Well, this blog will be pretty easy to write as there is so many advantages, I just have to choose my favourites. I personally like articles that have big headings so I can just skip to the good juicy parts, so let us do that.
An amazing thing about the virtual reality space is that scale can be manipulated. You can be the size of Godzilla or a ant depending on which experience you choose to dive into. This is pretty cool when you think about shopping.
When I buy an item I like to get up really close and study the detail, this is really easy in VR as the product itself can be enlarged to 10x it size so its really easy to study. This is something that is really hard to replicate online or instore, but not in VR :)
Image: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/used-new-balance-574-classic-free-f0aad4f64925479da3f607b186314eef
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When you visit a shop in person, you can generally interact with the items you want to buy, if its a t-shirt you can pick it up and try it on to see if it fits, if its piece of fruit you can squeeze it to see if its ripe.
I am not saying you can feel textures in VR (not yet anyway) but there is a tonne of things you can do in VR that you simply cannot do on a website.
You pick up a 3d version of a skateboard and ride it around, you can sit in the car you want to buy, you can try the shoes on and see if they suit you style.
Tim Sullivan July 2021- whilst writing this blog
The last time I had sound on for the web was when I had a myspace account. Sound is a massive part of communication and its just missed on the web.
When you visit a retail store they generally have music on which is cool, but sometimes annoying too, when its too loud.
With VR we can now reintroduce sound and everything that comes with it. From awesome music tailored to your experience all the way to amazing sound effects for interactions.
Just think about watching a cam movie with shit quality then visiting a cinema. You cannot compare.
Introduce Spatial sound in VR.
The human brain interprets auditory signals in a specific way that allows it to make decisions about its surrounding environment. We use our two ears, in conjunction with the ability to move our heads in space, to make better decisions about the position of an audio signal and the environment the sound is in.
Yes, bring back the fun, otherwise what's the point of living. VR is fun because you have freedom to do what you want, be yourself and be free.
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There are no ramification unless you jump into a wall.
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How boring are zoom meetings these days? There is always some guy with a video background and that person who won't turn their camera on, sigh.
The connection you feel in VR is real, like that person is right there with you, you can read body language, tone, and interact with them like they are in the room, maybe even give them a little virtual slap.
When you buy something, there is a couple of tick boxes that need to be ticked. Is the price right? Is it exciting and cool? Does the brand resonate with me? Is it the smart thing to purchase this? Am I going to look silly if i buy the wrong thing?
In the video below, you can see how VR can show the scale of product to a user so they feel that its the right purchase. This ticks the box of being practical, but also its kind of cool and enhances the emotional side of buying online.
If a brand has gone to the extend of creating a VR experience for its product, it cares about me and how I purchase and people love that.
In the video below Walmart replicates their instore experience in VR. While at Sullivan Studios we believe that rebuilding traditional instore experiences is not cool, and VR can do way more than that, this experience is something that
people can relate to and it can be done from their office chair, in the nude if they like. That is pretty cool.
The issue with getting started on a project with unlimited possibility is you don't know where to start!
The video below from @wolfy-dev showcases the possibilities of a singular developer developing an idea of an art gallery where you can step into that art piece.
What will you do with your unlimited possibilities in VR?
