Social Virtual Reality
What is ‘social’ VR?
Social VR refers to applications which connect people in virtual space via the internet. Much like ‘social media’ that is experienced in web browsers and mobile apps, they provide tools for users to make network connections with others, as well as tools for interaction and content sharing.
Given the successes of technologies for connecting people around the world over time, it is logical that the affordances of recent spatial technologies will be used ever more for social connection, network building, collaboration, content sharing and discussion.
What I am very interested in is the new affordances enabled by these social interactions happening in spatial environments.
My first experience of social VR
In late 2020 I used a VR headset to try out some social VR apps, namely AltSpace VR, Rec Room and VRChat.
Entering into these experiences was a strange yet familiar one. The virtual worlds feel like a computer game, but the presence (that VR delivers) within those worlds feels novel. Despite the cartoon-like graphics, the high level of presence and immersion makes the experiences feel much more life like. Sharing these spaces with avatars of real people is the part I found particularly interesting.
The graphics are quite low quality due to the required computing power needed to render two scenes simultaneously (one per eye), and likely also because the companies who make these apps are aiming to make them usable across as many devices as possible (and so aim to design for low performance devices). The hardware I used was the standalone VR device; Oculus Quest (version 1) which is an Android device with less computing power than most desktop computers.
The computer-game quality of the experiences, especially with the cartoon style avatars of AltSpaceVR and RecRoom motivated me to play as child would with a computer game. Yet when entering AltSpace where there are many serious events and meet-ups, there is a contradiction of cartoon avatars having intellectual meetings and conversations that I found interesting to observe. Perhaps this is a paradigm that will disappear with the advent of photo-realistic avatars. Nevertheless it is one which at present must be considered by artists and audiences using these apps.
The feeling of exploring spatial chat rooms reminded me of using the Internet for the first time around the year 1998- using chat rooms, games and visiting unique-looking websites (before ubiquitous web design trends emerged)… I didn’t really know what to expect, or quite how to act.
When creating my avatar for AltSpace I naturally created a character that amused me- silly clothes, colours and styling. But then while talking to other people in the VR experience (who’s avatars most often looked clean cut and well presented) I experienced a growing feeling of uneasiness about the appearance of my avatar, much like I may have in the ‘real world’ if wearing silly clothes while trying to have a serious conversation with others not dressed in silly clothes. So I found that social awkwardness persisted into the virtual world somewhat. But I haven’t re-designed my avatar (yet).
Connecting to a community through social VR
Using AltSpace I stumbled on a weekly meet-up titled XR Startup Meetup hosted by Spatial Ape. It’s a meet-up where people involved in immersive product and company startups gather to chat, network and give presentations on their work. I’ve attended several of these and continue to do so, as I have found them very useful.
During these events I have been able to hear peoples first-hand experiences working within immersive industries and ask them questions about their experiences. I don’t feel like I would be able to experience anything like this anywhere else- the people who attend are from all over the world, connected because of common interests. The fact that this happens in a virtual 3D world in which the participants are fully immersed results in the sort of focussed interactions that happen in person in the real world. The experience allows for informal interaction in a way that is not as easy or natural on a 2D video call.
Designing for connection
In late 2020 the COVID-19 pandemic was greatly disrupting in-person social experiences. Many resorted to video calling to bridge the gap, often resulting in ‘video calling fatigue’ and leaving much of real-world social experiences to be desired. The experience of sharing a spatial environment with real people, talking and interacting, I found much more natural than a video call and more fulfilling.
In her talk for TEDX in 2015, Libby Sander describes how space design can make us better versions of ourselves.
I think that badly designed work spaces can make us hostile, less collaborative, we do not function and learn as well. Spaces should be designed to meet the requirements of the occupant.
With social VR comes the need to design virtual spaces, and I think there is much to be taken from Libby’s talk here. Virtual spaces lack many of the limits of the real world and so open up new possibilities for world creators.
If I took you out of a noisy office and put you into a space that was beautiful and where you could concentrate, more than likely your creativity would double and your cortisol levels would halve. … FMRI results show that certain types of spaces actually cause your brain to operate in a completely different way.
By placing users inside different spaces it follows that their interactions will be altered in ways that can be taken advantage of by virtual world architects. As Libby says, we need to design spaces that are functional and need to give us meaning, she encourages ‘bringing neuroscience into architecture’.
Virtual worlds and spatial technologies allow for new possibilities in space design and social interaction. Apps could enable, for example, each user to choose the space they are in, whether this is shared or different to the space other users have chosen. Artists making digital experiences can design spaces based on these understandings for certain effects on the audience.
Imagine a difficult work meeting where you can choose to sit in a park, or walk around whilst engaging with your colleagues, and have very quiet nature sounds playing, not loud enough to distract you but enough to effect your subconscious experience. Would you find this more relaxing, would you engage in more active listening, would your work performance increase and cortisol levels decrease? Could this technology increase the productivity and access for people living with PTSD, depression and anxiety?
Research in this area may also be enhanced through these technologies- monitoring people as they move from one virtual space to another. I can imagine scenarios where AI is used to change one’s space based on live input from biological sensors, depending on the mood or intention inputted by the user. This kind of mood-enhancing application can be seen now in the VR app Tripp which is a mindfulness app based on survey data (only for individual experience currently with no multiplayer option).
As social VR experiences become more ubiquitous and higher quality I believe they will grow in popularity… it seem a natural progression for digital communications to move towards a much more familiar human experience, and consumer spatial devices are some of the latest in the evolution of cultural interfaces.
This video includes many relevant explanations of how social VR is positively impacting real people;
Watching the video I noted the discussion of users designing avatars, practicing living in the virtual world as their avatar, and then this then positively altering the way they interact with people in the real world.
Challenges
Social experiences that use the Internet have always come with negative effects as well. Harassment is one example which is still an issue with social VR, as can be seen in the results of this survey; https://extendedmind.io/blog/2018/4/4/virtual-harassment-the-social-experience-of-600-regular-virtual-reality-vrusers
49% of women reported having experienced at least one instance of sexual harassment
30% of male respondents reported racist or homophobic comments
20% of males have experienced violent comments or threats
Social VR experience designers and producers should not ignore the negative potential consequences of the apps they are developing.
Conclusions
I am personally very excited by the future potential of social immersive experiences, and also for more people experiencing what is available now.
I think that the experiences available in 2020 are just the tip of the iceberg of possibility- just a taste of things to come.
With higher quality lidar and IR depth sensors getting into more peoples hands I predict that in the near future people will be able to capture any environment they wish and then invite friends, colleagues or strangers into those virtual replicas of real environments for whatever interactions they choose.
By placing a VR headset on someone they can instantly be transported out of their real world environment and into a virtual environment chosen by themselves or some other curator. Meetings can happen in spaces that have positive impacts on participants brain functions- enhancing social interactions.
References
Jessica Outlaw. Virtual harassment: The social experience of 600+ regular virtual reality users, 2018.
