Virtual Reality Game(s)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Virtual reality history:

   1930s: "Pygmalion's Spectacles" by Stanley G. Weinbaum describes a goggle-based virtual reality system with holographic recording of fictional experiences including smell and touch. [4]

   1980s: the term "virtual reality" was popularized by Jaron Lanier, one of the modern pioneers of the field.Lanier had founded the company VPL Research in 1985, which developed and built some of the seminal "goggles and gloves" systems of that decade. [5]

   1991: Antonio Medina, a MIT graduate and NASA scientist, designed a virtual reality system to "drive" Mars rovers from Earth in apparent real time despite the substantial delay of Mars-Earth-Mars signals. The system, termed "Computer-Simulated Teleoperation" as published by Rand, is an extension of virtual reality. [6]

   1995: Virtual Boy was created by Nintendo and was released in Japan on July 21 and in America on August 15 [7]

   2014: Facebook purchases a company that makes virtual reality headsets, Oculus VR, for $2 billion. [8]

   2014:  Sonyannounces Project Morpheus, a virtual reality headset for the PS4. [9]

 

[4] "Pygmalion's Spectacles". Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 21 September 2014.

[5] "The virtual curmudgeon". The Economist. 2010-09-02.

[6] Gonzales, D. (editor) (1991). "Automation and Robotics for the Space Exploration Initiative: Results from Project Outreach". 

[7] "Nintendo Virtual Boy on theverge.com".

[8] "Facebook to buy Oculus virtual reality firm for $2B". The Associated Press. March 25, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2014.

[9]  "Sony Announces 'Project Morpheus:' Virtual Reality Headset For PS4"

 

Comparison to Other Movies:

Spy Kid 3-D: Game Over (2003) and Gamer(2009): Both people entering/viewing virtual reality by putting on some sort of headset.  This is a more realistic approach than the approach Her takes, as current virtual reality technology uses headsets and does not project the world into the room.

 

Did the movie portray it realistically?

The movie does not portray virtual reality as of 2013 and today realistically.  Today virtual reality devices being developed and improved like the Oculus Rift are based around wearing a headset and seeing the virtual world from a first person perspective [1].  The movie portays the world projected around the room from some device.  The virtual headset devices today also only track head turning, where in the movie the device also moved the game character as Theodore moved his hands.  

 

[1] Sean Hollister, Inside Oculous: a tour of virtual reality's would be savior http://www.theverge.com/2013/3/19/4122388/can-oculus-rift-save-virtual-reality. October 1 2014