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posted by Fnord666 on Saturday April 15 2017, @11:13PM   Printer-friendly
from the tamagotchi dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

The film starts out with a game developer named Victor promoting a new augmented reality game. The game allows players to "create, customize and grow your very own creature." Victor says he believes the future of home entertainment has to be interactive; we don't just want to sit around staring at a screen—we want to be a part of our own entertainment.

Victor explains that the technology works by superimposing computer-generated imagery over real-world objects by projecting a digital light field directly into your eye. He insists the game isn't dangerous to players' vision, but on the contrary, it gives them a sort of "super vision."

After meeting Walter, Victor's virtual pet, we also meet his daughter, Anna, and her virtual pet.

Victor says Strange Beasts gives players a "friend for life." But as we watch him sitting alone in his apartment swiping in mid-air at images only he can see, we start to feel uneasy.

[...] It's debatable and somewhat subjective whether these artificial interactions have made our quality of life better or worse. Studies have shown that people feel more isolated than they used to. Does technology help us connect with others in new and improved ways, or does it give us an excuse not to connect authentically?

-- submitted from IRC


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  • (Score: 1) by khallow on Sunday April 16 2017, @03:18PM

    by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Sunday April 16 2017, @03:18PM (#494833) Journal

    You can develop real social interactions online, but virtual pets/daughters don't seem like a good way to go.

    Consider the motives of the people who picked the most unsettling way of using the new technology that they could squeeze into a cheap, five minute film - yet another potentially alienating medium of communication. This is pure straw man.