Facebook Announces Horizon VR World

[Cristiano]

Facebook announces Horizon, a VR massive-multiplayer world | TechCrunch

Facebook today announced it's building its own Ready Player One Oasis. Facebook Horizon is a virtual reality sandbox universe where you can build your own

techcrunch.com

This seems like a VR Second Life in many ways, and kills Sansar's use case.

 

[Cristiano]

Facebook's Horizon VR World Is Second Life All Over Again | Digital Trends

At Oculus Connect 6, Facebook announced a new social VR platform called Facebook Horizon. It won't launch in beta until 2020, but will let users build their own avatar, explore worlds, play games, and even create their own environments using the built-in creator tools. Sound familiar? It's...

www.digitaltrends.com

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Yeah too bad it's Facebook; $uckerberg can kiss it.

 

[Free]

Facebook's Horizon VR World Is Second Life All Over Again | Digital Trends

At Oculus Connect 6, Facebook announced a new social VR platform called Facebook Horizon. It won't launch in beta until 2020, but will let users build their own avatar, explore worlds, play games, and even create their own environments using the built-in creator tools. Sound familiar? It's...

www.digitaltrends.com

 

[Noodles]

Eh...

The legless avatars are weird and I feel like VR is already never going anywhere.

 

[Knutz Scorpio]

Never been crazy about cartoony avatars. And legless? Why?

 

[Romana]

The legless avatars are weird, and it looks like customization is pretty limited, more so even than when I joined SL. It's hard to imagine any kind of a proper RP with those. And the sims...I don't want to RP 'Meet the Robinson's' ( without legs) . I want to find another good Doctor Who RP, and it looks like they're a looong way from having TARDISes. Not impressed.
And Facebook data mining and advertising on top of it.

 

[Beebo Brink]

….and I feel like VR is already never going anywhere.

And I'm betting you're very wrong. Quest VR is a breakthrough product that is a game-changer. I've gone from being a skeptic to a fervent advocate and my entertainment focus has shifted more and more to VR.

Not so sure about the prospects of the Horizon VR World, for all the reasons that Romana listed. But I probably will give it a try because it's there and I'm curious about virtual worlds, VR or not.

 

[Caliandris]

Well no lower half will certainly rule out most sex stuff.

 

[Dakota Tebaldi]

Well no lower half will certainly rule out most sex stuff.

I dunno if you're joking - but I genuinely, seriously think that's the reason.

 

[Beebo Brink]

Well no lower half will certainly rule out most sex stuff.

I dunno if you're joking - but I genuinely, seriously think that's the reason.

Except it won't. It wouldn't surprise me at all, if this was the reason behind these oddly disturbing avatars, but if there's one thing I've learned from SL, people will find a way to have sex in any virtual world.

Mostly what I find unappealing is the aesthetic -- it looks like a child's view of an adult world. Squeaky clean and cloyingly cute.

 

[Ailsa Muliaina]

I usually like cartoony style stuff as much as realistic, but there's a difference between geniuinely happy, fun and creative stuff and this.... Horizon looks like a really creepy attempt to make it cute so nobody knows it's there to harvest data. Which it is Even with legs, those avis have creepy faces. The lack of a lower body is just hilariously bad, if it's an attempt to block any sexual activity then I'm going to be laughing about it for years. There is no way they will manage to keep that space moderated or protect younger users from abuse.

The sad thing is that however disgusting Facebook is and behaves, people still buy their VR devices and will still use this and their other apps. It's scary that the ugly graphics will likely be more of a deterrent than the company behind them.

 

[Clara D.]

Floating torsos are creepy as hell.

 

[Benjamin Opel]

I'm gunna stay away...

 

[Beebo Brink]

The sad thing is that however disgusting Facebook is and behaves, people still buy their VR devices...

Yup, we sure do!

Trying to talk all my friends into buying one, too.

 

[Kara Spengler]

And I'm betting you're very wrong. Quest VR is a breakthrough product that is a game-changer. I've gone from being a skeptic to a fervent advocate and my entertainment focus has shifted more and more to VR.

Not so sure about the prospects of the Horizon VR World, for all the reasons that Romana listed. But I probably will give it a try because it's there and I'm curious about virtual worlds, VR or not.

I am guessing AR will have a real use case before VR, training feels like it is the same justification that SL used. Both AR and VR will eventually be mature right now they are flailing about.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

I dunno if you're joking - but I genuinely, seriously think that's the reason.

It's pretty obvious, plus the super limited Wii style avatars. And real names, I'm sure.

No s either.

 

[Noodles]

Except it won't. It wouldn't surprise me at all, if this was the reason behind these oddly disturbing avatars, but if there's one thing I've learned from SL, people will find a way to have sex in any virtual world.

Mostly what I find unappealing is the aesthetic -- it looks like a child's view of an adult world. Squeaky clean and cloyingly cute.

I am pretty sure overwatch has custom games used for dirty role play. People will find a way to have sex in any platform.

Also I agree with the assessment about the avatars. It's all just feels very sterile and overly friendly.

Look at SL, look at VR Chat, people want to customize their avatars in cool ways. No one wants to be a cartoon version of their RL self with no legs.

 

[Argent Stonecutter]

 

[Beebo Brink]

Both AR and VR will eventually be mature right now they are flailing about.

Do you say this as an owner of a VR headset or just as a bystander? From my perspective, there's nothing "flailing" about the Oculus Quest. It's just beginning to scratch the surface of what VR can offer and I see it making inroads into mainstream culture where other VR systems have failed.

I was a severe VR critic and skeptic, but I've been converted. Quest is worth it just for the in-home exercise potential, which is the main benefit I get from it. But the growing variety of games and experiences keeps it solidly in the entertainment arena, too.