What is Virtual Reality?
The answer to this question is actively debated and beyond the scope of this presentation.
However, the following definition given by
Sherman and Craig (1995) is a reasonably good one for the
purposes of this presentation.
- Virtual Reality
- a medium composed of highly interactive computer simulations that sense
the user's position and replace or augment the feedback of one or more
senses - giving the feeling of being immersed, or being present in the
simulations.
The key elements of a computer application that make it a potential virtual reality
are as follows:
- Interactive
- Immersive
- Narrative Flexibility
- Experiential
- Multi-sensory
- Communal Space (potentially)
Although QuickTime Virtual Reality is not all of these things, it provides enough interactivity, immersion, flexibility, and sense of experience to be a simple virtual reality application.
For an example, manipulate the peccary teeth below using the mouse.