Oculus, Facebook and the facepalm of death.

Fara · 2014-03-26, 06:54 AM

I raise this only once more since Facebook just bought Oculus and I literally facepalmed myself this morning.

Probably fine but deep down I have a feeling the greatest innovation in tech for atleast the last 20 years is about to get screwed over into 3D Farmville.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26742625

joepaiii · 2014-03-26, 11:07 AM

Oculus isn't the only one working on VR. I don't have a problem with Facebook buying them, it will just extend their reach faster.

bpostal · 2014-03-26, 12:17 PM

Sure, it's possible that the Oculus Rift will be fine and this facebook thing won't make a huge difference but I doubt it.
With this infusion of resources comes a shift in philosophy. Now the OR is a 'communication' tool to help create 'social experiences'. All done through facebook.
That change in mindset will manifest itself in various ways and I have no hope that they will all be for the better.

Skittles · 2014-03-26, 01:27 PM

Not to get into the whole moral implications of how interaction with others thru a virtual tool is going to be another issue down the road like texting/tweeting instead of true interaction is.

But, exactly how is this such a bad thing for OR and its parent company? Because they wont be focused on 'gaming applications' like you hoped is that the issue? Because, personally, I don't see a lot of upside for them to that application in the long term. The way that would of played out for me, is a device that eventually decreases in size, weight, ect, but is rather fad'ish. Farther down the road we'd possibly have full room designated to 3-D tool for freedom of movement.

The Facebook purchase and the social applications gets them into more houses more people, and more ideas being funneled by creative people not just on their team but world wide. Creating more opportunities for them to expand into areas no-one on their team have yet fathomed.

Essentially, moving OR further and faster than you would have had if it had remained JUST with its parent company, and a gaming device.

PredatorFour · 2014-03-27, 07:41 AM

The potential for this device in other areas other than gaming is massive. Think you wanna buy a house.... so you go to the estate agents and put this on and 'walk round' various houses without going to them. Or your in the military about to go on an op somewhere.... you use this device to know your surroundings through 3d mapping before you even get there. This could be cool as for many different reasons other than gaming.

ChipMHazard · 2014-03-27, 11:44 AM

Originally Posted by bpostal

Sure, it's possible that the Oculus Rift will be fine and this facebook thing won't make a huge difference but I doubt it.
With this infusion of resources comes a shift in philosophy. Now the OR is a 'communication' tool to help create 'social experiences'. All done through facebook.
That change in mindset will manifest itself in various ways and I have no hope that they will all be for the better.

Aye this will probably mean a shift in focus from gaming to more commercial application in the future. Both Google and Facebook probably see AR as being a very important investment. We all know that they would love to have us all wear augmented reality glasses, not to mention how essential it could become for many professions.
The bulky gaming focused OC as we know it now might never see the light of day.

bpostal · 2014-03-27, 12:08 PM

Originally Posted by ChipMHazard

Aye this will probably mean a shift in focus from gaming to more commercial application in the future. Both Google and Facebook probably see AR as being a very important investment. We all know that they would love to have us all wear augmented reality glasses, not to mention how essential it could become for many professions.
The bulky gaming focused OC as we know it now might never see the light of day.

If I can't use the damn thing to play Custer's Revenge then what's it all for?

Sure, it can be used for all sorts of shit but it's supposed to make my (wet) dream of soiling myself whilst playing PS2 come true. Shifting the focus away from gaming by handing this device to a conglomerate (which, as TR, is enough reason to hate the whole damn thing) who's only goal is to make as much money off as much of my privacy as possible.

Facebook is akin to a cankerous sore on my dick. Sure, I can live with it but it's a god damn pain. How much longer do I have to wait now for virtual porn to become a reality? Am I going to be glad that it only takes me a few minutes because facebook is charging $5/min (only $1/min if you sign up for our amateur porn streaming service where the world watches you bang some pixels!)
We give companies such as that too much damn insight into our lives as it is; especially given that their sole purpose for existing nowadays is to make as much money off of the info we give them as possible, as quickly as possible. I've no idea why the hell anyone uses such a service anyway.

What's the social benefit to something like this? I'd guess that the NSA has already cracked the fucking thing so that everything you watch has the potential to be viewed by the agency. To incorporate it into our lives...
Take this and now move the phone into your bedroom and hook it up to your face.

Fuckit, I'm becoming a luddite as soon as I have enough money to buy a few hundred acres of land in Canada.

ChipMHazard · 2014-03-27, 01:02 PM

Heh, aye. When I become a pervy 80 year old I don't want to have viagra advertisements pop up when I look at a "younger model".
Only thing that could me it worse would be if they added in Microsoft's fucking paperclip.

If NSA are still the same buttholes when AR becomes a commercial reality then the yeah... Wouldn't touch it with a 10ft Londo pole.

Might just be that the Amish start getting a large influx of coverts.