Now that the commercial release of several VR platforms has arguably made virtual reality a market and/or cultural force, it seems like we might spend an enjoyable hour talking about whether there’s anything new here where immersion is concerned. My hypothesis, after putting my Oculus Rift through its paces: no and yes.No: the Iliad is just as immersive as DiRT: Rally VR or ADR1FT, or maybe more interestingly Minecraft played in virtual reality, when it comes to identification with rulesets. Yes: something about how our brains can be tricked into accepting what we see in the VR headset as “real” seems to me to enchant and lure despite the clunkiness of much of the current state of the VR art.

Conversation via Skype starts at 9:30 Eastern/6:30 Pacific!