ME in The SPACE I IMAGINED (S)
ME in The SPACE I IMAGINED (S)
ME in The SPACE I IMAGINED (S)
In The Space
I I m agin e d
An Ethnography of
Virtual Reality
Jasper Stevens
London, 2017
Abstract
1. Introduction 7
2. Literature Review 13
2.1 Creation of Virtual Reality 15
3. Hypothesis + Methodology 31
3.1 The Approach 33
4. Results 39
4.1 Interview 01 43
4.2 Tilt Brush Experiment 45
5. Discussion 67
5.1 The Realities of Virtual Reality 69
6. Conclusion 79
6.1 Dissonant Design 81
Bibliography 86
Appendix
01
INTRODUCTION
VIRTUAL EHLQJLQHVVHQFHRUHHFWWKRXJKQRW
IRUPDOO\UHFRJQL]HGRUDGPLWWHG
REALITY DUHDOHYHQWHQWLW\RUVWDWHRIDDLUV
0LFKDHO+HLPThe Metaphysics
of Virtual Reality (New York: Oxford
University Press, 1993), p.109
7
1.0
Introduction
This need not be the case, and indeed was not always. In the late twentieth
century, as early virtual reality technology was being developed, art, fiction
and film, not constrained by the possibility of an attainable hyperreal,
explored the potential of an inhabitable, spatial reality free from physical
limitations. However, as processing power, popularity, and production
budgets increased, it became possible to ever more accurately simulate
physical reality, and so virtual environments became ever more authentic
fakes.
8 9
C H A P T E R 1 : I n t r o d u c t i o n
A distinction that is crucial for discussion in this field is that between the
technology and the space of Virtual Reality(VR). In Digital Sensations,
Ken Hillis uses the term VR to refer to the technology that facilitates the
experience, and defines a VE as being the 3-D computer-generated virtual
environments [that VR] permits 3. This paper will focus on the relationship
between VR and VEs, and, through a video reflective micro ethnography, will
investigate how VEs are understood and experienced through VR. Although
ethnography is more commonly associated with the study of social cultures,
its method, to grasp the natives point of viewto realize his vision of his
world 4, is a powerful and productive approach to trying to understand the
new phenomena in a reality without an established language. The paper
begins with a study on the effect of the development of VR on the design
of VEs, as well as a summary of current discussion on VEs and experiments
in VR.
10 11
02
L I T E R AT U R E
REVIEW AND
BACKGROUND
Advances in computation
form a pool of techniques
from which virtual technology
researchers can draw,
speculative entertainment
equally sustains the will
to develop VEs and is
eloquently revealed in the
.HQ+LOOLVDigital Sensations
(Minneapolis: University of Minnesota
Press, 1999), p.17
12 13
2.1
7 ibid
8 ibid
14 15
C H A P T E R 2 : L i t e r a t u r e R e v i e w a n d B a c k g r o u n d
Core to our experience of space is not simply being within in, but also
being able to move through it. 13 Whilst the Sensorama did provide multi-
sensory experiences, the user was still passive within the machine - this was
Fig. 02. still cinema, just more immersive cinema. It took another decade for Ivan
The Sensorama Sutherland to invent the first head mounted display (HMD), mischievously
nicknamed The Sword of Damocles (Fig.03), in 1968, which facilitated
explorable and interactive virtual environments. The HMD granted users
the ability to go beyond technical limitations of conventional film and
TV that necessitate a space between the technology and the viewer 14,
providing the interactivity the Sensorama could not by allowing the virtual
environment to be spatially explored. Although this device could only display
a simple wireframe cube, Sutherland set out his vision for the technologys
development in his essay The Ultimate Display, stating that the ultimate
display would, of course, be a room within which the computer can control
the existence of matter. A chair displayed in such a room would be good
16 17
: L i t e r a t u r e R e v i e w a n d B a c k g r o u n d
enough to sit in. 15. While other viewing technologies have been explored
since, it is the HMD that has most consistently been developed and was the
approach used in both the past and present peaks of VR.
These imaginative visions came at a time when the cutting edge of consumer
interaction with virtual environments was through simplistic arcade games,
which lead to a surge in interest in VR (Fig. 05). Seeking to capitalise on
18 19
C H A P T E R 2 : L i t e r a t u r e R e v i e w a n d B a c k g r o u n d
After 1995, virtual reality was promising as a technology but it was clear
that it wasnt ready for gaming. The engineering challenges required
Manhattan Project-levels of funding...and what else happened in 1995?
The Internet. Suddenly everyone was connected, and virtual reality was
this ugly little brother lagging behind. 19
Fig. 07.
20 21
2.2
If for two thousand years Western culture has puzzled over the
meaning of reality, we cannot expect ourselves in two minutes, or even
two decades, to arrive at the meaning of virtual reality. 22
23 ibid
ibid
22 23
C H A P T E R 2 : L i t e r a t u r e R e v i e w a n d B a c k g r o u n d
It has been argued 25 that whether Virtual Reality is considered real depends participant no longer inhabits the physical space 32, but this notion of a total
on how closely it matches physical reality, since the concept of virtual separation between physical and virtual what is known as the immersive
reality suggests an approximation to reality, and therefore its application fallacy 33.
to cases in which no real-world situation exists is incoherent 26. This can be
refuted 27 by arguing that what is happening within Virtual Reality, rather than The Immersive Fallacy describes the assumption that media should strive
the simulation of a given item, ...is the simulation of systematic relations. to present a fictional world so convincing that its audience would forget
An attempt is made to simulate (if that is the right word) the conditions that the real world in which they interact with the media 34. This assumption is
obtain between objects and a perceiver such that they are experienced in present in the study of many virtual media, from board games to video
a way similar to the way reality is experienced . This describes the aim of
28 games, and is a fundamental misunderstand of the way constructed
Immersive Virtual Reality - to create a virtual experience that is experientially realities are experienced. In Mixed Realism, Timothy Welsh demonstrates
equivalent to physical reality - equally real. that interactions with the virtual environments through video games, and by
extension through Virtual Reality, are fundamentally meta communicative...
There is a key distinction in Immersive Virtual Reality between Presence and if users truly believed that, after putting on a headset and glove, they were
Immersion. In A Framework For Immersive Virtual Environments, Slater and suddenly on the surface of the moon...the experience would be utterly
Wilbur state the difference between these two terms to be that Immersion terrifying 35. However, the meta-communicative nature of games, physical
can be an objective and quantifiable description of what any particular or virtual, does not diminish their reality:
system does provide , whereas Presence is a state of consciousness, the
29 playing a game is a real event, even if the fictional environment it
(psychological) sense of being in the virtual environment 30. For them, the projects is only a representation... where video game studies has lost
aim of VR is that participants who are highly present should experience touch with the virtual, comes from the next step in saying that because
the VE as the more engaging reality than the surrounding physical world, the fictional is a representation it is derivative and inessential. The
and consider the environment specified by the displays as places visited dragon may not be a dragon, but it is a projection of a dragon, and
rather than as images seen. 31
In order to measure presence, the exact projections of dragons are real. 36
requirements need to be known to both participant and observer, but this is The reality of these virtual experiences can be clearly demonstrated
a complicated issue. Some definitions of presence require a belief that the through the effect of an interaction with a specific virtual environment - the
simulated Venice of Assassins Creed 2.
28 ibid 35 ibid
30 ibid
31 ibid
24 25
2.3
The simulation is so effective, in fact, that when visiting physical Venice, places
visited virtually are recognised and recalled as if experienced physically.
More than simply providing recognition though, the virtual experience
changes the way the physical world is perceived, with physical buildings
being understood in terms of how they were virtually climbed. 37 While
images or film may produce a feeling of familiarity with certain landmarks,
interacting with a virtual environment provides a spatial experience that
has a cognitive equivalence with an actual physical experience, even if
projected through the proxy self of a virtual avatar.
37 7KLVLVDSKHQRPHQRQWKDW,DQGRWKHUV,KDYHVSRNHQWRKDYHSHUVRQDOO\H[SHULHQFHG,KDYHZULWWHQ
DERXWWKLVSUHYLRXVO\LQDQHVVD\ZKLFKFDQEHIRXQGDWHQYVZRUGSUHVVFRP
26 27
C H A P T E R 2 : L i t e r a t u r e R e v i e w a n d B a c k g r o u n d
VWXG\LQJ YLUWXDO ZRUOGV LQ WKHLU RZQ WHUPV LV QRW RQO\ IHDVLEOH EXW
physical world and can affect the perception of physical reality. This suggests FUXFLDOWRGHYHORSLQJUHVHDUFKPHWKRGVWKDWNHHSXSZLWKWKHUHDOLWLHV
that both virtual and physical environments have equal experiential value, RIWHFKQRORJLFDOFKDQJH
with knowledge from either reality informing understanding of the other.
