{"id":37727,"date":"2015-03-10T10:39:29","date_gmt":"2015-03-10T10:39:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.massarate.ma\/?p=37727"},"modified":"2015-03-10T10:39:29","modified_gmt":"2015-03-10T10:39:29","slug":"virtual-reality-is-coming-but-what-will-make-it-worth-visiting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.massarate.ma\/virtual-reality-is-coming-but-what-will-make-it-worth-visiting.html","title":{"rendered":"Virtual reality is coming: but what will make it worth visiting?"},"content":{"rendered":"

$\"Virtual$ <\/p>\n

Morpheus, Gear, Rift, Vive\u2014the list of prospective virtual reality devices<\/a> is growing longer. And although this latest chapter in virtual reality was born in Oculus founder Palmer Luckey\u2019s garage a few years ago, now the great powers of tech and gaming are vying to develop and control our portals on the virtual world.<\/p>\n

Each of these is loosely based on the Rift-inspired blueprint: A headmounted display split in two to give viewers the illusion of depth by parallax; sensors tracking head motion; and software smoothly tailoring the virtual world to fit. Differences include resolution per eye, display refresh rates, controllers, and body tracking.Oculus, owned by Facebook, hasn’t announced a date for a consumer Rift, but speculation pegs a release late this year or early next. Samsung, collaborating with Oculus, released its smartphone-based Gear headset in December. Valve recently showed off its\u00a0HTC Vive VR system, due in 2015. And Sony is expected to release\u00a0its Morpheus device in the first half of 2016.<\/p>\n

While there are alternatives to the VR model\u00a0–\u00a0augmented reality systems like Microsoft\u2019s HoloLens\u00a0and Magic Leap, for example\u00a0–\u00a0tech firms seem determined to\u00a0open the door on\u00a0immersive digital experiences. An\u00a0increasingly pertinent question isn’t what these\u00a0VR portals will look like: It\u2019s what lurks beyond them.<\/p>\n

Where will we go and will it be worthwhile?<\/p>\n

To date, whether you strap on a Rift or Vive, you\u2019ll be treated to a fairly limited virtual experience. That\u2019s not to say it isn\u2019t mindblowing. It is. But that\u2019s mainly due to the novelty of immersive virtual worlds.\u00a0As the\u00a0novelty wears off, there will likely be awesome traditional video games tailored to VR. And\u00a0VR films are on the way.\u00a0But the potential for exploration seems even greater than either of these.<\/p>\n

I recently read an article about a fascinating approach<\/a> to world-building by indie game developer, Hello Games. Due out later this year on PS4, their game, No Man\u2019s Sky<\/em><\/a>, is quite simply\u2026vast.<\/p>\n

\u00a0No Man\u2019s Sky<\/em> is what happens when a game\u2019s art directors sketch out their game\u2019s general parameters, and then turn its development over to the computer to scale it up like no human could.<\/p>\n

How does it work? The game’s creators\u00a0made template planets, ships, creatures, and so on, and then wrote\u00a0algorithms to iterate on their designs. The software creates untold variation on body parts, shapes, colors, and more.\u00a0It’s a little like the way our own universe works. Governed by basic physical laws, building blocks, and evolutionary forces, the whirling cosmos self-assembles into the myriad forms we see.<\/p>\n

No Man\u2019s Sky<\/em>\u00a0isn\u2019t anywhere near as granular or complex. But it\u00a0is on a universal scale. The game is said to contain 18 quintillion planets. A number so big it\u2019s meaningless. To maintain a semblance of quality control, the team even built an algorithmic \u201cspace probe\u201d to visit every world and make animated GIFs of them.<\/p>\n

But it isn\u2019t about No Man\u2019s Sky\u00a0<\/em>specifically as much as it is about the limitless nature of digital worlds and digital world building. VR promises to be a new art form, where the process by which you build will be as important as each individual creation. I imagine the scope of virtual worlds could rapidly dwarf our own.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether a distant mountain or a planet hanging low on the horizon, you can go there,\u201d the developers of No Man\u2019s Sky <\/em>write on the game\u2019s homepage. \u201cEvery star in the sky is a sun that you can visit. Where you\u2019ll go and how fast\u00a0you\u2019ll make your way through this universe is up to you. It\u2019s yours for the taking.\u201d<\/p>\n

SingularityHub<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"