Writing on the Holodeck
I’ve recently installed Immersed, a VR workspace software for use with Oculus Quest. I was dubious at first. I’m not that big a fan of most early VR offerings. I find the early stages of Facebook Horizons both tedious, dizzying and too often full of screeching griefers. As far as aesthetics, Horizon’s plethora of polygons seems like a step backward to me. Immersed, however, is different. The environments are smooth, beautiful and welcoming. It’s rapidly becoming my new favorite place to achieve a deep creative focus while writing. Yes, I’m writing this on my computer inside a VR universe. In fact, at this moment I’m alone in a sleek NYC-style cafe listening to the muted sound of a delightful jazz piano in the background. I’m also cozied up on my couch at home with my two dogs.
Did I ever think I’d end up writing this way? Well, in a way, yes. I’m an author of children’s sci-fi and fantasy. I’m also a retired CTO. I am your classic early-adopter, but I don’t consider myself a hardcore gamer. I admit I’m more comfortable with tech learning curves than most. I’m taking this time to write this article because I think there’s a fair number of you who would also love to create in this kind of environment. I’m hoping to offer some insight with limited technical jargon.
I invested in an Oculus Quest for the family during the holidays. At $299, it’s like purchasing another gaming platform. You can create several different accounts for the household and it is easily adjustable for fit. As someone who wears glasses I appreciated the spacer that could be inserted to create a bit of room. (You can also purchase special prescription lens inserts for your headset, but the spacer is working just fine for me). There are no wires, no connection required to PC or Mac. You just put it on and go. There are a lot of great offerings inside the Quest store, but for now I’m intent on finding focused workspace. Immersed was the standout when it came to positive reviews and their trailer video had me intrigued.
I’ve been waiting for something like Immersed since the mid-90's. Back when I was first learning NeXTSTEP in a cramped, windowless office with fellow engineers after hours. I wasn’t alone in wishing I could somehow have four giant monitors floating in front of me and certainly a window with a view would’ve been nice. Later, when I was building the very first newsroom content management system at CNN, I envisioned a world where I could tune out all the hubbub of the newsroom floor and have those floating monitors in front of me, ones I could swap with the tap of a finger or a wave of the hand. After all, it was possible in science fiction. Where was my dynamic virtual workspace?
Even after I retired from technology and was completing my thesis for my Masters in Writing, my desire for a VR workspace continued. I read the brilliant Hamlet on the Holodeck by Janet H. Murray and, like the author, dreamed of a world where the fully realized universes in my books could be made immersive in new ways. I wrote my graduate thesis on dynamic immersive storytelling and it’s still something I feel passionate about.
From what I can tell from reading the support forums, Immersed is being used primarily by software developers at the moment. They focus alone and then meet up and collaborate in private spaces. There’s been very little talk about this in my creative circles and frankly, there should be. We’re all suffering from the tedium of working at home during the pandemic. I’ve seen many posts about stress, burnout, and the inability to focus. A lot of us writers were cafe people. We liked to be quietly tapping away among others. The pandemic has made it hard for us to work “together alone” like we used to.
A friend of mine, YA author and podcaster KT Mather, has even created a collaborative workspace called Together Alone on Instagram. Writers meet at a given time and quietly work. When the hour is up they have the option to share what they’ve achieved. In fact, I’m writing half of this article during one of those sessions. The desire to connect remains strong.
After installing Immersed, I was greeted with a likable avatar who guided me through setup. Using the Quest hand controls was easy, but I had some confusion in learning how to switch to just my hands. Turns out I had to go back to the Oculus settings and allow this feature to proceed. Once I did I was really pleased, as it feels far more intuitive to me to use my hands over a controller. Finally, my wish to move and re-size monitors with the swish of a finger is realized!
Immersed gave me the option to create my own avatar or upload a photo and have one created for me. I chose the latter out of expediency and added lipstick later. I like these avatars because they aren’t too cartoonish, but still short of the uncanny valley.
I was given the option of a private oasis in the mountains along with several other gorgeous locales to do solo work. I paired my laptop without fuss and like magic I was looking at my actual computer in the digital world. Upon further exploration, I soon found the public environment options and quickly located my favorite, the busy NYC-style cafe. I found several other people hard at work enjoying the low tones of jazz in the background. We murmured our hellos and quickly returned to our private screens. Unlike other online spaces, I didn’t encounter any rudeness or unwanted attention. Everyone is here to work. In the cafe I can place my monitors and no one else can see them. Here I am quietly working on my laptop in Scrivener surrounded by other cafe patrons. I have two monitors open here and they aren’t visible to anyone but me. They can be resized and curved. Immersed allows you to spawn up to five monitors: MacOS, Windows or Linux. I find that having multiple monitors available while writing really opens up opportunities for research.
The cafe has a lot more in terms of seating. A quick pinch of my thumb and finger showed me where I could choose to sit and I teleported/bellied up to the bar.
I found it surprisingly, well… immersive! I didn’t expect to so easily find my focus. Aside from the one Together Alone Instagram session, I left social media completely behind. I didn’t bother connecting my iPhone into Immersed either, even though that’s an option. I wanted to get away from distractions, not pull them in. Immersed will be where I go for deep focus.
The technology is still fairly new. I found the ability to calibrate and map the virtual keyboard a bit klunky. I recalibrated it several times but my fingers weren’t matching up to the right location. I ended up not using it. As a touch typist this didn’t really stop me. I can re-find my place on the keys easily. When my fingers get terribly lost I peek under my VR glasses and find ASDF again. It’s entirely possible there is a trick for overlaying the MacPro keyboard that is more accurate, but I’ve yet to discover how. Logitech users may have better luck.
Right now, I’m finding Immersed a way to escape my work-at-home four walls and find deep focus while I work. My brain needed the reset. I’m hoping to meet up with other writers on the Immersed platform. I can easily envision opening private rooms for 45-minute writing sprints followed by five minutes of chatting about craft. If you decide to try it for yourself, find me. We can meet on the holodeck and create our worlds among the stars.
