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Comment by vlunkr | Hacker News Reader

Am I the only one that's still a little skeptical? I'm sure that it's a great technology and we will see interesting things come out of it, but statements like this

> Oculus + 3D audio + input + eventual tactical is going to completely blur the lines of reality in ways we can't yet imagine.

kind of just make me roll my eyes. We've been hearing things like that for decades. Is it really going to blur the lines of reality? You'll still be sitting a chair with a machine strapped to your face. People also think it will change video games forever, but I honestly don't see how. It improves immersion, but for me, immersion isn't even on the top 10 list of things that I care about in games.

Feel free to disagree, but I'm just saying that people are really hyping this thing up.

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This sounds like the opinion of someone who hasn't tried VR in any measure. I could be wrong, and maybe you have.

I agree that there is a ceiling of how much VR as a technology can 'blur the lines' of reality, but as someone who has a DK2 - I fully believe that VR is going to be huge in the future. It doesn't feel like you're 'sitting in a chair with a machine strapped to your face'.

I tried to illustrate why I'm excited for this being the FIRST.

Just to challenge your thinking about what comes next:

> kind of just make me roll my eyes. We've been hearing things like that for decades. Is it really going to blur the lines of reality?

Tricking your vision is HUGE to changing your reality. We perceive up to 80 per cent of all impressions by means of our sight.

(1) https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&e...

> You'll still be sitting a chair with a machine strapped to your face.

-=> Give the form factor a couple of years. Every sensor in there is being miniaturized by the day. Magic Leap (and others) are using tricks to project imagery directly onto your retina. Google's already filed

> People also think it will change video games forever, but I honestly don't see how. It improves immersion, but for me, immersion isn't even on the top 10 list of things that I care about in games.

-=> Ok I'll bite, on gaming - Go play Elite Dangerous + DK2 + Motion Sim and tell me that you don't believe you're flying in outer space. It's that good. More accessible, and I bet we see a lot of these, is VR coasters w/motion - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcmQr2y5Z88 - another easy one to try is Assetto Corsa + DK2 + driving wheel.

Games are a popular idea about VR's application but doesn't scratch the service in terms of application - training, social interaction, SEX, therapy, etc, etc.

Indeed, games are a neat way to apply the technology, but flying a space ship in Elite Dangerous is the same on an Oculus as it would be on your monitor. The VR headset may be able to improve things like storytelling, gameplay and interaction, but I don't think I've seen how it does yet.

No, it's not. I've said this a few times before and it's a little romanticized, but it's the difference between playing a game, and being there - in the game.

You can look up and see out of the top of your spaceship. You look to your left and the holographic display of your ship appears. You look down and you see your body, wearing a cool spacesuit. But most of all, it feels like you're piloting a ship instead of watching a ship fly around on a screen.

I tried the HTC set a few weeks ago when they were touring it around the country. I was very skeptical. The resolution of the headset isn't even that great.

However, the final demo (a Portal 2 derived scene) freaked me out. I felt like I was being bullied by the robot. I've had nightmares about it since, for reals.

I'm a bit skeptical, maybe because I see the potential for some cool short-term stuff, but not so much long-term stuff. I can see how I would be entertained by this concept for awhile, maybe years even, but I'm not sure it would replace a simple big screen TV in the long run.

Others are free to disagree with me here, but I've seen 2 technological concepts in entertainment/immersion that became huge in the last decade and slowly died off as people became tired of the gimmick: motion-sensors and 3D. You have a lot of people very entertained by stuff like the Wii or watching Avatar in 3D, but over time I've noticed people don't really care anymore.

VR has the same challenge as those past technologies: how do you create something truly unique with this concept? Is this like the dawn of the television, or is it just another way of watching television?

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