I am a recreational diver. Occasionally dive into sea depending on an air tank with anticipation of experiencing a whole different world from the ground. Diving serves as metaphor of my first VR experience in this course handsomely for several reasons.
The "aha!" moment of my experience happened while meeting Robot in Oculus Rift. It was when I was looking my hand. While pleasantly following the robot's tasks in the program, I unintentionally made my forefinger and pushed a can in the virtual reality. My finger in cyber space was in sync with my real one so well, the can almost exactly moved as I would have expected in real world. The well-organized harmony(exact presentation of my finger, precise calculation of three dimensional point of the finger and the can and beautiful reproducing of real world physics) weaved true amusement.
The representation of my body parts and immediate interaction between them and my eyesight in virtual world was a key element of my immersion into the world. While drawing a 3D painting in Oculus, watching and controlling the wrist band menu was as entertaining as drawing itself. Reaching out my hand to grab mirror control in painting and moving it around space gave me confidence of that I am in charge of the space. Pointing and grabbing sun in Google Earth VR and changing the prompt time of space as moving my hand made me imagining divine power.
However, more the virtual world dragged me into it, more my anxiety grew. Wouldn't I bump against someone or something? Isn't the class over and everybody left? Or isn't it possible the outside world that I knew is gone as this world will be after I take off my head gear? The uneasiness recalled similar feeling which I felt under the sea while diving. I could be left under this deep ocean alone(even how beautiful it may be). I urgently removed the gear and relieved that I was not alone in the lab. Not alone as possessed in the magic and far from this physical place as others were.
Recreational diving is fun at best when diving with others. I think we can approach close to the true presence in virtual reality when we hold the option to interact with others in the real world. I want an option that if I find interesting scene in 'Ghost in the Shell VR' while watching it in my Galaxy Gear VR, checking who is in the room with Vive and invite her or him to share my experience without need to take off my gear. That is what arose in my mind when recalling the first contact.
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