Will virtual reality blur the lines between fantasy and reality? What about augmented reality? (Google Glass, Microsoft HoloLense)Ĩ. Can gaming be used as a healthy tool for emotional recovery from a traumatic incident?ħ. At what point does protecting your privacy online cross the line and become dishonesty or misrepresentation?Ħ. What are the consequences of exploring repressed or recessive character traits by allowing them to become dominant in an in-game persona?ĥ. Are the actions taken by persons in a video game indicative of their character or heart condition?Ĥ. When games present an immature culture, lacking in societal norms, how ethical is it to exploit the differences between real-world and in-game expectations?ģ. How “real” are in-game relationships and in-game experiences as compared to real life?Ģ.
STONEHEARTH MULTIPLAYER FUTURE QUESTIONS SERIES
Here are some of the questions that were raised in the series or ones that I asked myself as I watched the series:ġ. While VR has been discussed in science fiction for quite some time now, I found that the questions raised by the series were more relevant to today’s technological and social landscape. The series chronicles various players in a virtual reality massively multiplayer online game (VRMMO) while discussing a variety of important topics such the psychology, ethics, social costs and benefits, relationships and gender. I recently started watching an anime called Sword Art Online and I have to say that I am fascinated with it. However, the introduction of these initial systems will likely generate the support and refine existing technologies to bring us closer to that point.
We have yet to develop two-way communication to and from the brain so that VR so that stimuli can be sent directly to the brain and so that players can interface with the VR system by sending the appropriate physical signals that are translated into virtual ones. These systems offer only the headset component of virtual reality. Some companies such as Google and Oculus have already produced virtual reality headsets and others are on the way such as the Sony PlayStation VR. We are getting closer and closer to virtual reality.