Hi, I'm in the final year of a PhD thesis exploring how readers/players construct fictional characters in response to novels and video games, the differences/similarities between these two things, and the extent to which choices readers make in interpreting things and the choices players actually make in games can be called ethical. So I'm looking at a lot of linear and choice-based games including the Bioshock series, The Last of Us, Heavy Rain, Bioware games, Planescape, and so on.
So the PhD might look at choices relating to Little Sisters as being a little simpistic in Bioshock but the hidden choices in Bioshock 2 as being a lot more interesting; it looks at Bioware games as presenting a range of choices that don't really necessarily relate to 'right' and 'wrong' but more as the player creating the kind of story they want to play or think they're supposed to create, but I'm also looking at straightforward linear games like The Last of Us and how they manipulate player emotions through perspective, switching who you control, and so on at different moments.
Now, last week I tried out Google Cardboard for the first time and a hundred ideas occurred to me about how identification/response to fictional environments is really made interesting/complicated by VR, so I've ordered an Oculus Rift DK2 (my PhD is due by the end of the summer, so no time to wait for the consumer version) and am planning on playing everything I can get my hands on (and er Skyrim for "research")
TLDR; I was wondering if anyone can recommend any VR films, games, demos, or anything released that's compatible with Oculus Rift/available for download that might be interesting for my PhD. So anything that does interesting things with a sense of immersion, point of view, any ethical/interesting situations, and/or anything with any moral choices. Anything you think might be interesting for a PhD thesis on how we create fictional characters/respond to game fictional worlds, and the ethics of this.
If you could post your recommendations, whatever they might be ,even if you just think they're slightly relevant and explain why, this would be really appreciated, and hopefully this thread will post out some cool games for other people to try.
Off the top of my head, Elite: Dangerous poses the usual pirate or trader conundrum for players... or bounty hunter for something more morally ambiguous.
Of course, there's all sorts of sexual propositions for VR right now... :mrgreen:
There are a few experiences for the Rift that go beyond your typical game, but as far as I know most aren't publicly available. Here are a couple of links, but these are just articles, no download links:
Might be something in there of interest to you, otherwise most VR right now are pretty standard games, not really trying to make any important statements. Actually now that I think about there is one publicly available demo that comes to mind, it's pretty experimental:
There is a VR film documentary about a refugee from Syria. You can get it on the Vrse app via MilkVR. Sadly, it seems that on the website, you can only download it onto an i-device or android device, so possibly no Oculus Rift compatibility currently. Not that I've looked too into it. Check it out.
I agree porn is a good subject but for best experience so far i would go with the family!
Insurgent (where media medium converge) it's pretty amazing Elite dangerous (but you must learn the game) very good to analyse interaction inside the games Nuren for the future of music game Paul mcartney for Live vr experience of a music show Blue marble for relaxation experience
There are experience with medical application but can't list them here as i don't remember which one worked for me
Since VR is such a more immersive experience, you're able to feel "presence" from a computer NPC, it makes me wonder how people will feel about killing an NPC in VR vs. on 2D monitors.
When you have a knife in your hand (in VR of course), and you have to stab a person that seems realistic to you, then I mean make stab movements and all, how will that affect you?
It's been shown that VR can invoke empathy, but I wonder if it can do the reverse as well.
As to your question EarlGrey, yes, the opposite holds true. This is one training method that the military , or at least, the US Army uses - I have first hand experience in the matter 😉
The military trains you on a mental level to see "silhouettes" rather than people, and to shoot at center mass, constantly and consistently. Little known fact is that the "creators of Doom", ie: Carmack, was asked to help the military to design a "game" that helped this.. bullets do get kind of expensive over time.
PTSD, or at least, the form of PTSD that we always hear about, occurs when the training doesn't "stick", and you start seeing the enemy as who they really are (a person), and you learn to deal with it (become a murderer rather than a soldier). Your brain and/or soul has to process this somehow.
{I would like to keep going on this subject, however, where I got the information is not for public disclosure, and doing a search on google, albeit a quick search, yielded no results, so I'm not going to discuss it further}. Before anyone asks, no, it's not some super classified secret or anything, it's just "not for public dissemination"}
Current WIPs using Unreal Engine 4:Agrona - Tales of an Era: Medieval Fantasy MORPG
