WORLD VIRTUAL

Is Virtual Reality the answer to the future of immersive entertainment?

- ANISHA GAKHAR

Talk to any psychologist, and he/she’d say that the purpose of media entertainment is fulfilment of gratification. It is this pursuit for satisfaction that has enabled mankind to develop several entertainment platforms throughout the history. From early-day campfire storytelling to modern day games, television and films, the entertainment industry has indeed come a long way. However, the only thing inevitable about existence is change and through modern immersive technologies, the entertainment industry is getting better by the day. The growing interest of the industry in the adoption of immersive VR experiences in delivering content which is engaging to the audience.

Virtual Reality (VR) is the term used to describe a three-dimensional, computer-generated environment, which can be interacted with by a person. That person becomes part of this virtual world or is immersed within this environment and whilst there, is able to manipulate objects in a way that he feels he is a part of it. Augmented Reality (AR), on similar lines, is a technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world, thus providing a composite view. VR and AR have been used to great success in movies and documentaries, owing to its ability to simulate an environment for a user to feel he’s right in the middle of the scene going on in a movie. This helps the user empathise with the subject matter— especially a sensitive one, which otherwise, might be difficult to convey by traditional flat screens.