Boellstorff immersed himself in this virtual world, exploring its systems
It is because of this equal value that VEs are being studied with increasing
and structures as Malinowski and other anthropologists before had studied
seriousness. At the height of VRs popularity, the potential negative
remote tribes and secluded cultures. Boellstorff went on to co-author
implications of an immersive alternate reality began to be considered:
Ethnography and Virtual Worlds: A Handbook of Method with three other
People thought that there would be addictions to VR that people
prominent virtual anthropologists.
would end up living in virtual worlds and never coming out. There
was concern that there would be physical damage as well as mental
Ethnography and Virtual Worlds seeks to provide ethnographers with a
damage. 40
practical set of tools and approaches for conducting successful fieldwork in
This notion of VR as another delusional drug 41 was a contributing factor to
virtual worlds 47, in order to aid further investigation into the cultures present
its fall from grace, and these negative associations have stayed with both
within them. Their work, however, deals exclusively with a single typology
VR and VEs throughout their history. While many studies and experiments
of Virtual Environments, what they refer to as Virtual Worlds. They define
have explored possible side effects, from effect on aggression and
this as a VE that has a sense of world-ness, is multi-user in nature, is
hostility 42, to impairment of hippocampal activity 43, there has also been
persistent: they continue to exist in some form even as participants log
numerous investigations into the potential of this reality. Albert Skip Rizzos
off, and lastly, they allow participants to embody themselves. It is the
work has used VR as exposure therapy to treat PTSD suffers 44
, while Mel
interactions and social structures that develop within these virtual worlds
Slater and Anthony Steeds work has sought to understand the concept
that these authors focus on, rather than the spatial environments of the
and measurement of presence in virtual environments 45.
worlds themselves.
Alongside these technological investigations, the emerging field of Virtual
Ethnography has been gaining ground. In Coming of Age in Second Life, Between experimentation with the technology of VR, and ethnographic
the first anthropological study of the virtual world of Second Life, Tom studies of the cultures within Virtual Worlds, there lie unexamined questions.
Boellstorff applied ethnographic methods to study its emerging online Both of these lines of inquiry explore virtual environments that spatially
culture, stating that: simulate physical reality, neglecting the a-physical possibilities explored in
the fictional imaginations that VR once inspired. During VRs long absence
as a consumer technology, there have been virtual environments that have
7KH9HUJH7KH5LVHDQG)DOODQG5LVHRI9LUWXDO5HDOLW\>RQOLQH@$YDLODEOHDWKWWSZZZWKHYHUJH begun to question the notion of physical simulation, creating spaces that
FRPDYLUWXDOUHDOLW\>$FFHVVHG$SU@
exhibit a-physical experiential possibilities that are unique to virtual space 48.
*R]]L5D\PRQG9,578$/5($/,7<$60(7$3+25(7&$5HYLHZRI*HQHUDO6HPDQWLFVYROQR
SSZZZMVWRURUJVWDEOH As we stand on the brink of a reintegration of VR into mainstream culture, it
6FLHQFHGLUHFWFRP,PSDFWRIYLUWXDOUHDOLW\RQ\RXQJDGXOWVSK\VLRORJLFDODURXVDODQGDJJUHVVLYH is crucial to discover how VEs are spatially understood in order to explore
WKRXJKWV,QWHUDFWLRQYHUVXVREVHUYDWLRQ6FLHQFH'LUHFW>RQOLQH@$YDLODEOHDWKWWSZZZVFLHQFHGLUHFWFRPVFLHQFH
their many spatial, and architectural possibilities. This will be the focus of
DUWLFOHSLL>$FFHVVHG$SU@
this ethnography.
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1HXURVFLHQFH>RQOLQH@$YDLODEOHDWKWWSZZZQDWXUHFRPQHXURMRXUQDOYQIXOOQQKWPO
,KDYHZULWWHQDERXWRQHVXFK9(7KH6WDQOH\3DUDEOHSUHYLRXVO\7KLVSDSHUFDQEHIRXQGKHUHKWWSV
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28 29
03
HYPOTHESIS
AND
METHODOLOGY
30 31
C H A P T E R 3 : H y p o t h e s i s a n d M e t h o d o l o g y
3.1
The Approach
The more the plot line potentially removes a person from everyday
reality, and presents an alternate self-contained world, the greater the
chance for presence. 49
The results of the ethnographic process make explicit a language, which can
itself then be used for further communication and exploration. This cyclical
aspect of ethnography can generate new hypotheses while seeking to
answer the initial question. This paper will explore knowledge gained as far
32 33
C H A P T E R 3 : H y p o t h e s i s a n d M e t h o d o l o g y
3.2
The Process
as is feasible within its limited scale, seeking to understand how a-physical Traditionally in ethnographies, the informant is required to be a thoroughly
virtual environments experienced through VR are perceived by studying encultured member of the culture being studied, with Spradley suggesting
the language used by participants. It is hoped that this understanding will a minimum of at least a years full time involvement 51 to qualify as an useful
inform the limits of the design of future VEs. source. In this study, however, participants with little enculturation were
deliberately chosen to enable an investigation into the experience of VR
Participants in this study will spend a fixed amount of time experiencing an free of existing knowledge or expectation. Although all participants were
a-physical VE through VR, with footage captured from both the physical common computer users, none had experienced VR before.
and virtual environment. The participants will then be asked to watch the
footage back and explain their actions and experience, before an being This process began with an unrecorded, informal exposure to VR, with
questioned on their various statements. The language used will then be participants freely exploring various software and VEs. It was from
analysed and presented in the results section, followed by a discussion on conversations following this experience that the notion of conducting an
the implications of the results. ethnographic study was formed. Six months after this initial exposure, four
participants were invited back for a series of recorded observations.
The VR system used in the experiment will be the HTC VIVE, a HMD based VR
system that facilitates room scale positional tracking, as well as interaction The steps of the observations were:
with the VE through two handheld controllers (Fig. 11). The VE used in the
experiment will be Googles Tilt Brush - a virtual reality drawing program. INTERVIEW 01
Tilt Brush gives users a series of virtual drawing tools - a wide variety of Participants were asked a series of questions regarding the initial VR
brushes, drawing guides such as straight edges and a mirror function, exposure. As well as gathering information on the participants themselves,
and transformation tools that allow the user to re-scale and reposition the these questions investigated how the VR experienced was perceived, and
environment. The VE manifests itself as a blank, canvas space, and allows how it had been remembered. (Fig. 10)
user to draw in 3d dimensional space using the controllers, with the drawn
strokes hanging suspended in the air where the hand travelled. The various TILT BRUSH EXPERIMENT
brushes vary from light and smoke to psychedelic oil slicks and cyberspace Participants were placed into a blank space within Tilt Brush and given
hypercubes, allowing a wide variety of creation. 10 minutes 52 tasked with the simple of brief of creating a space with the
toolset available inside the VE. The feed from the headset was recorded
alongside a camera feed from the physical room. At the end of the time
limit, participants were asked if they would like to take a virtual photo from
within the VE.
VIDEO REFLECTION
Participants watched the recording of their headset feed and were asked
to describe what they were doing. This interview was recorded and is
presented in sync with the experiment recordings in the films.
52 Depth of PresenceIRXQGWKDWWLPHLVQRWDWDOOVLJQLILFDQWLQWKHDQDO\VLVWKHUHZDVQRPRGHOWKDWZHZHUH
DEOHWRILQGLQZKLFKWLPHHPHUJHGDVDVLJQLILFDQWIDFWRUDQGWKHUHIRUHDWLPHOLPLWZDVXVHGWRNHHSUHFRUGHGGDWD
PDQDJHDEOH
34 35
C H A P T E R 3 : H y p o t h e s i s a n d M e t h o d o l o g y
53 7KLVPHWKRGZDVXVHGLQ0RUH%UHDNV/HVV3UHVHQFHEXWLVOHVVDSSURSULDWHIRUWKLVVWXG\DVLWLPSRVHVD
FHUWDLQODQJXDJHDQGXQGHUVWDQGLQJRQWRSDUWLFLSDQWV
Fig. 11.
