immersive experiences

The Vision Pro is Apple's new $3,500 virtual reality headset.

Since its debut in February, users have found new ways to use this latest iteration of a decades-old technology: scrolling TikTok at work, driving Tesla's Cybertruck, recording their kid's birth.

But can VR truly integrate into our daily lives? Or will it forever remain a niche technology for geeks and gamers?

Endless Thread dives into the history of VR and its potential for the future.

What is "friction" in video games? We've got a taxonomy, of course! This week, the Triple Click gang talks about how Dragon Dogma 2 tries to push players away, the necessity of video game friction, and what it means when a game is impenetrable.

One More Thing:

Kirk: Girls5Eva (Netflix)

Maddy: The Holdovers (2024)

Jason: Secrets of Grindea

LINKS:

Triple Click LIVE in LA! Saturday, June 8, 6:30PM at the Teagram Ballroom: https://teragramballroom.com/tm-event/triple-click-podcast/

Tim Rogers’ “In Praise of Sticky Friction,” 2010 https://kotaku.com/in-praise-of-sticky-friction-555816

Preorder Jason’s Book! https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jason-schreier/play-nice/9781538725429/

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Kirk’s Three Types of Video Game Friction

Mechanical Friction: Relating to inputs and interaction. i.e. kinesthetics, “game feel”

• Certain moves require complex inputs or timing
• Beating a boss means not just attacking but reacting/countering
• Combat’s relationship to animation, e.g. locked animation means you can't interrupt attacks and dodge whenever you want
• No jump button, you have to use the world to get vertical advantage (souls, monster hunter)
• Enemies can stagger or stun-lock you just like you can them
• Stamina bar limits the number of chained inputs you can give
• Delay on spellcasting means relying on teammates to provide cover
• Slow or complex reloads with modifiers, minigames for healing, sub-inputs required while in the heat of action (stratagems, active reload, far cry healing animations, etc)
• "Sticky Friction" (TM Tim Rogers) - inertia, weight, acceleration, the feel and heft of movement and interaction tied to pause/delay/rhythm and animation

Logistical Friction: Relating to planning, (in)flexibility, the need to prepare

• Customization is costly or difficult. e.g. to change classes or appearance, you have to go see a vendor in a town
• There's limited fast travel, so you have to plan trips carefully. Or can only travel from certain points on map
• The game's map is an in-game object and doesn't pause
• No pause option in general
• Penalty for death - lost progress, maybe the game even becomes harder
• Finishing a mission requires extraction, waiting, defending
• You can't save just anywhere, or have a limited number of saves
• Loot and upgrades don’t unlock unless you complete the mission
• Quests are complex and require a lot of micro-managing or specific steps
• Crafting and other similar activities require in-game actions or specific locations
• Often referred to as “Player Friendly/Unfriendliness”

Informational Friction: Relating to what the game does/doesn’t tell you

• The game doesn't tell you what you're supposed to do next
• The game doesn't spell out for you what's going on with the story and leaves it for you to figure out (Narrative Friction)
• There are a lot of concepts, mechanics, or rules to keep track of or understand (Conceptual Friction)
• The game's map doesn't tell you very much, or the game has no map (Navigational Friction)
• Branching narratives aren’t signposted, little or no warning for consequential decisions
• The interface is opaque or requires a lot of inputs to use
• You don't get notifications about status effects in the HUD, you have to look at your character (general world > hud approach)
• The game has hidden systems that you have to learn about via word of mouth or experimentation (e.g. If you want to explore the castle without getting arrested, wear the guard armor to blend in. If you die, your world becomes steadily darker. This guy will kill your NPCs, but there’s an elaborate hidden spell to revive them. Etc)
• Other players can leave notes to help you, but the notes are often vague; other player’s pawns can show you secrets, but you have to listen
• In-game multiplayer communication options are limited
• Item descriptions don't give specific stats, they just say vague stuff

Why are so many social, business, and classroom interactions so dang dull? This state of affairs isn't only a bummer for those on the receiving end of these underwhelming experiences, but those offering them, too. It means that people are failing to connect with others, teachers are failing to impart knowledge, and salespeople are failing to make sales. Because when you don't engage people, you don't influence them.

