By Marissa Blanchard

Last semester I took a course called Trendspotting in Digital Media, and it challenged me to think about implications of technology in new ways. Science nerds create this incredible, advanced technology and media nerds tell stories. Professor Sean Branagan asked the first day: Why don't these two work together more? They have in the past. Television was created and entertainment took to it and adapted.  The Internet was born and then YouTube, Facebook and more ways of telling stories. VR needs media people to help give this technology commercial value.

The question now is how to be more proactive. Virtual reality technology exists, so what is the media going to do about it? How in a time where media executives are clutching to old business models for dear life can virtual reality technology be introduced and companies capitalize on it?

Through my research and personal experience, I would say that video games have the best chance at being successful with VR. After using different VR headsets in our last class, I went and played Star Wars Battlefront on PS4. Not only do I struggle with video games to begin with, I couldn't help but complain to my friend-- "this would be so much easier and more fun  with a virtual reality headset." When playing video games I struggle with vision-- where are my enemies, who is shooting me and why can't I see them and why is it so hard to turn and why don't I have peripheral vision. I realize that was a run-on sentence and I am an extremely mediocre gamer, but the experience would be exponentially better with VR. Not only would vision in the game be easier, but you would actually feel like you are in these incredible worlds in Star Wars. 

Sometimes when I use VR headsets I feel like I am just moving along a large picture and seeing more as I move my head or eyes. The Avengers story was different. When I experienced the Avengers VR simulation, it felt like these objects and characters were coming right at me. I felt like I was almost floating through space-- even without sound or a sense of touch from the characters or fire flying by me.

I could only imagine what it would be like to have other senses besides sight and hear engaged during a VR simulation or story. Time will tell.