36 37
04
R E S U LT S
38 39
C H A P T E R 4 : R e s u l t s
This section presents key findings from each stage of the observations,
followed by key findings of the ethnographic process. Within the results
section, the following labels are used to refer to the participants and the
stages of the observation:
Names
DOMINIC JENNY
Dominic - DS
Age: 46 Age: 43 Jenny - JS
Profession: IT Support Profession: Lawyer
Tech proficiency: 7 Tech proficiency: 4
Agostino - AN
Hours spent with computers/week: 40 Hours spent with computers/week: 40 Johanna JJ
Artistic proficiency: 6 Artistic proficiency: 3
How often do you draw: Once a month How often do you draw: Once a year
Used VR before: no Used VR before: no Stage Code
Interview 01 - IN1
Tilt Brush Experiment - TBE
Video Response - VDR
Interview 02 - IN2
All footage recorded during the observations has been collated into four
films one for each participant. These can be found on the enclosed
storage device and online 54, with full transcripts in the appendix.
References to the observations are labelled with the system:
Age: 25 Age: 26
Tech proficiency: 8 Tech proficiency: 8
Profession: Architect Profession: Architect
Hours spent with computers/week: Everyday Hours spent with computers/week: >70
Artistic proficiency: 9 Artistic proficiency: 5
How often do you draw: All the time How often do you draw: 2 days a week
Used VR before: no Used VR before: - no
7+(6,6SOD\OLVWDWKWWSVZZZ\RXWXEHFRPXVHU-DJJVSHU
THE PARTICIPANTS
40 41
C H A P T E R 4 : R e s u l t s
4.1
DS:IN1:0535 - when youre doing it, its real...and afterwards you forget the
immersive experience...like a dream, a memory that you cant quite grasp
JS:IN1:0444 - very real
AN:IN1:0650 - its real because it becomes a prosthesis for your senses
JJ:IN1:0345 - real in a weird way. Not real like being in this room, but a
different kind of real
42 43
4.2
JS:TBE:0500
JS:TBE:0720
JS:TBE:1625
JS:TBE:1435
VIRTUAL PHYSICAL
44 45
C H A P T E R 4 : R e s u l t s C H A P T E R 4 : R e s u l t s
Dominic
DS:TBE:0715
Fig. 12.
DS:TBE:0930
DS:TBE:1040
DS:TBE:1435
Fig. 13.
VIRTUAL PHYSICAL
Participants Photo from outside
the Virtual Construction
46 47
C H A P T E R 4 : R e s u l t s CC HH AA PP TT EE RR 41 :: R
J A
e sS uP lEt Rs
Johanna
JJ:TBE:0515
Fig. 14.
JJ:TBE:1045
JJ:TBE:1435
JJ:TBE:1615
Fig. 15.
VIRTUAL PHYSICAL
Participants Photo from outside
the Virtual Construction
48 49
C H A P T E R 4 : R e s u l t s C H A P T E R 1 : J A S P E R
Agostino
AN:TBE:0815
Fig. 16.
AN:TBE:1115
AN:TBE:1735
AN:TBE:1835
Fig. 17.
VIRTUAL PHYSICAL
Participants Photo from outside
the Virtual Construction
50 51
C H A P T E R 4 : R e s u l t s
4.3
Video Response
55 '69'5
56 $19'5
57 $19'5
58 '69'5
59 $19'5
60 '69'5
61 '69'5
62 -69'5
63 -69'5
52 53
C H A P T E R 4 : R e s u l t s
--9'5
65 --9'5
66 '69'5
54 55
C H A P T E R 4 : R e s u l t s
4.4
Interview 02
DS:IN2:1600 - great, it felt great, it was really bright and sunny. It made me The second interview, conducted shortly after the Video Response, began
happy. with a repeat of the questions from Interview 01. The change in response
JS:IN2:1905 - it felt nice to be back...like it was somewhere I had been to these questions demonstrates the difference between a recent and a
before. remembered perception of VR. Answers to the same three questions shown
AN:IN2:2015 - great in 4.1 are presented here for direct comparison.
JJ:IN2:1735 - strange because I was asked to draw a space...when I used the
first pen I drew some static things, but what actually makes it more spatial is
While the participants opinions on the reality of VR didnt change, the
when you try to cover everything around you. It makes it much more spatial
answers to question 2 all show a significance difference in perception.
for you than just drawing an object
The responses in Interview 01 described abstract detached worlds,
whereas these responses are all much more focused on physicality and
embodiment. Through questioning, this transpired to be a crucial element
2: Whats the closest existing experience you can compare it to?
of the experience of VR for the participants.
DS:IN2:1735 - dancing
AN:IN2:2135 - like sitting on a beach and building a huge sand ball around Following the initial repeat questioning, participants were asked to elaborate
you where you have endless resources of material and you start playing on statements made within the experiment and response. Using the areas
with itbut its really difficult to relate it to anything outside of VR of interest established in 4.3, these further explorations are summarised
JJ:IN2:1840 - Painting a wall...but it is like being underwater somehow... below. Section headings demonstrate further knowledge gained on each
especially when you cant really feel the end of the space, its all black area through the questioning.
around you... you dont really know where the boundaries are which makes
me feel really strange...insecure. You could go everywhere, but you know 4.4.A Cocoons and Physicality facilitate Ownership and Inhabitation
you cant go everywhere
'6,1
85 '6,1
56 57
C H A P T E R 4 : R e s u l t s
JS also mentioned creating objects to be experienced, saying: I made the The delineation that these elements provided created a strong experiential
bars so that I could walk through them...I was drawing things that I could distinction between the space inside the construction and that outside.
then experience 86, and that thats the kind of thing that you cant do in the Inside was described using words such as homely, comfortable, and
real world but you can do in that space 87. JJ showed the same intent, saying referred to as my space, while outside was described as disconcerting,
that as soon as you define the space you try to use it , and stating of
88
nowhere, blank. Being outside the construction changed participants
drawing around herself that its it was really fun... like something you cant perception of the construction itself, with AN seeing the it from an object
do in any other space 89. When explaining the difference between watching point of view and not from a space point of view any more 94, and DS
the recording and being in VR, JJ described inhabitation as a key aspect of explaining that he stepped outside to see if I could see the feeling I was
VRs reality, stating: in the VR its actually there...you feel like its more real. having inside from outside, but it was just a mess 95.
When you see it on the screen its really flat and youre aware that this is
not really a room 90. This distinction was made by all participants, showing 4.4.C Scales and Wonderlands complicate Reality and Consequence
that the embodiment of VR is clearly essential to its perception as a reality, When directly asked whether the space was real or unreal, there was not
distinguishing it from more separated methods of experiencing VEs. a consensus, with participants split between completely real 96 and not
unreal 97. When describing the experience, however, no participant referred
4.4.B Lines and Solids differentiate Nowhere and Walls to the virtual space as real, but all referred to the physical world as the real
When constructing their spaces, participants referred to various elements world to distinguish it from the Virtual. 98 Further complicating the use of the
using terms such as wall, floor, ceiling, stair, door, and expressed a need to term, DS and JS, both of whom answered real to the final question, also
have these elements to define the space. Explaining her earlier statement described wanting to create chaos and make a mess. When questioned
having walls is nice, JJ said when you think of space, you want things on this urge, DS described enjoying the freedom of VR, explaining that you
to define the space 91, and elaborated on the distinction between line can create chaos and then you just press delete...theres no consequence 99,
brushes and solid brushes. DS described his space as needing a floor, and confirming the perception of VR as a detached reality.
when questioned, explained that once I had a floor in place I was more
comfortable that I wasnt falling through space or wasnt in nowhere 92, 4.4.D Collisions and Glitches deteriorate Presence and Agency
saying of the physical floor that it didnt matter, because I couldnt perceive When asked to explain the feeling and effects of colliding with the physical
it 93. environment, participants broadly agreed that, although it gave them an
58 59
4.5
Ethnographic Study
increased awareness of the physical environment around them, this didnt The unintended intuitive richness of the language can be clearly shown
really bring them out. JS and JJ both described the physical limits of the through a single quote: me in the space I imagined 105. This statement
room restricting their virtual experience, stating I felt like I could go further was given when the participant was asked how they would explain the
than that, but then you find yourself hitting into things...Its annoying, its like photograph they took within the VE, which showed a representation of their
that real world is impinging on my experience 100
and you dont see that virtual avatar in the construction. When broken down, this single sentence
there is an end and you wish that there is no end to it 101. DS on the other reveals a great amount about the participants perception of the virtual
hand, although aware of the physical from multiple collisions, described experience:
his perception of the physical from inside the virtual as otherworldly 102
,
explaining that, when colliding with physical objects, it was like a different ME identifying with virtual avatar
reality that I was affecting but it wasnt in my experience at the time 103. IN feeling spatially present
Glitches had more of a negative experiential effect on participants, with THE SPACE experiencing VR as a spatial reality
AN saying he felt frustrated, helpless, and violated, describing the glitch I feeling ownership of the virtual construction
as something you have no agency over and its piercing you and its IMAGINED created from ideas / an illusory creation
uncomfortable 104
.
