Reporting by XinZhiyuan
Editor: David Layan
【New Zhiyuan Introduction】From VR to metaverse, an article looks at the history of virtual reality development.
Stephen King's novel adaptation of the film "Genius WeedMan" has been released this month for 30 years.
The film is absurd, and its intention is to warn people to pay more attention to the technology of virtual reality. VR was a new thing at the time.
After Facebook, the world's largest social media company, changed its name to Meta, the company's strategic focus shifted to virtual reality and augmented reality, and built a metaversic platform. Since then, every major company has begun to lay out, or intend to lay out, XR (ar and VR) products.
Today, VR has gone through a long period of development, and there will be a longer way to go in the future.
This article sorts out some of the "milestones" in the VR field, starting with the release of the movie "Genius Weed Mower" in 1992 and the introduction of the concept of VR.
Premiere of the movie "Genius WeedEr" (March 6, 1992)
This is not the first time that Stephen King's film has been adapted to the screen and has been rewritten.
The content of the film is slightly messy and contains elements of violence. But the noise and lighting in the film create a comfortable dullness.
The film mentions that VR will eventually be controlled by a handful of scientists and futurists. Over time, this assertion has increasingly proved correct.
Publication of the novel Avalanche (June 1992)
Bosses of tech giants such as Zuckerberg are fascinated by the term "metaverse."
The word "metacosm" is the word that first appeared in this novel.
The novel constructs a dystopian future. The book depicts a future where everything depends on the metaverse, with major corporations controlling all virtual reality networks. People work, play, and do anything in the metaverse.
That seems to be exactly what Meta wants to achieve today.
The metacosm concept portrayed in the novel by author Neil Stephenson has a deep social class hierarchy. The internet world has not been liberated, nor has it evolved. Obviously, this is also the idea held in Silicon Valley today.
The book focuses not so much on VR as on language. Stephenson coined the term metaverse, and to this day, we still live in it.
Nintendo Releases The Virtual Boy (August 14, 1995)
This is an example of an experimental approach to Nintendo control design. Virtual Boy is one of the first VR headset products. The quality of this device is far from what people think. Virtual Boy can only display stereoscopic 3D black and red images.
However, Nintendo's devices have led to a new model of playing games at home wearing a headset. This model continues, but the equipment is constantly being replaced.
Released second life (June 23, 2003)
Second Life is a massively multiplayer online game created by Linden Lab. It's a startup that started exploring XR in 1999.
This game is a collection of worlds designed by players, a small digital universe that contains all the real estate and related brands.
The real life is playing out in Second Life. Someone even got married in this game.
Many people think that this game will have significance. In fact, from some points of view, it is also true.
The year 2000 was the heyday of the game. Since then, Second Life has received less and less attention. But now, Meta and other tech companies are chasing the metaverse wave in a frenzy. Second Life in 2003 proved that the idea wasn't entirely new.
Palmer Luckey develops the Oculus Rift (2009–2010)
Palmer Luckey is a VR avid fan. He is also the founder of Oculus. He first developed a prototype of the Oculus Rift, and he even saved up money to buy parts for the device.
According to an archive by Eurogamer, the earliest models had a field of view of 90 degrees, low latency, and haptic feedback.
Luckey and Doom developer John Carmack formed a friendship on the Monument To Be Seen forum, and together they made some changes to Luckey's VR model. This important relationship continued until Oculus was formed.
Novel "Ready Player One" published (August 16, 2011)
Some of the content in Ernest Klein's best-selling novel is an homage to some elements of the novel Avalanche.
The novel portrays another dystopia about the future, also dependent on VR technology. This time the theme is escape from global warming and massive economic setbacks in the real world.
The plot of the novel is a fusion of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory", and also incorporates many elements of popular culture. So, the novel only superficially shows some of the issues involving VR.
Compared to Avalanche, the novel may not have as much cultural influence on how people perceive VR. But the work helps clarify VR's relationship to the real world. That's exactly what today's tech giants are after.
VR has become a means of escaping the reality of suffering, the ultimate tool of escapism.
Prototype of Oculus Rift is born (May-July 2012)
John Carmack borrowed Luckey's prototype and began showing his products to the media in early 2012, which was quite interested
At the 2012 E3, Carmack announced that the Doom 3 BFG edition would support VR headsets.
Early prototypes of the device were bolted together with electrical tape. Its advent was dubbed "rekindling interest in VR development."
It also built momentum for Luckey's Kickstarter project, which he had been planning before the Carmack demonstration.
The first-generation Oculus Rift development kit proved to be very successful, raising more than $2.4 million on Kickstarter. Vr modes in games have also begun to appear in the field of PC games.
Facebook acquires Oculus VR (March 25, 2014)
Oculus VR was founded in 2012. Luckey, Brendan Iribe and Nate Mitchell are window members. Soon after, John Carmack left Id Software to become chief technology officer at Oculus.
In 2014, the company was acquired by Facebook for $2 billion. Facebook plans to expand Oculus' reach beyond the game.
Oculus has maintained a degree of independence, working with Samsung to develop the Gear VR, the company's first version of the VR app in smartphones.
In a press release announcing the acquisition, Zuckerberg said, "Oculus has the opportunity to create the most social platform ever and change the way we work, play and communicate."
