trying vr for the first time: vr first impressions
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Martina Porru
- đź“… 10th July 2021
A NEW EXPERIENCE.
As restrictions eased down, the team finally got the chance to introduce me to VR. From desktop VR to mobile VR, I’ve (almost) done it all! They even brough in some AR projects for me to experience. Â
It’s quite difficult to find a way to describe it, but VR feels like being inside your own imagination. Â
WHAT DOES VR FEEL LIKE?
Have you ever looked at an animated film, now or as a kid, and thought “I wish I could be there right now and it being real”.Â
VR feels like that: the places you always wanted to see and touch can be created to be there. You enter the simulation and suddenly you’re in a digital room, that feels real: your actions are still yours and you can move around as you would in real-life. However, it’s better because your brain is constantly stimulated by the experience. Â
I remember reading about how VR works on the brain. There’s psychological state of perception called presence that actives when in a VR simulation so that you feel like what you’re experiencing is real. Your brain knows it’s a simulation, but your perception and memory of presents itself as real as anything you can touch or see in the real world. This is to say, I thought I was ready for it. Â
The reality was that it completely blew my mind. I had seen 360 videos of our projects before, on my laptop and my phone, but nothing compares to being inside that white room, construction site or on the top of a ship.Â
FIRST IMPRESSIONS AND INITIAL CHALLENGES.
You learn quickly in VR which buttons to use for what and it’s actually more intuitive than I anticipated, the muscle memory in your hands is quick to catch up on how to grab objects in VR. This used to be something I worried about before trying VR. Â
How was the hardware? Is it heavy, you ask? Not really, it took some adjustments to fit my head properly but once it’s done, you’re good to go. The headsets are not uncomfortable (as I’ve heard some rumours say) and there’s no risk of bumping into objects in the real world because the headsets can detect them and make you stay within limits of a safe space. Â
ARE YOU HESITANT ABOUT TRYING VR?
All new experiences come with their own challenges. And with those, also the excitement of having tried something new.
In VR’s case, this also includes the realisation of having experienced something innovative and quite impressive, that shows us how much technology advanced in the last couple of years.
It’s easy to judge VR before having given it a try, skepticism is normal. However, that shouldn’t stop us from creating our first impressions on it. So, my advice is try your own VR headset. Find a simulation to try. You’ll be pleasantly surprised!
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