A few weeks ago I got done reading a book: The Future of the Mind by Michio Kaku. In it, the author tried to make sense of consciousness and in one bold chapter even went so far as to describe the possible consciousness of aliens. From outer space. Including reasons why none of them have (as far as I know) visited Earth. One tantalizing theory is that aliens, being thousands of years more advanced than us humans, are spending time on their home planet with their equally advanced virtual reality simulations. The idea being aliens with such a neat technology would want to use it rather than, say, explore the galaxy for other sentient beings.
Or, as I would say, the aliens would rather play videogames.
As a gamer, this makes perfect sense. Let's look at Star Trek, for instance, and their Holodeck. If people had access to a machine that can create any scenario they wanted and have it indistinguishable from real life, then why bother with real life? I'm surprised these people even bothered to go flying around in space at all. After all, there are dangers all around the universe. Just ask any old redshirt. It's much safer sticking with virtual reality.
Yet, in our day and age, real life still trumps all. Would I rather fly to Japan and see it for real? Or would I rather 'go' there with an Occulus Rift program (assuming one does exist)? Of course I would rather fly there. Sure, it's gonna be more expensive, but you get what you pay for. Seeing things with your own eyes, touching them with your own fingers and tasting the food with your own tongue trumps anything and everything VR could offer. At least, for now.
Already, there are glimpses of the future and I'm not talking about the Facebook acquisition of Occulus Rift. Although that does how how serious some people in the world are about virtual reality. I'm talking about games like the upcoming Akiba's Trip. It takes place in Tokyo in a place called Akihabara, a place I have seen with my own eyes. Yet, it offers players a chance to do the extraordinary: strip vampires (don't ask). That's something I can't do in the real thing.
There are other medium to show where VR might be headed. The novel 'Ready Player One', is one of the most exciting I've read despite sounding like a glorified fan fiction at times. The book gives one very plausible scenario of what a VR centric society might be like. It's not all roses and rainbows. Or, you can watch the movie 'Her', which my girlfriend and I did just recently. It's a great movie about a real man falling in love with a virtual artificial intelligence. No, it's not VR, but it does show how a flesh and blood person can form real attachments with a machine.
Bottom line is: if you think video games now are immersive (or addictive), oh boy, you ain't seen nothing yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment