Virtual reality and quality entertainment are hardly ever mentioned in the same breath. Even though everyone can see VR offers tremendous potential in this regard, most of the entertainment experiences are subpar. This is no different with Oculus’ new VR experiences which premiered during the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. In fact, it seems there may not be a big market for these creations whatsoever.
What to Make of VR Entertainment?
It is evident there is still a lot of work to be done when it comes to quality content in virtual reality. Especially from an entertainment point of view, things are far from perfect right now. Oculus banks big on creating unique and original VR content in the coming years. During the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, the company showcased no less than five different VR experiences. While they are all artistic in their own way, it is difficult to make sense of their purpose.
More specifically, the number of VR experiences is growing quite rapidly. Most of the creations are linked to existing content as a way to market a movie or book, for example. The CoCo VR offering, for example, has been well received by most people because they know the movie attached to it. It is not a game, movie, or even a commercial. These “experiences’ need to have a solid purpose, but these five showings by Oculus raise a lot more questions than answers right now.
While every creation is visually interesting, they are difficult to quantify. VR technology is all about immersion, and Oculus is putting it to good use. However, without any real purpose to or during the experience in question, it is not all that easy to justify the time spent watching it. After all, there is nothing groundbreaking about any of these creations whatsoever, and they will not appeal to that many people either. Even if they are offered free of charge, few people will go out of their way to spend the time on it.
It is commendable to see companies such as Oculus focus on bringing unique content to the VR ecosystem. Unfortunately, we can’t honestly state any of the stand-alone VR experiences has been overly great or enjoyable. There are worse ways to kill time, sure, but none of these experiences are effectively groundbreaking. Moreover, a lot of these experiences force users to interact with the environment in one way or another. This is both a blessing and a curse at the same time. For now, VR experiences are more of a miss than a hit.
If you liked this article make sure to follow us on twitter @thevrbase and subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date with the latest VR trends and news.
