Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Immersive Worlds- Which Would You Pick?

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I was thinking about immersive worlds the other day when I saw the trailer for season 2 of Westworld. The theme of that show obviously is being able to enter a world where the action is real- you can truly immerse yourself in a storyline or a sandbox world, but without real consequences (unless something goes wrong). In Westworld there are robotic "hosts" who are pretty much expendable- you can sleep with them, kill them, pretty much do whatever you want (and that of course raises other issues). But for this post, setting aside the ethical questions for a minute, I want to explore- which worlds would you choose? 

Books like Warcross and Ready Player One also examine virtual reality worlds, or worlds where you can log in and lose yourself. The movie Strange Days examined this too a while back. I loved Warcross- I mean who wouldn't want to enter a virtual reality game world where you could experience just about any genre? Giant robot combat? Check. Hunting vampires in gaslight London? Sure. Living out a Jane Austen novel? Why not. The possibilities are endless. So for fun, I got to thinking which worlds I'd most like to visit. I'll list three, and then provide a list of other possible worlds/ genres I'd love to experience. Let me know what your three would be! 

Image result for lord of the rings images

Middle- earth. I would definitely want to spend some time here, touring the Shire and getting drunk at the Green Dragon Inn exploring the countryside, and hanging out at Rivendell of course. 

Warcross (Warcross, #1)

Warcross. I loved this book and the whole concept of the teams and the game. Can I play???? 

Star Wars Episode V The Empire Strikes Back 1980 Imdb

Star Wars. Probably a no- brainer. I've played a bit of Star Wars: The Old Republic, and while it's fun, imagine playing a virtual reality version, where you are IN the world. Would I ever leave?? 

Okay my list of other possibilities. 

1) Vampire hunting in a gaslight version of London. Or Paris. 

2) Zombie apocalypse! Like that zombie running game but for realsies (well, VR realsies anyways). 

3) A found family on an interstellar ship- think The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet (actually can I just live in that universe??) or Starflight. 

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers, #1)Starflight (Starflight, #1)

32 comments:

  1. Middle Earth, Hogwarts, and living on a space station would be great, too! But all during peaceful times, ha ha. <3

    You can keep your zombies, though! Every time I watched a new season first episode of The Walking Dead I would have a zombie nightmare that night, and no thank you. XD

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    1. Middle- earth and a space station too? Yeah great pick!

      Yeah zombies are an acquired taste (see what I did there) okay- that was bad.

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  2. Oh yeah, Star Wars and Middle Earth would be at the top of my list, although Warcross would be amazing too. Oh and Hogwarts!

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    1. All three of those! Although having not read HP I'm not as into that, but it would still fun!!

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  3. What a fun idea! So for me, the very first thing that comes to mind is Hogwarts. I would so spend my time in the wizarding world. After that, I'm not too sure. I'm not really into the space thing and most fantasy worlds are just a bit too intense for me. I would love to spend time in Pemberley (Pride and Prejudice) but I wouldn't want to be stuck there. No plumbing! No heat! yikes I like my modern conveniences :)

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    1. I think it would for a lot of people. Just imagining going to a place like that ... I hear you, but Pemberley (from what I've seen) is amazing, I'd love to wander the grounds.

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  4. Star Wars and middle earth for sure. Hogwarts is another one. And any world the avengers are in. I want to meet those guys.

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    1. Yeah would be pretty awesome. And the Avengers- yay!

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  5. I really love reading about other worlds but, by necessity - to make the story interesting - they're dangerous so i don't want to live in any of them. lol

    Or maybe not as the hero at least. I'll be a passive, boring bystander but then I probably would have access to any of the cool stuff.

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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    1. True? Maybe just to visit... :)

      Ha ha right?

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  6. I love books with immersive worlds. Talk about an amazing escape into a different world. I think it's the reason I loved Warcross too. When my son introduces me to worlds in his VR games, I'm blown away.

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    1. I lover escapist adventures. Warcross had so many cool ideas. And VR I think is going to be amazing too!

