Edge - April 2016

Knowledge
VRUK
Virtually here
VRUK, the UK’s largest virtual reality conference,
reveals the unprecedented reach of the technology
ideogames are often at the forefront
V of technological shifts, as has been
the case with 3D visuals, innovations in
interfaces or simply the drive for raw,
consumer-accessible processing power.
But the most striking thing about the
lineup for the UK’s largest virtual reality
conference to date, VRUK, taking place
at London’s Ravensbourne college, is
its wide-reaching diversity. Here
cinematographers, educators, advertisers,
visual artists, and representatives from
charities and ministerial departments all
rub shoulders. There are even a few
game-makers in among them.
It’s indicative of an unprecedented
rush of support for a technology that’s yet
to prove itself, but which harbours a
greater potential for cultural change
than any in recent memory. It’s a
benevolent gold rush in which prospectors
are happy to share ideas and strategies
in service of the greater good, and
one that has driven an accelerated
hardware development cycle to rival
smart devices’ annual churn.
As if to justify this latent potential,
the first day of the conference kicks off
with some big numbers. Dean Johnson,
head of innovation at creative agency
Brandwidth, follows a welcoming
introduction from Ravensbourne director
Linda Drew with a primer on VR’s current
position, citing an investment of £500
million in VR and AR projects during
2015, topped up with a further £550
million funding round for Magic Leap at
the start of 2016. By 2020, the mavens
say, VR and AR will be worth over £100
billion – and this is in the context of the
UK creative industry’s £84.1 billion
annual worth across all sectors.
The broad gathering of
representatives from various industries
ConSole
YoURSelF
While Rift and Vive
represent the cutting
edge of VR, Chris
Etches of Fourthwall
believes that the
tech’s flashpoint will
come from more
modest hardware.
“I think the Rift 2,
whenever that comes
out – by which time
we’ll all have more
powerful PCs – will
be a valid gaming
platform in the same
way that a successful
console would be,” he
says. “But VR won’t
have its Nintendo Wii
moment until… well,
perhaps until Nintendo
do VR. They could be
the ones. Or perhaps
whatever HoloLens
[above] finally
becomes. Everyone
went and bought a
Wii for their gran
because they were
told it was amazing.
That equivalent VR
platform probably
doesn’t exist yet, and
I’m convinced it has
to be standalone.
Technology-wise, we’re
still way off being
able to deliver that.”
is an encouraging show of force that
goes some way to mitigating fears of
a repeat of 3DTV’s Betamax-like
trajectory. According to SCEE Immersive
Technology Group senior designer
Jed Ashforth – who is tasked with
guiding the evolution of PlayStation
VR – there’s a straightforward reason
for this widespread confidence.
“VR is the destination that all these
technologies have been heading to; it’s
not an intermediary step on the way,”
he explains after delivering a talk on
PlayStation VR game design. “3D,
motion control, binaural audio – all
of these things are necessary for VR.
All of them are technologies
that were the ‘hot thing’ for
a while, but eventually
cooled off. But they’re all
essential building blocks
for VR, and without
videogames having
explored those technologies
in the past, and facing up
to their challenges, we
wouldn’t be in such an
advanced position to make VR today.
“I’ve been around VR and this industry
a long time, and this alignment of so
many different industries, and so many
parties within each industry, all pointing
in the same direction and helping each
other, sharing knowledge and expertise
and insight – it’s unprecedented.”
But with so many industries and
creatives now getting involved in a
technology for which the playbook and
vernacular are yet to be established,
there’s greater risk of poor VR experiences
– a problem more pronounced than in
any other industry given the potential for
missteps to cause nausea, headaches or
injured shins. Henry Stuart, co-founder
and CEO of VR specialist production
“So many parties
in each industry
sharing knowledge
and expertise
and insight – it’s
unprecedented”
company Visualise, addresses the
problem in his talk ‘Respecting Your
Viewer and Other Rules of Great VR’.
In among familiar pointers such as
maintaining a stable viewpoint, and
trying not to break the user’s sense of
presence, he underscores the need to
more aggressively push back against
clients – be they advertisers or game
publishers – with unrealistic expectations
that might result in an uncomfortable VR
experience, and by extension delay the
target consumer’s adoption of VR.
The game industry has done much
of the groundwork in this respect, but
as more sectors look to employ and
shape VR, how big a
part will games play in
defining a broadening
ruleset? “The biggest,”
Stuart asserts. “I really
believe that. I don’t think
people are going to be
buying the headsets to
watch films or music
events yet, because
there’s not an established
amount of content at this point. It’s not
nearly as well-established as the gaming
industry is. Sony has already got millions
of PlayStations out there, so in terms of
the next step for getting into VR, buying
a headset isn’t a big leap. So I think
Sony is going to have a huge part to
play later in the year when it releases
PlayStation VR. And [VR software]
doesn’t necessarily have to be a game,
documentary or film – it can be an
experience. Something totally different,
where you’re immersed somewhere and
can interact with things – that’s something
that doesn’t even have a name yet.”
The many short-form tech demos that
fit into this definition – standing on the
bow of a sunken ship while watching
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