Although these observations and interviews contain a vast amount of
qualitative data, they also clearly demonstrate the difficultly of discussion
in this field. The perception of VR is highly implicit to understand it, it must
100 -6,1
be experienced an incredibly limiting factor in its progress. To develop
101 --,1
cultures further, knowledge must be made explicit, allowing discussion
102 '6,1
and understanding to be exchanged without requiring experience. This is
103 '6,1
the aim of ethnography: to make implicit cultural knowledge explicit, and
$1,1
knowable to those outside of the culture itself.
To achieve this, data collected from the interviews is analysed according the
process laid out in James Spradleys handbook, The Ethnographic Interview.
Spradley describes the process as examining some phenomenon, dividing
it into its constituent parts, then identifying the relationships among the
parts and their relationship to the whole 106. Key to ethnographic analysis
is avoiding imposing categories from the outside that create order and
pattern rather than discover it[it] is the search for parts of a culture and
their relationships as conceptualised by the informants 107.
The full ethnographic analysis can be found in the appendix, but this summary will present specific findings that
105 --,1
60 61
C H A P T E R 4 : R e s u l t s
Ta x o n o m i e s
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ITcThecRoomc ITcVirtualcConstructionc Paintingc Encasementc
Physicalcboundaryc Drawingcc Fillingcinc Ownershipc
Camerascfieldcofcviewc Cocoonc Surroundingc Happinessc
Outsidecenvironmentc Hutc Decoratingc Func
Exteriorcspacec Cavec Constructingc Satisfactionc
Thecrealcroomc Mycspacec Buildingc Homelycc
Thecactualcroomc Insidec ITcChoosingcToolc ITcNegativecFeelingscc
ExteriorcSpherec Encasementc Pointingcc Violatedc
ITcThecPhysicalcWorldc Domec ITcErasingc Buriedc
Thecnormalcworldc Roomc Erasec Piercedcc
Thecrealcworldc Spherec Undoc Helplessc
Othercspacec Facadec Housekeepingc Disconcertingc
PhysicalcRealityc Structuresc Repairingc CTcBreakcincpresencec
Objectc Cleaningc Annoyancec
Wombc Scalingc Frustrationc
Wonderlandc Movingc Dependancecc
Wallc Glitchc Uncomfortablec
Ceilingc Inhabitingc Realisingcthecillusionc
Floorc Recordingc Controlledc
ITcVirtualcEnvironmentc Photographingc Skepticismc
Outsidec Selfiec VirtualcActioncImpulsec
Boundlessc c
c
Blackcskyc c c
Nowherec C: WAYScTOcCONSTRUCTcINcVIR
Blankcspacec Creatingc
Non-realityc Solidctoolsc
SensorycProsthesisc Firec
Illusionc Smokec
Representationc Bubblescc
Dreamc LinecToolsc
ImaginedcSpacec Lightc
AnothercSkincc FunctioncToolsc
c Linearc
Mirrorc
Erasingc
Housekeepingc
Repairingcc
Undoingcc
c
c
62 63
G: Kindscofc Dimensionscofccontrastc
Feelingsc
SpatialcTermc SuggestscPresencec POSITIVEcorcNEGATIVEc
P a r a d i g m Wo r k s h e e t s
PRESENCEc
BREAKcINcPRESENCEc
Outsidec YESc YESc POSITIVEc
c c
F: Descriptionsc Dimensionscofccontrastc
H: Descriptionscofc Dimensionscofccontrastc
ofcPhysicalc Virtualc
SpatialcTermc ReferencectocSpatialc MancMadecTypologyc NaturalcTypologyc
Environmentc SpatialcTermc TermcofcExistencec ReferencectocReality:c Constructionc
Reality:c
POSITIVEcorcNEGATIVEc
POSITIVEcorc
PhysicalcBoundaryc YESc YESc POSITIVEc
NEGATIVEc
cc
64 65
05
DISCUSSION
Metaphilosophy, 37(5),
66 67
C H A P T E R 5 : D i s c u s s i o n
5.1
In Physical Reality
1. The Physical Room
The physical space in which the virtual reality experience takes place -
in this experiment, a bedroom. Referred to as: the real room, the outside
environment, exterior space
In Virtual Reality
2. The Virtual Environment
The empty space of the program - in this experiment, the canvas
space of Tilt Brush. Referred to as: outside, nowhere, blank space
3. The Virtual Construction
The three dimensional experienced space - in this experiment, the
drawing created by participants. Referred to as: inside, cocoon, my
space
During the video response and interviews, all three spaces were discussed
by participants using the words inside and outside, and the multiple
Fig. 19. relative uses of these terms by participants highlights the perceived spatial
Fig. 18.
Overlaid physical and virtual relationships between the distinct spaces. There was an inside/outside
Alice in Wonderland and Through imagery to show experience of
The Looking Glass sapce.
68 69
C H A P T E R 5 : D i s c u s s i o n
relationship between virtual reality(inside) and physical reality(outside), but This demonstrates the complex nature of the existence of virtual reality -
also within virtual reality itself, between the virtual construction(inside) and there is a first act of separation into the illusion, and then an acceptance
the virtual environment(outside). This can be summarised as: of the reality within that illusion. In their descriptions, two participants
specifically referenced Alice In Wonderland (Fig. 18), and, although
The virtual construction is inside the virtual environment, which is inside referencing different aspects of Wonderland, it is a telling comparison. It
the physical room. was a reference also used by the creator of the first HMD VR system, Ivan
Sutherland, who described the perfect virtual reality - his Ultimate Display
However, there was not a strong perception of being inside both the - as a room within which the computer can control the existence of matter...
physical room and the virtual environment simultaneously. Collisions and such a display could literally be the Wonderland into which Alice walked. 108
glitches that caused breaks in presence gave participants an awareness of Just like the mentions of dreams and illusions, as well as the comparisons
the world outside, but when present, the participant described being in a to diving and theatre, alluding to Wonderland shows that Virtual Reality is
separate reality, not being inside the physical room. Therefore: experienced as a world like ours but different, detached - an other reality.
That participants accepted both of the dissonant realities demonstrates
TO BE INSIDE THE PHYSICAL ROOM is to be outside the virtual construction, that the notion of presence requiring a belief that the participant no longer
outside the virtual environment, outside virtual reality. inhabits the physical space 109 is indeed an immersion fallacy, reinforcing
[outside-outside] the meta-fictional 110 understanding of virtual space.
TO BE INSIDE THE VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT is to be outside the virtual This relative reality also highlights the crucial role that delineation of space
construction, inside the virtual environment, inside virtual reality. plays in perception and experience. As one participant stated regarding
[outside-inside] their virtual construction: once I had a [virtual] floor in place I was more
comfortable that I wasnt...in nowhere. 111 While physicality is an important
TO BE INSIDE THE VIRTUAL CONSTRUCTION is to be inside the virtual part of the experience, there is no difference between the technology
construction, inside the virtual environment, inside virtual reality displaying the environment and the construction, but a few textured lines in
[inside-inside] explorable space transform a blank sky into a cocoon, outside into inside,
and nowhere into somewhere.
It is crucial to distinguish the two distinct kinds of virtual space, because they
were perceived to have different states of reality. The virtual environment
is described with words of emptiness and non-existence - blank and
nowhere - whilst the virtual construction is described with spatial and
inhabitable words - a cocoon, a hut, a womb. However, when describing
108 6XWKHUODQG,7KH8OWLPDWH'LVSOD\VWHG>HERRN@$YDLODEOHDWKWWSZRUU\GUHDPFRPUHIV
virtual reality as a whole, it was referred to as a non-reality, an illusion, a 6XWKHUODQG7KH8OWLPDWH'LVSOD\SGI>$FFHVVHG'HF@
dream, in comparison to the real world of physical reality. This leads to the 109 6ODWHU0'HSWKRI3UHVHQFHLQ9LUWXDO(QYLURQPHQWV>RQOLQH@$YDLODEOHDWKWWSSXEOLFDWLRQVOLVWRUJ
VDPD]RQDZVFRPGDWDPHOVODWHUUHIGHSWKRISUHVHQFHSGI
conclusion that:
110 :HOVK70L[HGUHDOLVPVWHG0LQQHVRWD8QLYHUVLW\RI0LQQHVRWD3UHVV
The virtual construction is less real than the physical room, but more real 111 '6,1
than the virtual environment.