Oculus VR eventually entered the market as Facebook Reality Labs, which later became Reality Labs after Facebook changed its name.
Google Shows Cardboard Headset (June 25, 2014)
The original Google Cardboard headset was a gift for people attending the 2014 Google I/O Conference. This humble cardboard helmet is flat at the beginning and can be folded to accommodate a variety of different phones for a simple VR-like experience.
It even includes a side lever that simulates touching a phone screen, interacting in supported apps.
Cardboard, the predecessor of Google Daydream, is probably still the cheapest tool for viewing 360-degree panoramic videos. Google sells Cardboard on its website and didn't discontinue production until March 2021. This device is most commonly used for Google's campus adventure projects. For many, Cardboard is the entry point for VR.
HTC and Valve Launch Vive (March 1, 2015)
At Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, a participant experiences HTC's Vive virtual reality glasses
Facebook and Oculus aren't the only companies exploring virtual reality. In 2015, once-popular Android phone maker HTC launched Vive, a VR headset designed in collaboration with Valve.
The original Vive used two 1080p displays, one for each eye, a refresh rate of 90Hz, and a base station to track vr movements at room scale. HTC and Valve's headsets will help set the standard for pc VR development.
In the years that followed, HTC continued to release VR headsets, and Valve eventually released its own VR hardware in 2019, called valve index.
Final Oculus Rift Released to the Public (January 6, 2016)
Oculus Rift virtual reality goggles appeared at the Oculus booth at consumer congress 2016
Oculus finally launched a consumer-centric pre-order version of the Oculus Rift in 2016. This VR headset costs a lot of $599 and requires an expensive high-end computer to work properly.
Sony finally launches PS VR (October 13, 2016)
A visitor tests a pair of Sony's newly launched "Project Murphys" 3D virtual reality glasses in front of a computer
Project Morpheus was launched in 2014 as a developing VR headset for the PlayStation 4, and Sony eventually launched a console VR system, the Playstation VR or PS VR, in October 2016.
The PS VR features an ergonomic futuristic design and is partially hampered by the intricate system of cables on older PlayStation 4 models. The VR system also relies on the mating of Sony's Playstation Move peripherals and can't have high-quality controls like the Vive or Oculus Rift.
Implementing VR on a console that people actually own is a big deal though, and in February 2022, Sony further revealed; some of the design details of the PS VR 2 were revealed.
Apple and Google collaborate on VR and AR projects (2016–present)
At Mobile World Congress, a participant is experiencing a Google Daydream Vr device
Google experimented with a phone-based VR experience through Daydream, a now-defunct platform that uses Android phones to drive simple VR apps and games. Google is now reportedly working on an augmented reality device called Project Iris.
Apple is rumored to be developing its own high-end VR headset, rolling out AR hardware ahead of schedule sometime in the mid-2020s. However, it remains to be seen whether apple's rumored helmets are mainly for developers, or even whether they can eventually be launched.
Facebook Launches Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift S (April 30, 2019)
An attendee tried out the new Oculus Quest virtual reality (VR) gaming system at Facebook's F8 conference
In addition to the original Oculus Rift, the Oculus Quest is probably the most important product for Facebook and Oculus. This standalone VR headset proves that VR applications and games can be attractive even without the processing power of a gaming PC. Moreover, the VR experience can be completely portable and does not need to experience the experience loss caused by the mobile version of VR.
This further cements touch controllers as VR controller designs. You can see this small ring with a handle anywhere, including the Oculus Rift S, and all subsequent VR headset designs have been more or less based on this design.
Oculus Quest 2 Launches (September 16, 2020)
Gavin Menichini uses the Oculus Quest 2 VR headset to demonstrate an immersive virtual experience
Launched at the end of 2020, Oculus Quest 2 is a complete version of Oculus Quest, with a higher resolution display, a more comfortable wearing feel, support for hand tracking, and a more affordable price.
Quest 2 became Facebook's tool to push VR, and thanks to Link Cable, it will become the preferred way for users to have a PC VR experience once the Rift S is discontinued.
Using the headset for all apps in Facebook's imagination seems a bit ambitious, but the birth of Quest 2 may bring ordinary people to experience VR is closer to the real "refreshing pleasure".
Facebook changes its name to Meta (October 28, 2021)
The biggest sign is that VR will continue to be around (at least for now), which may be why Facebook decided to rename the brand Meta and focus on building a "tangible internet."
We have many reasons to be skeptical about Facebook's decision and the overall situation of its company, but through repeated publicity about the "metacosm", it did set off a VR boom.
"Metacosmic" fire, the ultimate buzzword (now)
After the advent of the "enterprise metacosm", we seemed to have no choice but to blow along with these companies.
Everyone has a routine for explaining and selling the "metaverse," and they're all terrible. Metaverse has become a meaningless buzzword to signify that your company is doing something futuristic. Meta also bought a somewhat intimidating Super Bowl ad for Quest 2.
After once falling a quarter of its market value, Meta is clearly considering a return to video products. The cycle of VR and the metaverse continues in a roundabout way.
Resources:
https://www.inputmag.com/tech/the-lawnmower-man-meta-most-important-vr-moments-timeline