movement and speech. What makes the experience unique is that the behavioral patterns captured by the immersion mimic normal human interaction with the world around us, making the experience feel like real life, at least more than any other immersive experience that has been developed as of yet. The name “virtual reality” comes from this premise. Something that, by all means, feels like reality, but is in fact a world recreated through virtual means.

Virtual reality is a field which has been and keeps on being developed to this day. One of the results of such development is what I consider to be a subset of virtual reality, augmented reality. Augmented reality is the result of combining virtually generated aspects with our own reality to create an amalgamation between the two. A perfect example of augmented reality are the google glasses. These are a pair of spectacles created by the company Google that allow the user to experience an enhanced form of reality in which he or she can interact with certain virtual aspects overlaid on our reality. For example, the user can walk by a restaurant and by touching an icon “on screen” he or she can learn about the restaurant: its schedule, its rating, its dishes, etc. I consider augmented reality to be a subset of virtual reality because, in essence, it is really just a virtual reality overlaid on a “background” that happens to be our reality. Instead of the virtual reality just interacting with it’s user, it interacts with both the user and the surroundings through a camera and displays specific information depending on the user’s actions and the scenery present at any given time.

Virtual reality has had various applications throught its lifetime, though most of them are related to the videogame industry. One of the best known commercial applications of virtual reality is the one stated before, a commercial product called google glasses. Even though this product wasn’t a mainstream success by the billion dollar company because of utility constraints, it sure remains an interesting venture. In the videogame industry, virtual reality has become a really popular subject, continuing to span games that not only are really succesful in the casual gaming community, but that also have been seriously taken into e-sports as competitive games. One example of this is the first person shooter called After-H. Even though After-H’s in-game graphics are nothing compared to modern day traditional three-dimensional titles, the experience of moving, aiming, and shooting a gun, even in a virtual world is unparalleled.