70 71
C H A P T E R 5 : D i s c u s s i o n
5.2
Elements described as STAIRS This linguistic mimicry highlights the lack of, and the need for, an established
vocabulary regarding Virtual Reality. Although participants did describe their
construction as a cocoon or hut, they often referred to them as simply it,
or the thing. One quote by on participant demonstrates the complexities of
attempting to explain the overlapping spaces involved, and the inadequacy
of the language used to describe them:
I felt fine scaling it at the beginning because I didnt have the thing, but
once I had the thing I didnt want to turn it around anymore. You have
constructed the thing and its like this - you dont want to move it around
because its static in this space 113
113 --,1
72 73
C H A P T E R 4 : R e s u l t s
sentence, it is used to refer to both spaces, as well as the virtual environment This kind of roof is covered with leaves put together, so that neither
being referred to as this space. Although statements like this can be the sun nor the rain can penetrate therein; and now the man is lodged.
decoded when analysed, they can obfuscate meaning and complicate Indeed cold and heat will make him fencible of their inconveniences
explanations, and are almost meaningless outside of the context of their in his house, open on every part; but then he will fill up between the
context. A defined set of terms would allow both those who experience the space of the pillars, and will then find himself secure. Such is the step
space to describe it and those who do not to understand it. Giving future of simple nature: It is to the imitation of her proceedings, to which art
participants terms derived from descriptions - such as virtual environment owes its birth 114
and virtual construction - to describe their experience would facilitate more
detailed communication. The participants process was almost identical to this, but rather than
seeking shelter from the rain, they sought
The physical language demonstrates more than a lack of vocabulary,
however. Investigating the type of physical term used also sheds light an inside delineated from nowhere, and, needing to make an
on the way in which Virtual Reality is perceived and experienced. Several encasement but not a simulation, choose the most solid brushes
participants specifically mentioned that physicality is crucial to Virtual to create walls at the reach of their arms, and now the participant is
Reality, describing it as that which distinguishes it as an interface with present.
Virtual Environments from the traditional screen and controller that are the
current standard: in Virtual Reality you dont have to create that separation Laugier suggested his theory of the creation of the primitive hut in order to
you are inside it. Being an essential aspect of the experience, physicality criticise the architecture of the time. It demonstrated what he believed to be
had a direct bearing on the way the constructions were created and the the essential and forgotten aspects of the creation of space, which should
how they were described. Whether from man made or natural typologies, return to being the focus of architectural design. In the primitiveness of their
the terms used all describe simple spaces, all at a scale directly related to construction, the participants cocoons exhibit the essential aspects of their
that of the body. Participants did not seek towering virtual holograms, but creation, defined not by the proportions of materials, or the need for shelter,
homely cocoon huts. but by the scale of the participants body, and the non-reality of a boundless
virtual environment. While the participants were no doubt influenced by the
This inclination to surround themselves in encasements at the scale of their various constraints of the experiment, the spaces defined and the language
body is strikingly similar to Laugiers concept of the origin of architecture used to describe them still clearly demonstrate that the scale of the body
as the primitive hut. (Fig.21) Laugier describes the primitive man, seeking and the physicality in interaction are essential to the reality of the virtual.
shelter from the rain: This has been the downfall of so many virtual environments, with countless
The man is willing to make himself an abode which covers but not visions of virtual space that bear no relationship to the scale of the person
buries him. Some branches broken down in the forest are the proper experiencing the space itself, imagined cyberspaces that are derived more
materials for his design. He chooses four of the strongest, which he from the nature of the program that produces them than the person that
raises perpendicularly and which he disposes into a square. Above he explores them.
puts four others across, and upon there he raises some that incline from
both sides.
74 75
When setting out the initial concept of what would later develop into VR,
Morton Heilig said that although It would seem from the preceding analysis
that my conception of the function of the cinema of the future is to faithfully
reproduce mans superficial and immediate perception of the world about
him. Nothing could be further from the truth. The history of art demonstrates
over and over again that some of the most valid experiences come from the
inner and not the outer world. 115. These primitive virtual huts certainly owe
their birth to inner experience, and, like the primitive physical huts before
them, exhibit the essentials of virtual architecture which should inform
future virtual architectural design.
Fig. 21.
Fig. 22.
The primitive hut at the birth
of architecture The primitive virtual hut
76 77
06
CONCLUSION
University Press.
78 79
C H A P T E R 6 : C o n c l u s i o n
6.1
Dissonant Design
This thesis began with the desire to unshackle virtual reality from the
physical world, but the ethnographic approach to participants experiences
has demonstrated that physicality is integral to our understanding of space
and our perception of reality. While the experience provided by modern VR
systems is restricted by the constraints of current technology - the headsets
field of view, the processing power of a computer, the 3 neglected senses -
even a theoretically perfect VR system would still contend with an exisiting
understanding of the physical world.
116 $1,1
80 81
C H A P T E R 6 : C o n c l u s i o n
82 83
84 85
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88 89
Figures
Fig. 01 https://www.jerkersearcher.com/sffaudio_pdfs/
PygmalionsSpectaclesByStanleyGWeinbaumFS.pdf
Fig. 02 http://www.mortonheilig.com
Fig. 03 http://noobist.com/gaming/accessibility-of-vr-the-future-of-
virtual-reality/
mame-arcade-52978-game
Fig. 06 http://www.theverge.com/a/virtual-reality
Fig. 07 http://www.theverge.com/a/virtual-reality
Fig. 08 http://assassinscreed.wikia.com
Fig. 09 http://assassinscreed.wikia.com
Fig. 10 Authors own
Fig. 11 Authors own
Fig. 12 Authors own
Fig. 13 Authors own
Fig. 14 Authors own
Fig. 15 Authors own
Fig. 16 Authors own
90 91
Appendices
A. Ethnographic Study 3
A . 4 Ta x o n o m i c A n a l y s e s 13
A.5 Compential Analyses 15
B. Transcripts 19
B.1 Johanna 21
B.2 Dominic 27
B.3 Jenny 33
B.4 Agostino 37
Stepc1c-ccDatacCollectionc
Interviews
Recordings:cc
Filmsconcattachedcdrivec
Viewableconlinecat:chttps://www.youtube.com/user/Jaggsperc
Transcripts:catcthecendcofcthecappendixc
Images
Participantscphotos:concattachedcdrivec
Authorscphotos:concattachedcdrivec
Models
TiltcBrushcandcFBXcfilesconcattachedcdrivec
Viewableconlinecat:chttps://sketchfab.com/elburro/modelsc
c c
Ethnographic Study
c
3 4
AboutcSPACEc
Stepc2c-cDescriptivecObservationc Spacevs.Space,Object,Act,Activity,Event,Time,Actor,Goals,Feelings
DescriptivecQuestioncMatrixc Space/Spacec
Physicalccontainingcspacec-cthecroomcincwhichcthecparticipantciscexperiencingcVRc
cc SPACEc OBJECTc ACTc ACTIVITYc TIMEc ACTORc GOALc FEELINGc
Virtualcenvironmentc-cThecemptycvirtualcworldcofcpotentialc
InsidecVirtualcspacec-cthecspaceccreatedcthroughcusecofcvirtualctoolc
