"A 1980s cultural assessment of the fantastical future of online behavior continues the story that began in the internationally best-selling futuristic novel, Ready Player One, that inspired a blockbuster Steven Spielberg film"-- Days after winning OASIS founder James Halliday’s contest, Wade Watts makes a discovery that changes everything. Hidden within Halliday’s vaults, waiting for his heir to find, lies a technological advancement that will...

Hilketa is a frenetic and violent pastime where players attack each other with swords and hammers. The main goal of the game: obtain your opponent's head and carry it through the goalposts. With flesh and bone bodies, a sport like this would be impossible. But all the players are "threeps," robot-like bodies controlled by people with Haden's Syndrome, so anything goes. No one gets hurt, but the brutality is real and the crowds love it. Until a star...

"A virtualist is a doctor who specializes in virtual medicine. She uses tools like VR headsets, spatial acoustics, haptic feedback, and even olfactory mimicry to induce reactions in patients' bodies that help treat a variety of physiological and psychological conditions, from chronic pain, to compulsive behavior, without the use of pharmaceuticals or surgical techniques. Virtualists don't exist yet, but after reading VRx they just might. In recent...

Are we living in a simulation? Filmmaker Rodney Ascher (ROOM 237, THE NIGHTMARE) wrestles with this existential question in his latest documentary, a multimedia journey that's part sci-fi mind-scrambler, part true-crime horror story.

Despite popular forays into augmented and virtual reality in recent years, spatial computing still sits on the cusp of mainstream use. Developers, artists, and designers looking to enter this field today have few places to turn for expert guidance. In this book, Erin Pangilinan, Steve Lukas, and Vasanth Mohan examine the AR and VR development pipeline and provide hands-on practice to help you hone your skills. Through step-by-step tutorials, you'll...

When something goes horribly wrong during the filming of a new virtual reality show, teenaged contestants are trapped in a simulation, questioning how much of the game is real.--

"John Chu is a 'sherpa' - a paid guide to online role-playing games like the popular Call to Wizardry. For a fee, he and his crew will provide you with a top-flight character equipped with the best weapons and armor, and take you dragon-slaying in the Realms of Asgarth, hunting rogue starships in the Alpha Sector, or battling hordes of undead in the zombie apocalypse. Chu's new client, the pseudonymous Mr. Jones, claims to be a "wealthy, famous person"...

"Michael and his friends, Sarah and Bryson, are still being chased by a cyber-terrorist. And now the government is after them, too"--

Apply the techniques needed to build VR applications for mobile and standalone head-mounted displays (HMDs) using the Unreal Engine. This book covers the entire VR ecosystem including production tools, Unreal engine, workflows, performance and optimization, and presents two fully-developed projects to reinforce what you've learned. Media designers, CG artists and other creatives will be able to take advantage of real-time engine techniques and easy-to-learn...

Four high school kids discover an old video game console and are drawn into the game's jungle setting, literally becoming the adult avatars they chose.