As I approached the threshold of the Newhouse hallway to the secured room, my eyes were gleaming with excitement. I took my first step and immediately wondered where the stations were for the four virtual reality experiences: Oculus Rift DK1 and DK2, Google Cardboard, and the Gear VG. For some reason I thought I was going to walk onto the ship of Startreck, gadgets blinking and red buttons ready to be rushed.  However at first glance it seemed to be just another classroom, with a a couple computers and goggles on the desk. As I chomped on my pistachios, I tried to control the excitement rising within me.

The first reality we traveled to was through the Oculus DK2 and before I knew it, I was walking through Iceland. My whole world had transformed, I was reaching out and even the temperature seemed to become colder, not just because of Syracuse weather this time. The storytelling techniques worked extremely well for this version. I had music of brisk ice and wind pounding against the mountain tops. I reached out my arms but couldn’t see them, which took my brain somewhat back to reality. I couldn’t believe the response the headset performed with the movement of your head and the 360. Another woman in my group had the same reaction, twisting and moving her head around, searching for new land. The resolution was pretty incredible, somewhat animated however landscapes can be made easily. It was extremely exciting, as I returned back to the classroom, I immediately thought of how this will change my major, architecture and how the clients will respond to such devices. Not only can I show my work but we can experience it before it’s built. Will this limit my ability as an architect to make my own decisions and let the client  me or will it be able to experience built environments never seen before in 3D?

The next station was Google Cardboard, which was interesting to experience since it is handheld. As I road with the Google Car down the streets of Paris, it was exciting to have the feel and scale of streets I have never experienced. The head tracking was impressive for a phone however because the video was sped up to see more, it made the experience not as enjoyable then foreging new lands as the Oculus DK2 had. To go from the Oculus DK2 to google Cardboard was a little of a disappointment however the graphics were impressive.

The next station was the Gear VR and I could not hold in my excitement anymore when I was strapped into the chair of a Cirque du soleil performance. This storytelling technique was extremely successful, shot with a 360 degree camera I believe, the VR experience had become real life. I was with these characters on stage and it was as if I had paid to have the best seat in the house. At one point I turned behind me and saw the empty theatre, with a man cleaning one of the rows. I couldn’t believe it! They even kept the detail of a man cleaning the theatre! Who thinks of that! It causes the user to look in all directions instead of looking straight ahead, to look up and to either side.

The final station was the Oculus Rift DK1, also wired and an older version, was engaging and still incredible. Now I was actually in the Star Trek room I had imagined to originally walk into to. I kept feeling like I was going to be chased. It was smooth with my head tracking, and the sound always creates another dimension. The graphics were a somewhat still pixelated and it was a little repetitive. I moved pretty slow, which it could have improved on and took away from the story telling effect.

Even if I was just in a black space in a Virtual Reality headset, I’m sure I still would have thought how amazing and incredible it would have been. My eyes have been opened to a completely new invention and I’m an addict already. I prided myself when someone asked me how my classes went, I responded ‘ Well I went mountain climbing in Iceland for one so that was invigorating’. The Gear VR and the Oculus Rift DK2 were the most impressive and the sound added to the act of story telling much more than I thought. The ability to lean forward and outward in the Oculus Rift just created another level of excitement within. I can’t wait to hear about the next trends and improvements.