I read an article about Elon Musk while in Virtual Reality. That is just cool. I know if you have never experienced virtual reality it is hard to understand how one would be so excited about such a thing. Trust me. It’s really cool. And possibly my new obsession.
My first attempt at customizing my Avatar in Oculus.
Well maybe not obsession. I consider myself fairly balanced and unlikely to swing to obsession level over much of anything. Close. But not all the way. However, it is likely to become a fairly consistent part of my weeks. I’d say days, but I do still have the day job, family, and Taekwondo. So there is all of that to keep me grounded.
I have been on vacation from the day job for two weeks. I have had my new Oculus Rift for about two weeks. I finally set it up Friday. OH MY!! It’s probably a good thing I did wait to set it up. The best thing Oculus did was to make the first thing you experience in VR, after getting it setup, is something they call ‘First Contact’. It is phenomenal. Think of those movies or TV shows where the main character goes to a tinkerer and asks them to make or fix something electronic for them. Then put that room in a cleaner shed but with like chunky 1970’s 1980’s computer gear. There’s a robot, like a floating top half of Wall-e. It’s so cute. I found myself talking to it and waving back at it. It wasn’t a long encounter and it wasn’t too in depth. It was just enough to spark excitement and imagination and to make you truly feel like your mind had been blown.
My current Avatar in Oculus
And if that weren’t enough. I woke in the middle of the night, right after that, and had to get up, which you know happens. And isn’t noteworthy in itself. Except. I woke to my earworms singing “Pure Imagination” from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, in Gene Wilder’s voice. So there you go.
I’ve picked up a few games and encounters. So far I like Duo but need more space. First Contact is really fun. And Farlands looks like it’s going to be quite a treat as well. I’ve added VR Toolkit so I can pull up my desktop in the headset. That’s how I got to read about Elon Musk while in VR.
I didn’t just do VR. Well, sort of. I did have to turn in an assignment for my VR class. That worked out really cool because it turns out my mentor is also a reviewer for my class and he happened to get my assignment to review. How cool and what fun. And it passed.
No. I haven’t spent all my time in VR space. Close. I started work on the Holiday card. I started building the scene and trying to get the main players into it. I’m not sure how it’s going to work out. Walter the Worm had to be scaled up just to be seen. When I got him to a size I like he shows up great if I’m focusing on him, and he fits right in. If I try to pull out so you can see Sticks and the Snowman, Walter gets lost.
Walter Worm close up.
Walter Worm getting lost
I scaled him up so that he didn’t get lost when I pulled out but I don’t really like that look. I may try scaling him down just a bit and see if that works. Everything looks a bit washed out right now because of the lighting. I haven’t set anything up yet. I might have accidentally imported the lights from some of the other scenes but I think it’s just the default light that you are seeing. With all the white of the ground and the Snowman it’s going to be a bit bright. Once I get Walter sorted I will pose Sticks. Right now he’s standing there in the back with his arms straight out. I may give him some Holiday cheer colors as well, to go with the hat.
Walter Worm scaled up
There you have it. For the most part, the week as it was. Or at least the exciting bits. It’s back to the day job this week. That will be tough. Next up. I’ve got another assignment for the VR class to work on. I’ve watched the videos and downloaded the starter project, and even mapped out my maze on paper, so I’ll be getting going on that. I’ll get back to the Holiday card. A little think time and then a little play time and I may have it sorted before I know it. Of course I’ll be trying out more new things in the Oculus Rift. No doubt I will have more virtual reality to share with you as well. See you next time.