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  7. Great post! I would definitely go for the OASIS, Middle-Earth, a galaxy far, far away. :)

    I haven't seen Westworld yet, but I loved the original movie.

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    1. I've never seen the original movie!

      The OASIS for sure! And Star Wars... oh that would be sooo fun!

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  8. Absolutely Middle Earth, and since I also love Lemony Snicket and Rowling, I'd love to live in their worlds too. Hugs...and Happy Monday!

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  9. Hogwarts probably, yes. I wouldn't want to be anywhere near Star Wars, looks dangerous!

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  10. I cannot wait for season 2 of Westworld!!!

    I am ALL about immersive worlds now that I'm reading Ready Player one so I'll have to chose The Oasis! :)

    Star wars is ALWAYS a great choice though! I haven't read Warcross yet so I'll have too now!

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  11. I agree with a lot of others, I would say Hogwarts, but maybe also Narnia? But not Narnia under the White Witch, spring-time Narnia!

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  12. There are a lot of similar choices here! I would definitely want to choose Hogwarts. The other two would be the OASIS (book not movie) and Warcross. :)

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  13. Middle Earth would definitely be on my list too, and I always wanted to go to Hogwarts (I think I must have missed my letter!) :)
    I've also been watching all the Marvel films for the first time recently and so I've really been enjoying that universe, so that would be nice to visit (but only if I got cool super powers! I don't want to just be on the sidelines!) :)

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  14. What an original idea for a discussion post! I never would have thought of that. I think that hunting vampires in Victorian London would be totally awesome. So would a superhero world, maybe Guardians of the Galaxy? Awesome post! :)

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  15. I would LOVE to give Warcross a shot, too. Plus your idea of vampire hunting in Paris is so cool! I'd probably also like to try visiting Panem, and Hogwarts of course.

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  16. Like so many others, Hogwarts would be my first choice :) It would also be a lot of fun to see Westeros...just not during one of the wars! And last (but definitely not least!) I'd want to live in Lyra's Oxford. Getting to see my daemon would be the coolest thing :)

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  17. I don't know why (and after scanning the comments, I am definitely alone in this hah- though at least Aimee will join me in Panem!) but I would love to be in some of the more... brutal fictional worlds. Like Panem, or the post-apocalyptic nightmare that is the world of The 100. Or, like you said, a zombie apocalypse. Especially if it's just virtual reality! I mean- I think that it would be fascinating to see what you'd really do, what decisions you'd make in that sort of scenario. Would I die first in The Hunger Games? (Answer: yes, but not in the second one, I would be pretty awesome at the Catching Fire arena.) Would I be able to be strong and come up with solutions to Praimfaya, or just Jasper myself? It would just be so high stakes. OH and any kind of time travel, that would be epic!

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  18. There are parts of Middle-earth I would love to explore, but others seem a little scary. But, yeah, I want to skip through the Shire. Since we are talking about classics, Wonderland and Oz are on my list, as well as the chocolate factory. I love the whimsy, but would like to skip the scary.

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  19. Harry Potter. I would love a chance to live in Harry Potter. But, I don't want to be a muggle. I want to be a witch. Magic has to be real!

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  20. So with you on Star Wars and Middle Earth! I would deff add Hogwarts to my list as well!

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  21. I haven't read Warcross, but whoa, that sounds like a neat premise to be able to enter an immersive game in any genre! I can definitely see you choosing Middle Earth and gaslight vampire hunting lol. Not sure what I would choose, but def not zombie apoc. I literally cannot even handle arcade games like that. I played one once, it was just a screen and there was a sword or something that you had to swing around that worked via motion sensor, and I swear I spent the entire game just screaming and waving the sword non-stop w/ no actual skill and was just exhausted by the end. No thank you, I don't need to experience that for real, haha.

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  22. No brainer...I would love to travel with the Doctor and explore the universe...or maybe just the TARDIS haha - it's like a whole world in itself!
    Of course, traveling with the Doctor is VERY dangerous...but at least I'd get to live a little before I die! 😂

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  23. Five and a half years later, and older, I am solidly deciding on Middle Earth... but still in peace times. ☺

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