Understanding VR audiences

McIntosh, Verity

Abstract

Becoming an audience member in virtual reality can be a surreal experience; like entering a pocket reality, like finding Narnia in your wardrobe, like popping through a chalk painting on the pavement. Quite distinct from our relationship with big and small glowing rectangles, in VR we are now present at the heart of an experience, often with a newfound ability to move within and influence a story as it unfolds.

In this chapter we examine the unique affordances of virtual reality and its potential to create new kinds of audience experiences. We explore the current level of audience engagement, as well as how and where people are connecting with these emerging forms. We consider some of the practical and cultural barriers to adoption and suggest some possible, preferable futures that we can build together now.

• Publication Date: Dec 30, 2022
• Deposit Date: Jan 6, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 1, 2024
• Publisher: Routledge
• Pages: 66-85
• Edition: 1
• Book Title: Understanding Virtual Reality: Challenging Perspectives for Media Literacy and Education
• Chapter Number: 6
• ISBN: 9781000823455; 9781032061030
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780367337032-9
• Keywords: Virtual Reality, audiences
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10291045
• Publisher URL: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780367337032-9/understanding-vr-audiences-verity-macintosh
• Related Public URLs: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/edit/10.4324/9780367337032/understanding-virtual-reality-sarah-jones-steve-dawkins-julian-mcdougall?refId=086b7879-a09e-45c9-8fbc-58fcae896f05&context=ubx