SPACEc Cancyouc Whatcarecallc Whatcarecallc Whatcarecallcthec Whatcspatialc Whatcarecallc Whatcarecallc Whatcspacescarec Outsidecvirtualcspacec
describecinc thecwaysc thecwaysc wayscspacecisc changesc thecwaysc thecwayscisc associatedcwithc
detailcallc spacecisc spacecisc organizedcbyc occurc spaceciscusedc relatedctoc feelings?c HybridcPerceivedcspacec-cspacecimaginedconto/intendedcincvirtualcspacec
places?c organizedcbyc organizedc activities?c overtime?c bycactors?c goals?c
objects?c bycacts?c c
Space/Objectsc
Physicalc Spacec -c Visualc Interface,c Controlc Interface,c Synchronisedc objects,c
unsynchronisedcphysicalcobjectsc
OBJECTc Wherecarec Cancyouc Whatcarecallc Whatcarecallcthec Howcarec Whatcarecallc Howcarec Whatcarecallcthec
objectsc describecinc thecwaysc wayscobjectscarec objectscusedc thecwaysc objectscusedc wayscobjectscevokec Virtualc worldc -c Virtualc UI,c Virtualc Tools,c Synchronisedc objects,c unsynchronisedc virtualc
located?c detailcallc objectscarec usedcinc atcdifferentc objectscarec incseekingc feelings?c
objects?c usedcinc activities?c times?c usedcbyc goals?c
objects,cvirtuallycconstructedcobjectsc
acts?c actors?c Virtualcconstructedcspacec-cvirtuallycconstructedcobjectsc
c
ACTc Wherecdoc Howcdocactsc Cancyouc Howcarecactscac Howcdocactsc Whatcarecthec Whatcarecallc Whatcarecallcthec
actscoccur?c incorporatec describecinc partcofcactivities?c varycoverc wayscactscarec thecwayscactsc wayscactscareclinkedc
Space/Actc
thecusecofc detailcallc time?c performedcbyc arecrelatedctoc tocfeelings?c
objects?c acts?c actors?c goal?c
Allc Actsc occurc simultaneouslyc inc bothc thec physicalc andc virtualc space,c butc manifestc
themselvescdifferentlyc
c c
5 6
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Objectsvs.Space,Object,Act,Activity,Event,Time,Actor,Goals,Feelings PhysicalcVisualcInterfacec+cPhysicalcControlcInterfacec
Beforec+caftercenteringcvirtual:cacpiececofctechnologicalchardware.c
Objects/Objectsc Whenc insidec virtual:c awarenessc ofc physicalc objectsc lost,c butc theyc enablec
PhysicalcVisualcInterfacec-cthecheadsetcwornctocseecVRc physical/virtualcinteractionc
PhysicalcControlcInterfacec-ctheccontrollercusedctocactcwithincVRc VirtualcUsercInterfacec
VirtualcUsercInterfacec-cmenuscandctoolbarscusedctocselectctoolsc Beforec+caftercenteringcvirtual:cnotcperceivedc
VirtualcToolsc-cvarietycofctools/pens/brushescusedctocconstructcwithincvirtualc Whencinsidecvirtual:cinterfacecforcselectingcvirtualctoolsc
Toolsc VirtualcToolsc
Texturesc Beforecenteringcvirtual:cnotcperceivedc
Brushescc Whenc insidec virtual:c methodc ofc actingc withinc virtualc world:cinteracting,cconstructing,c
Synchronisedc Virtual/Physicalc Objectsc -cobjectscvirtuallycreconstructedcandcmappedc recordingcandcnavigatingcthroughcthecvirtualcspacec
withincvirtualcspacectocmirrorcphysicalcspacecandcprovidechapticcfeedbackc Aftercleavingcvirtual:crememberedcandcpotentiallycmissed/attemptedctocusec(AC2)c
Unsynchronisedc Physicalc Objectsc -cnoncvirtuallycreconstructedcobjectscexistingcwithinc SynchronisedcVirtual/PhysicalcObjectscc
thecphysicalcspacecthatcmaycaccidentallycbeccollidedcwithc Beforecenteringcvirtual:cphysicalcobjectsc
UnsynchronisedcVirtualcObjectsc-cvirtualcobjectscthatchavecnocphysicalcparallelc Whenc insidec virtual:c virtualc objectsc withc physicalc hapticc feedbackc andc physicalc
Interactivecandcnoncinteractivecobjects?cc memoriesc(ifcnoticed)c
Virtuallycconstructedcobjects?c Aftercleavingcvirtual:cphysicalcobjectscwithcvirtualcmemoriesc
Physicalc/cPostcphysicalcobjects?c UnsynchronisedcPhysicalcObjectscc
Beforecenteringcvirtual:cphysicalcobjectsc
c
Whencinsidecvirtual:cnotcperceived.ccollisionccausescbreakcincpresencec
Objects/Spacec
Afterc leavingcvirtual:cphysicalcobjects,cifccollidedcwith,cmaycbecassociatedcwithcvirtualc
Physicalc Visualc Interfacec -c blocksc visualc perceptionc ofc physicalc spacec andc providesc memoryc(ohcitcwascthecfireplacecthatcichit!)c
virtualcvisualcinputc UnsynchronisedcVirtualcObjectsc
Physicalc Controlc Interfacec -c mapsc physicalc movementc ontoc virtualc movementc Beforec+aftercenteringcvirtual:cnotcperceivedc
providingcphysicalcbodycscalectocvirtualcspacec Whencinsidecvirtual:cobjectscthatcfillcvirtualcspacec
VirtualcUsercInterfacec-cprovidescvirtualcvisualclinkctocphysicalcinterfacec
c
VirtualcToolsc-callowscusersctocembodycandcinteractcwithcvirtualcspacec
Objects/Feelingsc
Synchronisedc Virtual/Physicalc Objectsc -c physicalc embodimentc ofc virtualc objectsc
synchronisesc bothc spaces,c creatingc ac unifiedc perceivedc realityc (thec oppositec ofc ac PhysicalcVisualc+cControlcInterfacec-cdelayccanccausecbreakcincpresencecandcnauseac
breakcincpresence)c Synchronisedc Virtual/Physicalc Objectsc -c memoryc canc causec virtualc actionc impulsecinc
Unsynchronisedc Physicalc Objectsc -c causesc separationc inc perceptionc ofc physicalc andc physicalcworldc
virtualc spacec (ac breakc inc presence),c withc userc rememberingc illusionc ofc virtualc andc UnsynchronisedcPhysicalcObjectsc-ccollisionccanccausecbreakcincpresencec
embodimentc ofc physicalc -c virtualc spacecceasesctocbecperceivedcascspace,citciscreducedc UnsynchronisedcVirtualcObjectsc-cinteractionccanccausecfurthercinvestmentcincvirtualc
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PhysicalcControlcInterfacec-cusedctocphysicallycembodycallcvirtualcactsc Pressccontrollerc
VirtualcUsercInterfacec-cusedctocselectcvirtualctoolsc Choosectoolc
VirtualcToolsc-cusedctocenactcallcvirtualcactsc VirtualcDrawingcstroke(allctools)c
SynchronisedcVirtual/PhysicalcObjectsc-cc Rescalecvirtualcconstructionc
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UnsynchronisedcVirtualcObjectsc-ccancbecvirtuallycinteractedcwithc Erasec
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Glitchcc
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Satisfactioncc 1-VOCABULARYc 2-INCLUDEDcTERMSc 3-POSSIBLEcCOVERcTERMSc
Ownershipc Smokec
AboutcTIMEc Firec
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TIMEvs.Space,Object,Act,Activity,Time,Actor,Goals,Feelings Linesc
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Time/cTimec Strangenessc Putconcheadsetc EnteringcVRc NamescofcActsc
Beforecenteringcvirtualc Surprisecc RemovingcHeadsetc ExitingcVRc
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STRICT (X is a kind of Y) - Acvirtualcconstructionciscackindcofcspacec
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Tr a n s c r i p t s
19 20
0900 it's really fun scaling it up again and trying to go through the door...it's like alice in wonderland
0930 went into the second room, i wanted it to be more fun
JOHANNA 1000 i wanted to build a dome and draw around me, but the whole thing was too small so it was a bit
strange
INTERVIEW 01 00:00 - 04:10 1010 i like to be not standing...i could see everything better...i had the feeling that if i am closer to the ground it's
easier
1040 it was really fun to draw over my head, it's really different from how you would draw any space in a 3d
Name Johanna program
Age 25 1110 then i filled in the walls...all segments with different pens...it's actually really nice, when it's really dense
Tech proficiency 8 it's like a wall
How long do you spend with computers a week Everyday
1200 it would be nice to fill them with one click
Artistic proficiency 9
How often do you draw? All the time 1230 then it got like a really christmassy decorated room
Used VR before? - no 1300 i like smoke...it was the most real element...if you put it around it's actually like smoke which is much
nicer than the pen
About First VR Experiment 1350 i like the things that move, they are less static...they make the space very different
How long ago? - 6 months 1445 then i walked through the door and i realised that it's far too small...it was two different sizes. The stair
How long did you spend? - 1 hour had one scale and everything else was different
What did you do? - lines in space, playing a game, moving stuff 1515 then i decorated the ceiling with some lights
1535 then i went back in to do a selfie...this one actually really felt more like a space than the first room
because of the ceiling and crazy lights
How did it feel?
