No, that was really me; just reset the password on my old account, don’t know why I felt that was too difficult, earlier (like, a year and three months ago).
Anyway, just started listening to your podcast more earnestly on my commute to and from work (it’s good stuff!).
I think you are somewhat right to be skeptical of Virtual Reality, by the way. I say that as an enthusiast who has used a Gear VR since August 2016. It’s not that Rift or Vive would be so much better (I am sure they are) or that it’s “only 3DoF”; Gear VR is really pretty good: it even has a higher resolution than Vive or Rift (albeit orientation only):
It’s like… I run across these evangelists who seem to want you to believe (without saying it) that if you purchase Rift or Vive you will somehow really believe you are in a different place. I get moments like that in Gear VR, much more frequently in the beginning, but the novelty does wear off.
It’s great in the beginning. I went on a spree purchasing just about any VR app I could get my hands on that looked even mildly appealing.
To get to what Bruno was saying re: VR; he says experiences should be designed from the ground up for VR. That’s true to an extent (some existing non-VR games are already more conducive to VR than others due to design choices), but the thing I’ve found is that there are a lot of experience which are… shall we say, shallow. They aren’t quite cynical cash grabs (wrong market for that, I guess?), but as a consumer I feel they are… riding on the merits of VR’s novelty. Sometimes their design just feels downright lazy. Maybe the bar is higher with the PC VR market.
I don’t mean to indicate that VR is a “novelty”; it’s new, but I do think it is here to stay. One of the best descriptions I’ve seen of current-gen VR is from an Ars Technica article saying it “simulates an edge-free, spherical screen that surrounds you in 360 degrees up and down and side to side.” It’s that, plus depth-perception.
Maybe that’s enough to sell you on it; for me, it was. That stated, more than a year in it’s not like I really truly believe in my innermost self that I am somewhere else, but some evangelists I hear seem to suggest that that is the experience you will have. You are right to be skeptical. It’s more of a subliminal effect. It is compelling.
Anyhow, I’m kind of glad I’ve “dipped my toes in the water” so to speak with the Gear VR. Worst case scenario I’m out $100 plus whatever I’ve spent on the games. I don’t think the technology will ever take the place of real face-to-face interaction, but it’s worth experiencing.
I am planning to upgrade at some point, whether it’s Oculus Go, whatever the upcoming Santa Cruz prototype turns into, or a tethered rig. However, I really think that Gear VR has allowed me to get a sense of what the tech is all about on a high quality wireless solution without committing thousands of dollars.
