Have you ever wondered on which side of the Force you would like to be? Yes, this question can be treated as a short psychological test about our relation to the transformations of contemporary culture and entertainment, including the VR.
But it’s not about our preferences and tastes. No. It is in fact about the duel:
Virtual reality vs. the World
I’m not a specialist in this topic, but the Force in general concentrates on emotions. These strong, sometimes extreme are rather the domain of the dark side, right? And the more we try to keep a cool head the more we move towards the light side. Everything is fine until we look through the prism of this division on the market. Here is the real arena of the fight for the consumer’s attention.
Who will succeed? The light or dark side of the Force? Strong emotions or moderation?
The answer to this question may be the fact that VR is beginning to be perceived as the dark side of the Force. Why? It turns out that the impact of VR on our emotions, especially through the proper equipment, may be too strong. This force causes that we begin to have some concerns: whether we are able to control ourselves while being in virtual reality? Because when going into this “magical world” we agree to an escalation of intensity. Everything is ok if it remains at an appropriate level. If it reaches a critical moment, well, we react different than usual. It’s not even about the expression, spontaneity, and instinct.
The problem revolves around building an emotional bond with the user. Whatever is on the other side of the goggles – is likely to have an overwhelming influence on us. If we are aware of this – everything is fun, but VR very quickly blurs boundaries between worlds. The virtual world becomes our only point of reference, so our emotions settle on its surface.
By implying specific elements, we are able to control the consumer’s attention or even cause-specific models of behavior. Of course, users (especially gamers) will not be because of this complaint!
That’s why VR training simulations, which prepare us for possible situations or teach the appropriate behavior are so effective.
I must admit that this issue becomes more and more interesting. Just as the fear of artificial intelligence (we try to not create AI because we fear that it will turn against us), we begin to worry about virtual worlds, because their impact on our minds may be too … perfect.
