ABSTRACT
We are the closest we have ever been to experiencing “true” virtual reality (VR). Sure, we have had flashes of VR in the past but nothing can compare to the current generation in both terms of experience or technology. The amount of telepresence (the feeling of actually being there) we can achieve today is higher than ever before and we are interacting with VR in completely new ways. The temptation to rely on aspects from traditional simulation or game development is natural, but it is time to throw out the rulebook. You are standing at the forefront of an entirely new form of entertainment where the rules have not yet been written. This chapter looks at VR from a bird's-eye view; we will look into how we got to the consumer VR technology we have today, what the challenges are, what is possible, and a little about what it means to be a VR developer in the current generation, and how we can go about planning and designing for it.