1600 oh it's so strange (seeing selfie taking)
0140 more real, really exciting
1640 (from end of experiment) it's really weird scaling stuff...when you scale it down and you don't scale it up
Any memorable moments?
again, you become like a tiny person
0220 moving things when i turned around and the zombies were there...the glowing strobe lights
Have you wanted to visit again? Yes, i'm kind of excited What did you do?
Real or unreal? 1730 i was drawing a space
0345 real in a weird way. Not real like being in this room, but a different kind of real
0355 not like youre passive in it, you can actually have influence on the space which is different How did it feel?
1735 strange because i was asked to draw a space...the time before i didn't really try to draw a space but it was
some sort of a space afterwards, but now i feel like i need to construct a space i really under pressure
EXPERIMENT RESPONSE 04:10 - 17:15
1750 when i used the first pen i drew some static things, but what actually makes it more spatial is when you
0426 putting the thing on, being skeptical try to cover everything around you. It makes it much more spatial for you than just drawing an object
0440 I wasn't sure which brush to use...then wasn't sure which scale to draw in, started drawing a small room
0535 i thought it would be a room, but then i decided it would be a stair Any memorable moments?
0610 it took me really long 1820 Taking a picture in it, it felt really strange. It was like a party selfie somehow, with all the shining lights
0610 I thought i could draw the whole room around me...then it glitched behind me
0640 i tried to be really professional with it so i erased every time it went a bit wrong
0720 i tried to do a different level and a wall, but this didn't work very well Was it like any other activity? What's the closest existing experience you can compare it to?
0800 i really like how it works using both hands, you point at stuff, it makes a sound and you think you're 1840 Painting a wall...but it is like being underwater somehow..especially when you can't really feel the end
actually doing something of the space, it's all black around you... you don't really know where the boundaries are which makes me feel
really strange...insecure. You could go everywhere, but you know you can't go everywhere
0835 controller is like and iphone display - you swipe
0845 it's very weird to scale it and see it in different size because then you see everything that went wrong
21 22
Why can't you go everywhere? 2500 yeah i realised how long it took to build the stair which seemed really easy, very basic to imagine. But
1920 because you know it's physically bound to one space actually drawing it i think if i had drawn it at a tiny scale and scaled it up it would've been much easier. The
second part i drew really fast compared to this... because i got more loose with being in the space after i
scaled and walked through it.
So you're aware of the physical?
1930 when it glitched. I tried to be not aware, but then you're still standing on the ground...When it glitched
You kept saying tried to - was it difficult?
you're like oh fuck why can't i just draw on the floor because you know this is the floor, you made it the floor,
so you want it to be there. But it didn't really bring me out 2540 i compare it with real things - i know how a stair looks so i tried to draw a stair as if it would be a real
stair...and then it's still not...it's really hard doing it really precise. In the second part i didn't really try to do
1950 I think the most in the virtual i felt was when i had finished and i was in this dome
anything, i just did it, and it nicer, it felt more like a space.
You were surprised when watching the experiment how long it took you to draw the stairs
23 24
3100 in the VR it's actually there, you can actually imagine ok this is a space and it's there and you feel like it's
more real. When you see it on the screen it's really flat and you're aware that this is not really a room
Is it real or unreal?
3120 different real...it is real because it exists as a space. It's not unreal. It's like in a dream...its like a space you
can't really describe but you can still be in
25 26
0415 it's like being inside something else, having all your sense taken away and a load of new ones imposed
upon you. Your normal cause and reaction is different...normally when you move your arm, you see your arm
move, but it could be anything.
Name Dominic
Have you wanted to visit again?
Age 46
Profession IT Support 0500 Yes, definitely. But i think it'll be dangerous for me to immerse myself too much. You could get lost in
Tech proficiency 7 there, you could definitely have too much non-reality.
How long do you spend with computers a week 40
How often do you play video games Real or unreal?
Artistic proficiency 6
0535 when you're doing it, it's real...and afterwards you forget the immersive experience...like a dream, a
How often do you draw? Once a month
memory that you can't quite grasp
Used VR before? no
27 28
1230 When i was outside of it, i wasn't interacting with it. When i was inside it felt more like mine 1850 yes definitely, i'm very happy with it. Any preconceived ideas i had were to create something i could
1245 toying with the idea of creating textured spheres to exist in and then walk from one to the other walk through, like a forest, but once i was in there the fact that you could create something outside of the
normal experience was much more appealing
1305 wondered how my creation would interact with other structures. Had the thought of putting it on a
pedestal...kind of changed the aspect of the whole thing
1355 had enough of trying to manipulate the environment, i just wanted to be back in it You talked a lot about encasement and cocooning
1420 it's a sensory experience i don't think you could have anywhere else really. 1915 yes it felt really comforting to be inside a ball of light. It's like being inside the sun
1435 Trying to take photos was weird because it's just too enormous to record...it did nothing for the feeling of
it. I don't think you could record it - if i looked at the pictures i don't think id remember how i felt inside Was the feeling of inside important?
1925 it seemed to be yes. Once id encased myself i was very comfortable, i just wanted to stay in there and
interact with it. Although, i'd have to keep adding to it. I think it was the fact of creating it was the enjoyable bit.
INTERVIEW 02 15:45 - 31:50
When id stopped creating it it was just kind of there...i wanted to know how it would feel to be inside something
About TILT BRUSH Experiment i wouldn't normally be inside...that's the opportunity really of being in a virtual space, you can interact with
How long ago? - 10 minutes things you can't normally
How long did you spend? - 10 minutes
You said it needed a floor - why?
What did you do? 2015 i think at that point i want to be enclosed more...i guess it's disconcerting having nothing underneath me
so once i had a floor in place i was more comfortable that i wasn't falling through space or wasn't in
1555 i created a crazy sphere thing to live in
nowhere. I had a floor and i had walls and i had a cocoon.
29 30
2440 also the fact that its physical really helps because physicality release endorphins in your brain, and that's 3000 I wanted to have an out of body experience. I wanted to see that feeling from the outside. But when it
like a feedback. So you're being physical and creating stuff and that's making you more happy. was outside it was just a mess, so then i thought i'd just go back inside because it didn't really mean anything. I
wanted to see it from the outside to see if i could see the feeling i was having inside from outside, but it wasn't.
And that's different to playing a video game? 3040 it was museum exhibit a of something that somebody created and it just looked like a ball so it wasn't
particularly good.
2510 yes because you're not being physical, you're not having that interaction...it's the fact that you can be
physical and create something or interact with something technological. 3100 if i'd been here all day i would've created a series of cocoons all of different feelings...but then i didn't
know how to interact with the software enough to move that on top of that and create another one.
You kept saying you're really happy inside it. Can you explain that?
When taking the photo you said it's too enormous to record...i don't think it's what i feel - what was lost?
2530 i think it was so bright, i was so happy. Not that i had created it, just that it was a space that i could inhabit.
And it was something that i could never inhabit other than in that situation so i was very happy. 3140 it surrounded me, you can't take a photo of something that surrounds you unless you've got a 3d
camera, but again you'd have to display that in a two dimensional way. Because it is all around me that would
never come out in a 2d format...it could only be there, it couldn't be anywhere else
What do you mean by happy?
2550 joyous. like when you create something, when you write a great poem...it gives you a sense of
Is it real or unreal?
satisfaction. I was very satisfied...not that i created it, but i was satisfied with having created it so that i could then
inhabit it. Like if you write a story, then when you read it back it makes you feel happy that that world has been 3215 it was definitely real. I feel like it's gone now...i want to create another one with a different mood.
created...and then you can inhabit that world
Do you think you would have the same happiness stepping into someone else's world?
2630 probably not because i wouldn't have had the physicality of doing it...i think i was happy because i was
prancing around and i didn't care...once i was in it it was a manifestation of that careless creation
2655 but when i stopped creating it, it was like oh what do i do now? This is great but now i need to add some
more...once id done it, i just wanted to keep building it, because it wasn't really about the being in it it was about
the making of it
You also said you wanted to create chaos, why this urge?
