Seeing this makes me think of a future when we'll be doing the same and instead of looking at this in a browser, we'll actually be able to stand under a tree and watch the leaves fall.
As technologists, we have to make sure not to get too caught up in our own bubble. We have to remember what kind of a job our technology actually does for people, what kind of a role it actually plays in their lives. And I think the VR enthusiasts right now have a tendency to lose sight of that.
This rendered like crap in my browser, but I'd probably take a 2.5-5 minute break once a day to look at leaves. That'd probably be about all I could stand. What's the difference between 30 seconds and 30 minutes staring at leaves? They're leaves. They all look the same and they all act the same. They're mostly the same color. They don't do anything interesting.
There's a disturbing undercurrent in industrial societies of fetishizing the "natural", and I think that's the only reason anyone would enjoy sitting in the cold looking at a goddamn tree for a half hour -- to make a tribal statement about how ~enlightened~ they are because they can ~appreciate~ the ~beauty~ of ~nature~.
I mean, you're probably a developer, aren't you? Your time is valuable. Why waste it looking at a tree? Just keep this open in a small tile on your desktop and glance at it once every few hours if you really like leaf videos.
edit - just in case it isn't satire. I habitually watch trees quite a lot. I have been obsessing a bit recently with how light reflects off particularly waxy leaves making the colours change with the sky. It doesn't particularly matter that they are trees though, I can watch buildings in much the same way. Is more to do with an appreciation of light.
Multiply that "goddamn tree" by say, a forest, and then stare at it, looking at the different patterns created by the mixing of trees. Then come back the next day and see how things have changed. Or, just open up you editor and stare at your code. Same diff.
>I mean, you're probably a developer, aren't you? Your time is valuable. Why waste it looking at a tree?
I have a hunch that not many people die peacefully thinking "wow, the most important way I spent my valuable time was coding" when reflecting on life and happiness.
Coming from someone who does enjoy sitting in nature for hours at a time observing life, it's mostly about forgetting all the "important" bullshit that will be waiting for me when I get back home. The experience also gets 10x better when you're out in nature with someone who you care about.
That's not to say that there aren't obnoxious people always talking about how "enlightened" they are. I'd say they are in the minority, however.
A personal theory (though, I limit myself from saying it because it sounds kind of nuts) is that the world we're in currently (i.e. our "real world") is merely the advanced simulation of a past civilization. In essence, the Matrix is real and we're hooked into a machine somewhere. Though, I can't say I fully agree with dystopian humans-as-robot-fuel theory.
So, what kind of role could VR play in our lives? Creating more immersive, interactive cinema. This is an old idea from the 60's: http://www.vasulka.org/Kitchen/PDF_ExpandedCinema/ExpandedCi....
What I wish you said, however, is that we have a responsibility to remember what we need to do for people. The argument for standing under a tree rather than watching this could be: you can have a totally enveloping, tranquil experience without burning coal, without fracking, without necessitating the employment of exploited factory workers, without supporting the mass extraction of resources (and corresponding environmental destruction), and without adding another broken gizmo to the landfill in 5 years.
For those working on the technology, rather than building escapist fantasy worlds, you could work to make our actually existing, real, external world (note: fallacy), which is dysfunctional for billions of people, more functional. You could also refuse to build escapist fantasy worlds for people who themselves could be making a difference in the world rather than consuming resources and funneling money to the wealthy corporations in exchange for "virtual goods."
And you could also do this through VR. HMD's don't even necessarily need to display virtual worlds. Virtual worlds don't need to be purely hedonic.
All that said, maybe lying on a tempur-pedic mattress and staring up at an artificial autumn-scape is exactly what someone needs. Who can say.
No, but a lot of VR stuff is BS recreation of reality -- not a Tarkovsky.