My guest says that the secret to making an impact on others is learning to turn ordinary experiences into extraordinary ones through the science of immersion. Dr. Paul Zak is a professor, scientist, and the author of Immersion. Today on the show, Paul shares what he's learned from decades of neuroscience research on how to create immersive experiences that will set you apart as an individual or business and increase your influence. We discuss the elements that create immersion, what goes on in the brain when it occurs, how long it can last, and how to induce immersion, whether you want to teach a more engaging class, wow your customers, or simply make everyday interactions with friends and family more memorable.

Resources Related to the Episode

• Paul's TED Talk: Trust, Morality — and Oxytocin?
• AoM Article: 3 Simple Steps to Telling a Great Story
• AoM Podcast: #462: How to Tell Better Stories
• Diet Coke Super Bowl Commercial 2018

Connect With Paul Zak

• Paul's website
• Immersion website
• Paul's faculty page

Will computers one day write the great American novel? What will the future of human/machine creative collaboration look like – and what came before now? In this episode of the Stuff to Blow Your Mind podcast, educational technologist Mike Sharples discusses the book “Story Machines - How Computers Have Become Creative Writers.”

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

BOO! To celebrate Spooky Spring, Jason, Maddy, and Kirk dive into some of their favorite horror games and talk about what makes a video game scary. How does interactivity enhance horror? What's the difference between "dread" and "panic"? And are controls sometimes meant to be terrible?

One More Thing: 

Kirk: Persona 4 Golden/Persona 5 Royal

Maddy: Elden Ring

Jason: Eternal Threads

Links:

Maddy talks with Dead Space 2 director Wright Bagwell about the infamous eyeball scene: https://www.polygon.com/interviews/2020/10/4/21498961/dead-space-2-director-eye-poke-needle-scene-horror-wright-bagwell-interview

Kirk’s take on horror doors: https://kotaku.com/the-horror-of-video-game-doors-1819921161

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Join the Triple Click Discord: http://discord.gg/tripleclickpod

Triple Click Ethics Policy: https://maximumfun.org/triple-click-ethics-policy/

Today's episode is our April edition of Marketing for the Now as our speakers dive into the question, "What are your hot takes for 2022?"

Including... Sophie Bambuck, CMO, Everlane Gretchen Rubin, Author and Podcaster Rachel Tipograph, Founder & CEO, MikMak Rob Master, Vice President of Media and Marketing, Unilever Kevin Miller, CMO, The Fresh Market Manos Spanos, President, L-Nutra Consumer Health

Check out my new NFT project: veefriends.com

Join the VeeFriends Discord: https://discord.gg/veefriends

Tweet Me! @garyvee

Text Me! 212-931-5731

My Newsletter: garyvee.com/newsletter

Microsoft announced this week that it was acquiring Activision Blizzard, the maker of video games such as Call of Duty and Candy Crush, in a deal valued at nearly $70 billion.

Microsoft, the owner of Xbox, said the acquisition was a step toward gaining a foothold in the metaverse.

But what exactly is the metaverse? And why are some of the biggest companies in the world spending billions of dollars to get involved?

Guest: Kevin Roose, a technology columnist for The New York Times.

Want more from The Daily? For one big idea on the news each week from our team, subscribe to our newsletter. 

Background reading: 

• Does the metaverse even exist? Here’s what you need to know.
• Video games are not merely entertainment anymore. They have become weapons that today’s technology titans wield to try to shape our future.
• The deal for Activision Blizzard would be Microsoft’s biggest ever, and one that places a major bet that people will be spending more and more time in the digital world.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

Diana Hu cofounded Escher Reality, which went through the Summer 2017 batch of YC. They were acquired by Niantic and she is now the head of their AR platform.

She's on Twitter @sdianahu.

The YC podcast is hosted by Craig Cannon.

Y Combinator invests a small amount of money ($150k) in a large number of startups (recently 200), twice a year.

Learn more about YC and apply for funding here: https://www.ycombinator.com/apply/

***

Topics

00:00 - Intro

00:40 - Getting into AR

2:55 - Her first exposure to AR

4:40 - AR's future role in media

7:45 - Deciding where to go with the product

9:55 - Innovations that enabled AR

14:25 - Building a product in a new market

17:25 - Raising money for a new market

21:40 - Advice for founders after an acquisition

26:40 - Immigrating to the US

31:10 - Advice for Immigrant founders

33:49 - Advice for founders in/after YC

Will smell-o-vision make a comeback? Will our zombie movies smell like rotten flesh and our video games reek of voided bowels and fear? In this episode, Robert and Julie discuss the history of scented media and the emerging technology of printable smells.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.