Virtual Reality: Do Not Augment Realism, Augment Relevance

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) is not technology and VR is not new. VR is fiction and fiction is as old as humanity. Users\rof computer systems deal with virtual reality all the time. Typically, they do not distinguish functionality from\rmachinery but create their own User’s Virtual Machine. Because users do not clearly discriminate between\r(their own created) fiction and (misunderstood) reality, delusions can be insidiously destructive to the\rsatisfaction with and efficient use of the system. How to design the experience of fiction and how to develop\rtechnologies for implementing this experience such that users are satisfied while the system remains\robtrusive? We describe a new model for the perception and experience of fictional characters within\rsituations, while VR is discussed for its truth-value, degree of being realistic, and its place in fiction and\rreality. We argue that a VR-experience gains more from increased emotional relevance than from higher\rrealistic resolutions.