Attention City Leaders: Use Virtual Reality to Showcase Your City or Get Left Behind
When I think of virtual reality, I believe about situations when my senses get immersed in a virtual world. It needs some sort of goggles and incredible sound via headphones or speakers. What I don't think about is a gamer sitting in front of a game console, and flat screen TV consumed with stress that they are going to die. While I understand that gamer might believe that the world they're navigating making use of their controller is real, that's not what I believe about when I think about virtual reality. For me, virtual reality is whenever your eyes and ears tell you that you are somewhere else, not as you are emotionally invested, but because what you are considering or hearing tricks your mind into believing in something that is not real.
Not long ago i saw a virtual reality production; Dublin Ireland was the setting in addition to the focus. This production allowed me to walk through the streets of Dublin and gasp at its beauty and history. A lot of us have accessed street view on Google Maps to visit down a road or two. However, the production that I saw regarding Dublin blew Google's street view out of your water. I'm not kidding when I say that I could get lost exploring different Google street views across the world, but viewing this virtual reality production about Dublin was the very first time I ever felt as if was there.
Virtual Reality Arcade spent about half an hour that day sitting on the couch with my wife once we walked Dublin's streets. We would have spent more time, however, life interrupted and we'd to visit my daughter's piano recital. Not my favorite thing in the world, so it had not been surprising that I couldn't get Dublin out of my mind. I guess my wife was doing exactly the same since when we got home several hours later, both of us had the same idea - let's take a vacation to Ireland. We leave in June, and I cannot wait.
While planning our trip, I explored other cities around Dublin from the comfort of my recliner. It had been disappointing that I missed any video as effective as what Dublin had. I resorted to Google's street view. However, this time it seemed antiquated; as though I was considering old black and white pictures.
This got me wondering. Why don't more cities create virtual reality productions? Could it be the cost? Or, could it be they have not considered it? At the same time when cities are experiencing trouble with their budgets, doesn't it make sense that city leaders demand from those in charge of tourism to showcase their city with the latest virtual reality technology?
https://click4r.com/posts/g/10100880/ might think that a virtual reality tour of their city might negate the need for anyone to visit; the thought being that when anyone can feel like they are walking the streets of NEW YORK, why would they visit? The answer is easy, people will want to visit for the same reason my wife and I are likely to Dublin, and that's because you want to touch and smell and see what's just beyond the camera's field of view. Did I mention that I can't wait to see Dublin?