Attention City Leaders: Use Virtual Reality to Showcase Your City or Get Left Behind
When I believe of virtual reality, I believe about situations when my senses get immersed in a virtual world. It requires some kind of goggles and incredible sound via headphones or speakers. What I don't think about is a gamer near a casino game console, and flat screen TV stressed out that they are going to die. While I understand that gamer might believe that the world they're navigating making use of their controller is real, that isn't what I believe about when I believe about virtual reality. For me, virtual reality is when your eyes and ears tell you that you are somewhere else, not as you are emotionally invested, but because everything you are considering or hearing tricks your brain into believing in a thing that is not real.
Not long ago i saw a virtual reality production; Dublin Ireland was the setting along with the focus. This production allowed me to walk through the streets of Dublin and gasp at its beauty and history. Informative post of us have accessed street take on Google Maps to travel down a road or two. However, the production that I saw regarding Dublin blew Google's street view out of the water. I'm not kidding when I say that I can get lost exploring different Google street views throughout the world, but viewing this virtual reality production about Dublin was the very first time I ever felt as if was there.
I spent about half an hour that day sitting on the couch with my wife once we walked Dublin's streets. We would have spent additional time, however, life interrupted and we'd to visit my daughter's piano recital. Not the best thing in the world, so it was not surprising that I couldn't get Dublin out of my mind. I guess my partner was doing exactly the same because when we got home several hours later, we both had the same idea - let's have a a vacation to Ireland. We leave in June, and I cannot wait.
While planning our trip, I explored other cities around Dublin from the comfort of my recliner. It was disappointing that I missed any video as good as what Dublin had. I resorted to Google's street view. However, this time it seemed antiquated; as though I was looking at old black and white pictures.
This got me wondering. Let's more cities create virtual reality productions? Could it be the cost? Or, could it be that they have not thought about it? At a time when cities are experiencing trouble making use of their budgets, doesn't it seem sensible that city leaders demand from those responsible for tourism to showcase their city with the latest virtual reality technology?
Some might believe that a virtual reality tour of their city might negate the need for anyone to go to; the thought being that when anyone can feel just like they're walking the streets of New York City, why would they visit? The answer is easy, people will want to visit for the same reason we are going to Dublin, and that's because we want to touch and smell and see what's just beyond the camera's field of view. Did I mention that I can't wait to see Dublin?
