So, I have spending a lot of time playing VR (virtual reality) and AR (augmented reality) games over the last couple years. The processing power required to make a video game for AR is far less then what it takes to make a VR one. With companies like Niantic, who created Pokémon Go and now The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Wizards Unite game, they have been able to take things from the stories and shows we love and put them into the real world and allow us to interact with them through the game app. With the current technology in place AR is the best venue to create a game environment that allows interaction without slowing down gameplay or requiring an enormous amount of video RAM to make the game move smoothly. Because of that they can dedicate more of the video memory to creating a life like copy of the image that you will be interacting with.

VR games create a world for us to dive into that in some cases is very interesting and creates wonder and fascination. We can become a detective and get into a gun battle without fear of being shot in real life or what it like to be a pro boxer and how much endurance is required to really box at that level. VR can be used for training purposes because you can create a space where you can see how people would reactive during a situation that could be part of a job they are applying for. Recently, I read an article that Walmart was going to be using VR for people applying for management position to see how they would react in a real-life situation with customer complaints, shop lifting, etc. The graphics of some of these games are more box like and less life like due to the huge amount of resources use to create the world and in order to make it smooth graphics are lowered to make sure the gameplay isn’t completely choppy and unplayable. With better processors and video RAM processing they could dedicate more to the video side of the application and make it more life-like.

I believe that AR will be surpassed by VR once the technology allows a faster, smoother, more life-like moment. The processing power of the next generation consoles could provide a new technology to move forward and create a better VR experience. I remember watching Stephen King’s Lawnmower Man for the first time and seeing how someone could really be inserted into a world and completely interact inside of it. I have been fascinated with it ever since and when things have come out with VR capability, they have progressively become more and more immersive. When, I watched the movie Ready Player One, I wondered when we will be able to fully dive into a virtual world where we could become a superhero or become an adventurer on a quest to stop an evil dragon from destroying a kingdom. The technology is coming slowly but surely and in time we will be diving like someone in the Japanese anime and movies I have watched over the years. Which begs the next questions. If we can fully dive into a different reality then our present world, will people become more disconnected from each other and will lose another piece of our humanity or will it create a new venue for interacting with people that will bring all of the world closer together. Only time will tell.

Jason Jurden - Game Tag PS4 – dirty_jurdy_69 / World of Warcraft Battle Tag – PklordRashnu#1101

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