– Links –
– Reading Response –
Reading through the materials and thinking through the thought-provoking prompts, I understand a complete virtual experience containing three indispensable aspects: a virtual reality environment (setting), a virtual self (embodiment), and perceptions/interactions that the virtual self has with this environment (experience). Based on this, I intend to further develop in two main aspects conceptually: nonhuman avatar and copresence.
A virtual reality environment, according to David J. Chalmers, is defined of three central characteristics despite a lack of universal definition: immersion, interaction, and computer-generation [1]. These three altogether contribute to a virtual while akin to ordinary reality. Yet in a looser sense, Chalmers also claims that a more inclusive idea of virtual reality also makes sense even if one of the three is missing. The virtual world we are constructing in this project, therefore, legitimately falls into the category of Nonimmersive computer-generated interactive environments – we display our worlds on computer screens rather than through VR headsets.
A virtual self is one key type of “virtual objects” programmed into data structures and bringing about users’ perceptions based on computation [1]. In a traditional 2D setting, as users stay away from the screen which demonstrates everything from a flat, unchanged dimension, the viewing perspective itself overlaps with natural sight and thus lacks separation. A boundary between reality and virtual is therefore clearly set. In comparison, virtual reality blurs the boundary by introducing a third dimension and allowing interactions with the environment itself. As the adjustable camera view remarkably features our project of virtual world from the first perspective, the notion of virtual self thus raises possibilities while discussions as well on the relationship with the real self: what’re the differences between virtual self and real self? How will these two influence each other differently, given different designs of the world and the virtual body?
Different forms of virtual self in different VR environments by nature embody different interactive experiences: the rule of controlling avatars, the game view, etc. Such differences, according to Bailey et. al, spontaneously reflect back on how users think in ordinary reality: “situated action, how that body interacts with the environment in specific ways, also shapes thinking” [2]. To put it simply, in ABZÛ, the case study I found for my project [3], having a diver as the first-perspective avatar very much emphasizes a storytelling of exploring the underwater world. By contrast, controlling a fish swimming back and forth would indicate a nonhuman, immersive underwater journey. Without game narrative before playing, the virtual self very much plays a decisive role in shaping how users interact with the virtual reality, therefore shaping how they perceive and interpret the experiences.
– Conceptual Development –
In this sense, I intend to further develop my project mainly in two aspects:
(1) to have a nonhuman avatar as the virtual self exploring the underwater ruins.
The appearance of the virtual self would be a lighting ball at the current stage. Having the lighting effect, the surroundings of the virtual self would be lit up while the rest remains dark. The application of ml5 and webcam allows sensory-motor contingency, which according to Mel Slater refers to the continuity of using body to perceive the virtual world in a similar way to in reality [4]. Therefore, how users interact in front of the screen (left/right) would direct the lighting ball to travel through the virtual world.
(2) to allow co-presence in this virtual world to arouse a shared journey experience.
By allowing different users to co-exist in the same environment, a sense of community and shared journey is created. Although a nonhuman avatar might not allow direct interaction with each other thus arousing empathy or projecting emotions according to Thomas Fuchs [5], ideally I would like to create some special effects whenever two users collide with each other when traveling through the ruins, such as sparking or greater lighting.
– References –
- [1] The Virtual and The Real
- [2] When Does Virtual Embodiment Change Our Minds?
- [3] ABZÛ: https://abzugame.com/
- [4] “When you see yourself in a virtual body, you adopt some of its features.”
- [5] The Virtual Other – Empathy in the Age of Virtuality
– Presentation Feedback –
- first-person perspective: not seeing the lighting ball itself
- head interaction: intuitive, conceptually similar to some creatures
- co-existence: traveling through the dark to find other light (users) as well, not seeing itself but seeing other light
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