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Otherland is a science fiction tetralogy written by Tad Williams and published between 1996 and 2001. The story is set on Earth near the end of the 21st century, probably between 2082 and 2089 (one of the characters mentions being born in the early 30's, having a kid in her forties, and the story is set slightly more than twelve years after that), in a world in which technology has advanced somewhat beyond the present. The most notable advancement is the widespread availability of full-immersion virtual reality installations, which allow people from all walks of life to access an online world, called simply the Net. Tad Williams weaves an intricate plot spanning four thick volumes and creates a picture of a future society where virtual worlds are fully integrated into everyday life.
His proposed ability to immerse oneself fully in a simulation gives him a great deal of artistic freedom, and the story winds through alternate interpretations of many classical literary works such as Through the Looking-Glass, The Odyssey and The Iliad, The War of the Worlds, and The Wizard of Oz, which are available as entertainment simulations within the series. According to Orlando Gardiner, one of the main characters in the books who spent most of his teenage years in this world's equivalent to MMORPGs based upon J. R. R. Tolkien's fiction, the overall series's events also bear a strong resemblance to The Lord of the Rings.
SaturnFX
I love it. Its about time VR gets some proper development. should have been already in heavy development 15 years ago, but whatever, I guess they needed to milk regular graphics for as long as possible before next stepping it.
What was said about vacationing on the cheap is a great idea also. Why travel over to X to visit Y when you can slip on some fully immersive high def VR and explore alpha century or fly a dragon through some mythical land...go into some tavern and meet up with your friends while discussing which adventure you will go on next together while everything is as detailed as if you were in a real tavern...all while sitting at home in your comfy pants.
I don't think it will replace the urge to actually go places, but imagine the ability to go on a fantastic vacation every day after work. For the average working joe, this will be an amazing possibility that otherwise would have never been in the cards for them in reality.
go visit Egypt tonight and crawl through the tombs, or hell, go visit a sim where the pyramids are being built..by aliens of course
V-world here we come.
Mamatus
reply to post by lostbook
At the price of gas in the upcoming years it would not surprise me if it becomes the only affordable vacation!
AthlonSavage
reply to post by lostbook
Whens the timeline for this?
Will it provide multi virtual player mode?
In short, I don't know the timeline.
AthlonSavage
reply to post by lostbook
In short, I don't know the timeline.
These VR head sets have been talked about for a long time, even many years before lawnmower man. Seems to be still in area of fantasy.