2725 i think you read a lot about chaotic systems, be it atoms or whatever, and everything is so ordered in your
existence...if you can create chaos and be in it, it's great, why not?
After you came out, were you interested in what happened in the physical world?
2845 after a bit, after id calmed now a bit. I was like oh what did i knock over. But i guess i knew really that i
hadn't done any major damage...i didn't really care
31 32
Have you thought of it since?
0350 yes a lot. I didn't want to leave, i didn't want to take it off, and then for a couple of days after that i kept
going back to that experience and i just wanted that to be where i was. It stayed with me a lot
JENNY 0415 initially it was like a place Id been and I wanted to go back there. Now it feels more like an experience I
had. It's kind of fading, like holiday memories fade over time.
33 34
How long ago? - 15 minutes So walking through was part of the reason why you made the bars?
How long did you spend? - 15 minutes 2300 yes i made the bars so that i could walk through them and be on the other side...i was drawing things
that i could then experience
Explain the space you constructed. How did it feel to realise you couldn't walk up the stairs?
2000 several spaces. The first one was just a mirror so it felt very 2d in as much as it was either side of the 2445 The reason i felt that i couldn't walk up them is because they were completely 2d, not that they're not
mirror, rather than being a big 3d physical space. But i forgot that if you do one thing on one side of the mirror real...as i finished drawing them and looked at them from the side i realised they were just a single line so how
it will be there on the other side, so that surprised me and i had to readjust to that. could i possibly walk up those...it wasn't that they're not really stairs, i hadn't even got to that stage yet
2030 i felt like i wanted to explore further within that space, but i could see the edges of the room. Even
though i felt like they weren't there anymore, i was backing up against things so i knew that i was at the edge When you watched the recording you said it has nothing to do with what i was doing...it looks fake...i was in
of the actual room which took me out of the program, so i very quickly got back into the middle. the space. How would you describe the difference between using VR and watching the recording?
2530 they are completely different things. Watching it is just like watching a flat video of something that bears
Did you have that awareness of the actual room last time you used it? a resemblance to what i did but is no way the same thing because where i was was completely 3D, I could
2105 yes, but again, only when i was banging into things. Even though you can see the edges of the room, it move around it, look at it, but this was just a flat thing happening on the screen that i couldn't interact with.
didn't feel like that was the edge, i felt like i could go further than that, but then you find yourself hitting into 2600 it's a bit like the difference between a cinema...and going to see a play...where there's interaction and
things...It's annoying, it's like that real world is impinging on my experience, i find it very frustrating you're part of what is happening
Why did you construct the space that you did? You said the dress form was like a huge structure and that it was unexpected. What was your
2130 I really like the concept of the mirror because in the real world mirrors are, there are reflections but you perception of that object?
can't go to the other side of it, so i like the fact that you can inhabit both sides of that. 2725 it was like something else, that's not what a dress form should look like, it should be about the size of a
normal person, so the first thing i wanted to do was bring it down to what it should be...it should be about the
same size as me
So do you see the mirror as part of your space?
2145 yes, well the mirror was there but it was something that i could just pass through...it was part of the
space...i put it there and it was there When you were drawing on the dress form, you said you almost forgot that it was 3d...
2800 yes, i was trying to draw around it from where i was standing and it wasn't working, and then i was like
oh i can just walk around it
You said that you wanted to make as much mess as you could and inhabit it, why?
2220 there are so many colours and textures, it was like how much can i make that i can then pass through,
see it from a distance, walk through it. That's the kind of thing that you can't do in the real world but you can That's a little strange considering how you said how immersive and three dimensional you found the
do in that space moon to be - why might there be a difference between those two objects?
2830 it was a stranger object...in terms of the moon, it took on different properties as i made it bigger and
smaller but it was still this moon that i recognised, whereas the dress form should only be one size...it just felt a
You said you were surprised by bars on the other side of the mirror...
bit flat...i didn't really have a reaction with it, i wasn't really involved with it, which i think made me forget that i
2245 i forgot that it was a mirror, so it was like i was going to draw the bars on one side, walk through, get to could walk around it
the other side of the mirror and i'd be free. But it's a mirror so they were still there.
Is it real or unreal?
2920 it's completely real
35 36
EXPERIMENT RESPONSE 07:30 - 19:30
0752 Like when going to dive...actually that's quite a similar experience
0817 Paper tool interesting because it's thick and thin...really promising to delineate space
AGOSTINO 0835 reach of my body standing on one spot, what space would it produce
0845 Cocoon
0920 Stopped at my back...because i Didn't want to switch the position of my feet
INTERVIEW 01 00:00 - 07:30 0950 Had to keep my space really really clean...glitches like this were really annoying so i had to get rid of
them as soon as possible they were intruding into my space
Name Agostino 1040 left side...right side memory of starting position
Age 26 1100 Something that you can never do...you can never build a space from within a space.
Tech proficiency 8
1120 Experienced a lot of terrible glitches, had to get rid of them...actually quite satisfying
How long do you spend with computers a week >70
Artistic proficiency 5 1153 it was quite annoying that you feel that you're not only dependant on the thing you draw and on your
own capabilities of delineating space but also on the vision of the outside cameras that you have no
How often do you draw? - 2 days a week
awareness of
Draw with computers? - Yes
Used VR before? - no 1215 start to hit points in which you can't succeed
1305 Bottom bit especially frustrating, which is normally easiest part to build
About First VR Experiment 1325 Did some more housekeeping, repaired some bits
How long ago? - 4 months 1330 Could already feel the space you could produce using your own body which was really interesting
How long did you spend? - 40 mins/ 1 hour 1415 This was actually quite frustrating
What did you do? - sample scenes, gridded ground development preview, zombie shooting games, threw 1430 This was the point where i hit the pavement, so i couldn't go any further
stuff on the floor 1455 quite happy with the space i have defined, thought about what i could add to it
1500 Went through the pallet... found this really nice thing called light...started to draw a lightbulb on my
How did it feel? ceiling
0220 Claustrophobic at first...but looking around is a really liberating feeling. It really starts to click once you 1555 thought about what other pen i could introduce, or what other tool
start walking within the space. 1610 Stepped out of my cocoon and i decided to add some facade from the outside
1620 Which was fun because i could trace geometry i created from within from outside the cocoon which
Did you feel like you achieved anything? If so what? was quite interesting.
0230 yeah a new way to interact with space especially when drawing which is something impossible in the 1700 at this point i could really feel the confinements of the space outside of virtual reality which was really
real world the world we see as being our physical reality. Gravity as difference. defined, so i started to hit all sorts of shelves and things
1755 sometimes I had to step back into it to erase things
Any memorable moments? 1815 I felt really weird because you don't have any transition between inside and outside...you can just move
0345 symmetry was really satisfying. Huge 3m bird. straight through something you have drawn, there's no resistance to it which is really weird...something you
create within VR is really purely virtual because it doesn't oppose anything to your movement
1850 at this point my hut was nearly finished, you could some internal and external structures
Was it like any other activity? What's the closest existing experience you can compare it to?
0430 being in a white room in which you can spray paint all over space that is completely up to you
37 38
How did it feel? bounds of what you can do...it would be much more interesting to know that you can really move freely in
2015 great space not just in the view of these two cameras
2850 i find the idea of some exterior sensors controlling you quite strange
Any memorable moments? 2920 at some point my controller appeared one metre in front of my hand which was really annoying as it was
like my hand had been virtually stretched one metre
2040 Added a lightbulb quite intuitive and strangeobviously i think spaces need them
2930 fix the glitch and re-catch my controller [waves hand] so that it went back into space
Also stepping inside and outside
Is it real or unreal?
When you stepped back into the Cocoon, you lifted your leg up...
3300 before i said it is realand in some aspects it is, but something i found very strange is the fact that your
2513 i found that really strange because i didn't consider any opening...stepping in and stepping out you body is not impacting with it. I find that this is something makes it belong to the virtual world and not to the
always experience a sort of threshold and its really strange not to have that in VR real world
2540 it was weird to realise there is nothing stopping me from stepping back into it 3325 inbetween i almost started to treat the space as real...but at some point you just get the idea that that's
just an illusion, a representation of something, its just within the drawing and not within the physical
You said it was like diving? boundary. I guess this proved it to be much more virtual
2610 you have a completely different relation to gravity, relation of how to move and of what you can
achieve Which is your lasting memory of the space?
3400 it was quite homely...
Why did you use the word Cocoon?
2630 it's the closest you get to the enclosure of the body in architectural terms
39 40