VR Desktop - Method of Loci
Posted: Mon Nov 12, 2012 5:59 am
Hello everyone! I've been lurking this forum since E3 after John Carmack's demo, just amazed by the intelligence and creativity going on here. I'm a just young artist and indie game designer, finally getting into Unity and excited to make a game with/on the Rift!
I'm completely new to VR but a huge fan of 3D and motion control (in theory anyway) so forgive me if this idea has been discussed before here, or in a book or movie. Essentially when thinking about the Rift and VR actually happening my head spins and goes off in crazy directions. I saw the amazing work of the in-game 2D desktop screen displayed in-game, I imagined an operating system and/or desktop built from the ground up in a 3D space instead of 2D desktop.
Imagine each object as a program or file, organizing them physically or with special commands
They could replace folders and even shortcuts to other rooms/areas, think Futurama's internet + Paraboxes
Basically each file or program or shortcut would be displayed as a customizable object with its own physics. Now that sounds stupidly complicated to the tried-and-true desktop, and don't worry it is, but I consider it an improvement for a few reasons. One, who needs Windows when you have the great outdoors? Two, I'm personally very visual so traversing through a series of folders is often more confusing to me than searching through even chaotic piles on my desk. And three, it taps back into our memory unlike traditional desktops.
The "method of loci" aka "thought cathedral" or "memory palace" is a memory technique where physically or mentally walking around a space and assigning arbitrary names/dates allows you to revisit the space mentally and remember massive amounts of information compared to just off the top of your head. Given the amount of useless game information and maps I currently remember without even trying, I figure its very successful and could increase productivity back in the real world immensely, depending what files you work with. Especially with a search/categorizing function.
Also I'm a bit biased as an artist, because I'd love it if all of my digital artwork could be hung up around my office at different sizes, or 2D games projected, 3D models fully visible in my workspace (not to mention a VR sculpting program... be still my heart). And I suppose there's a bit of an escapist in me who'd rather work in one of these worlds: http://imgur.com/a/sA4kL or a house that I designed in 3D, or even working in the game and designing the world around me instantly seeing changes, than my small room. It's basically AR, but inside VR I guess? Better than a laptop, you could take your programs with you as you wander through a virtual forest or city or spaceship or whatever (amazing images in the link running on CryEngine, and from polycount, I can still dream of 3D SBS 60 fps Crysis ...someday).
This would probably require writing a whole new OS, or seriously modding Linux, and I don't even know who would attempt such a thing, but what do you all think? Functional concept or waste of time?
I'm completely new to VR but a huge fan of 3D and motion control (in theory anyway) so forgive me if this idea has been discussed before here, or in a book or movie. Essentially when thinking about the Rift and VR actually happening my head spins and goes off in crazy directions. I saw the amazing work of the in-game 2D desktop screen displayed in-game, I imagined an operating system and/or desktop built from the ground up in a 3D space instead of 2D desktop.
Imagine each object as a program or file, organizing them physically or with special commands
They could replace folders and even shortcuts to other rooms/areas, think Futurama's internet + Paraboxes
Basically each file or program or shortcut would be displayed as a customizable object with its own physics. Now that sounds stupidly complicated to the tried-and-true desktop, and don't worry it is, but I consider it an improvement for a few reasons. One, who needs Windows when you have the great outdoors? Two, I'm personally very visual so traversing through a series of folders is often more confusing to me than searching through even chaotic piles on my desk. And three, it taps back into our memory unlike traditional desktops.
The "method of loci" aka "thought cathedral" or "memory palace" is a memory technique where physically or mentally walking around a space and assigning arbitrary names/dates allows you to revisit the space mentally and remember massive amounts of information compared to just off the top of your head. Given the amount of useless game information and maps I currently remember without even trying, I figure its very successful and could increase productivity back in the real world immensely, depending what files you work with. Especially with a search/categorizing function.
Also I'm a bit biased as an artist, because I'd love it if all of my digital artwork could be hung up around my office at different sizes, or 2D games projected, 3D models fully visible in my workspace (not to mention a VR sculpting program... be still my heart). And I suppose there's a bit of an escapist in me who'd rather work in one of these worlds: http://imgur.com/a/sA4kL or a house that I designed in 3D, or even working in the game and designing the world around me instantly seeing changes, than my small room. It's basically AR, but inside VR I guess? Better than a laptop, you could take your programs with you as you wander through a virtual forest or city or spaceship or whatever (amazing images in the link running on CryEngine, and from polycount, I can still dream of 3D SBS 60 fps Crysis ...someday).
This would probably require writing a whole new OS, or seriously modding Linux, and I don't even know who would attempt such a thing, but what do you all think? Functional concept or waste of time?