Chapter 7: VR/AR

3D and 4D experiences may be common nowadays in theater--but they are only a fairly recent development in the concept of VR/AR. Virtual reality, a form of a divergent stream of electronic literature,  provides a user with an experience of "the strange sensation of being removed from one's body" (Rettberg 169). Wearing a type of 'googles', individuals can be transported into a different world where the landscape in front of them is completely different from their physical environment. 

Early examples of VR include Google Daydream and Samsung Gear. Originating around the early 2000s, VR has since become much more widely commonplace. In recent years, it has been used for a variety of activities. For example, virtual reality has been incorporated into different classroom activities to help students to learn. Another instance of virtual reality are experiences created for to generate empathy. For instance, the Virtual Human Interactive Lab uses virtual reality to design situations where users can experience prejudice or racism. In experiences, participants can step into the shoes of a marginalized individual and navigate life through their perspective. Events are designed to create reflection for participants to see what life would be like is one was facing racism or bias. Chris Milk demonstrates its uses in his 2015 TedTalk. In one video clip, he shares a classroom experience inside a foreign classroom. The purpose of the video, Milk explains, is to bring others into another environment and see things they wouldn’t normally be able to experience. 

Not to be confused with VR, AR—also known as augmented reality—is when components of the digital world are supplemented into everyday experiences. A popular example is Pokémon Go, where people could capture Pokémon characters as they appeared in real life. Meanwhile, virtual reality completely submerges viewers into a different environment. Both are an interesting new format of how we experience reality.