Here in the UK we’ve been dealing with the Beast from the East meeting Storm Emma and all too predictably, chaos has ensued. We don’t do snow in the UK.
Meanwhile, in the far less chaotic virtual world of Linden Lab’s Sansar, the Beast from Bavaria; Draxtor Despres met a storming VR enthusiast in the shape and form of Kent Bye, of the excellent Voices of VR Podcast.
Initially Draxtor live streamed a discussion with Kent and then Kent came to 114 Harvest in Sansar where he chatted with people about VR.
Kent showed his wide ranging knowledge by engaging in chat about security, blockchain, which contrary to popular belief goes way beyond cryptocurrencies and is a development that is likely to be used in many security features.
Kent also made comments on spatial sound, which isn’t always perfect in virtual world settings as well as getting into a discussion about how important it is to experience the virtual reality experience to get a good concept of designing virtual reality spaces.
Maya, a Linden Lab employee also got involved in these discussions which was both informative and interesting.
One of the issues that always arises in virtual spaces with voice is an issue that I’m not sure will ever get fixed, knowing when to speak. Unlike in physical spaces where you get hints and clues that someone else is about to speak, in virtual spaces that initial clue is missing and people end up starting and stopping at the same time. This isn’t a big issue, in fact in many ways it’s an encouraging issue because it brings home fully that you are in a virtual space.
If you want to hear more from Kent (and you really should) go and listen to his podcasts.
Please also listen to Draxtor’s interview with Kent via the link I provided earlier in the post.