Entertainment in VR
By
Jaime Klingsberg

What is the future of entertainment in VR and the metaverse? As technology advances and becomes a greater part of our lives, so will the way we interact with media in the metaverse.  In this paper, I will study the topic of sonic, visual, and moving image media in VR. I will examine specific examples such as an abstract 3D artist and the world of reviewing the emerging “immersive art” genre. How do people interact with media in VR, and what does this mean for the future of creatives?

“People often say, ‘We are only limited by our imagination.’ I’ve found that with technology I can create things I could never have imagined” (Mack). Kevin Mack is an artist whose process is intertwined with technology. On his website, Mack discusses his process and vision for building the VR world “Namuanki”. He explains that the way he uses technology allows him to “both create and discover [his] work” (Mack). Mack loves to create awesome art, and he believes that “Novelty is a fundamental aspect of awe” (Mack). Mack uses technology to expand his imagination and create art that he wouldn’t be able to envision on his own. I agree that there is often awe-inspiring novelty in brand new technology, even if the technology isn’t advanced enough yet to serve a practical purpose.

We often talk about buzzwords in technology that become popular and then fall off in their trend, such as blockchain, metaverse, VR, and AI. But there is a reason why these words gain such popularity. I believe that one of the largest reasons is the novelty of aesthetic appeal.  It makes sense to me that new technology is being used in art to flex its capabilities in a creative way that people can consume with their senses. In my opinion, this desire to push the limits of new technology’s aesthetic capabilities is one of the primary missions of Kevin Mack in his use of VR.

How does this approach to technology and the arts compare to the way others relate to VR art? Kent Bye is a journalist who specializes in reviewing and writing about immersive art installations, including those using VR. He often has to tackle the challenge of comparing VR installations. Bye writes that his drive to review immersive art is “more philosophically driven to more fully understand the principles of experiential design” (Bye). He explains the value he gets from unpacking the experience and talking to the creator about their process. By doing this he is able to discuss parts of the installation he did not understand and share his impressions on the most impactful parts.

I think it is interesting that Bye finds philosophical value in such purely experiential and sensory experiences. Yet this does line up with Kevin Mack’s somewhat intellectual yearning to expand and nurture his imagination with “directed randomness, procedural rule-based systems, artificial-life, and artificial-intelligence” (Mack). The truth is as humans we can only understand what we evolved to process on planet Earth with its regular laws of physics. It is not surprising with this in mind that going into a VR environment to create and review art would require one to take a step back and think about what one is experiencing to truly unpack it. While the VR environment can often feel unnatural, I think that this is an aspect that can make art in VR even more compelling and impactful, especially to those seeking novelty.

So how will VR impact the entertainment industry as a whole? Jason Currie, an author specializing in VR for the Tech blog “MakeUseOf” lists some areas in which VR could enter the field. Currie discusses the possibilities of VR concerts, museums, movies, and sports streams.  In my opinion, the success of these depends on how easily people are able to get access to VR and to these VR environments. I think people will always prefer a movie or museum in real life unless the VR version is more convenient. This convenience would require improvement in the VR technology or upgrades in the management of VR platforms. I think that the current public perception of the most dominant “metaverse” and VR platforms does not rival the seriousness with which people regard a visit to a museum.

For this reason, I believe people should be able to share YouTube videos with each other in “Meta” Horizon Home. One article I read discussed how only recently, in October 2022, did Meta announce that the ability to watch YouTube videos will be conveniently available on their platform. YouTube videos are something that I regard as in between TikTok and movies. They can range from a few minutes to hours and are a more casual form of entertainment than committing to going to a movie or a museum. I think that if VR first becomes publicly accepted as a social tool for people to watch easygoing YouTube videos together, it can then have the potential to expand to popular VR museums, art installations, and movie theaters.

At the moment, VR is an incredible opportunity for artists looking to expand their creative minds and for people looking to experience something that is literally “out of this world” in terms of what humans are used to experiencing and unpacking. I think that improvements in technology and people getting more used to being in VR environments will increase the use of VR for more traditional forms of entertainment. As an artist, I personally am inspired by the current state of VR and evolving technology. I like how it is in such an uncertain state that has the potential to deeply impact our lives in the future. I think that creatives have a wonderful opportunity to tap into this cultural process of adopting VR and VR art into humanity.

Works Cited

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