I had very little experience with VR before the first day of class. I had only watched a 360 video on google cardboard for a couple of seconds in my COM 117 class. It was fascinating to turn and see a 360 environment; however, it was not by any means immersive or as filled with potential as I now find it to be.

The first VR experience I tried in class was The Night Café on Samsung’s Gear VR. This was a completely different experience from my  last time with the google cardboard. The other time it felt like I was watching a video on screens that just happened to follow my line of sight. However, with The Night Café it actually felt like I was in the painting and in that world. I let out a genuinely “wow” when I first put it on from how immersive the experience was and I am not a person who often blurts out interjections. I think that it was so immersive because the environment is so other worldly that your brain is just focused on trying to make sense of it all. In addition, the music really plays a key role as you try to find the piano. Touching the side of the headset felt natural and was definitely a comfortable way to move around the environment. My classmates who tried it before me were also taken a back by it. I also noticed that as they moved in the environment, their bodies would start to sway a little bit. This is not surprising because your brain thinks it is moving when in reality you are not. This is probably why I felt some motion sickness after trying it. On the second day after trying other VR experiences, I did not feel motion sick.

I experienced the solitary confinement experience on the HTC vive. This was the most interesting and effective way to tell a story with the VR headset so far. Since the story was very personal and the movement of his body was important, the fact that you felt like you were having a conversation with the main character was the best way to tell the story. Sometimes interviews simply do not do justice to the intimacy of some stories. I think that this conversational feeling is a unique aspect of VR. In addition to already being able to have unique access to the narrator, we are also immersed in the world that the story took place. Both of these elements together give you an idea of what the narrator went through. The stylistic choice to black out where the cells would be when you step outside was a great way to show how isolated the inmates are in solitary confinement. I noticed my classmates attempt to touch things in the environment while using the vive. I think that this is because the environment feels more dimensional with the vive because you are able to crouch and really look into the nooks and crannies of every single object.

The VR experience I enjoyed the most overall was Tilt Brush with the Oculus Rift. I completely got lost in it because of the interaction and the fact that you are completely creating the environment. I ended up a good half-meter away from the table and it was truly a moment where I completely forgot there were people around me. I think that some form of interaction with the environment is an important way to draw the audience in with VR. Although the Cirque du Soleil experience does not have any actual interaction, the way that the faces stare at you as you turn really drew me in. It is a way of telling the user that the environment knows it is there. Breaking of the fourth wall may not be the worst thing for a good VR experience.

The last thing I really want to discuss is resolution. For 360 videos, I think that it is crucial to have good resolution because having bad resolution can really take you out of the experience. I tried a rollercoaster experience that was in bad resolution and I just did not feel immersed at all. While the Cirque du Soleil experience really drew me in with the high definition. From my experience in class I found myself being more immersed in things that were 3D animated because with 360 video your brain always finds a way to find the mistakes.

Overall, I am excited to find the stories that need to be told through VR that could not be done justice through film or music.