Annie really started this class off with a quote right out of some kind of science fiction piece. Oliver Grau’s definition of virtual reality as a contradiction of itself was interesting to think about and was a fun way to start off this class about what reality is.
Given the subject of my final essay piece, I will come back to the recordings of this session quite a lot I believe. The VRChat video we were shown was very interesting to listen to, as well as discussing the different levels of reality, and the concepts of hyperreality. The Harry Potter set we were shown even brought up fond memories, as I had visited said set prior with my significant other. The question ‘what is real?’ (besides bringing up memories of watching The Matrix) is a very interesting point to make when regarding the gaps between virtual reality and what we perceive to be the real reality.
I’ve stated in the past that I do not believe virtual reality should ever try to focus its attention on emulating the true reality as closely as possible. Rather, I believe the technology of VR is best suited for creating experiences BETTER than reality. To take us to places we could never see, to do things we could never do, as people we could never be. I think these things are what makes virtual reality such an amazing creation.