In fact, in its current form I don't really see the appeal. I can already get a "flat" web browsing experience like that without needing to put a headset on. Might be useful for a situation where I want to quickly pull up a web page without taking off my headset; but on desktop VR I can already just use regular Chrome or Firefox for that, no need for a specially-built browser.
I guess this is more about experimenting with the new UI paradigms VR/AR enable? Once they start adding better support for 3D content on the web I can start to see this making more sense.
> Mixed reality is the wild west. How do you type? How do you express emotion? How do you view the billions of existing 2D web pages as well as new 3D content? How do you communicate? Who maps the world and who controls what you see? Can we build on our work with voice recognition and connected devices to create a better browsing experience?
There are indeed a lot of interesting questions here. I think most of these problems are going to end up being handled by the VR/AR windowing system (whatever that might be) though, not by individual apps. I don't need my web browser to implement its own keyboard.
We'll absolutely build out the UI and feature set (especially WebVR/WebXR!), but wanted to release as early as possible to transition away from private builds, design, and feedback to public conversations with users, developers, and device manufacturers.
And obviously we're investing in more the ecosystem - we need WebXR fully standardized and supported by all browsers, tools, engines, and frameworks. We also need lots of great content and social experiences that work on the web. We and others are investing a lot in this space - it's going to be an exciting summer!
If you're interested, we've built/shipped a full 3D/VR browser as part of the YC W18 batch, ditching the flat 2D Web. http://store.steampowered.com/app/803010/Supermedium/
I want Unreal Engine, running full time. When I go into a World, it starts downloading the neighboring worlds. When I touch a Portkey or walk through a Portal or answer a ringing phone in a phonebooth, I'm now in the next world.
That's what a "VR browser" is, to me.
A loadable Unreal Engine level is the new "HTTP / CSS / JS." And in those levels, there need to be "Hyperlinks" that let me navigate to a new level. Give me some kind of Back button, and some way to enter a new "URL." URLs probably need # anchors with 6-degree-of-freedom starting positions embedded in them.
Some worlds are single-user instances, some are multi-user (party rooms with your friends), some are like MMOs.
All of our current VR technology feels like the equivalent of downloading a PostScript file over FTP. The Web kicked ass, because it had embedded Images, and Hyperlinks - you never left it, and it felt beautifully immersive.
I want to never leave VR, and for it to be beautifully immersive.
What's "Reddit" look like? It's a museum. There are images hanging on the wall. Under them is a cute plaque with the Title, and an Up and Down button, and a Comments. You can record a VR video comment. You can record an Audio comment. You can type a comment. You can be in a live VR / or maybe Video / or maybe Audio / or maybe IRC chat room, discussing that image. The items in the museum are sorted by Popular / Best / Hot / New / Controversial, and you can change it. There are also VR Objects that we're voting on. (Websites like this exist, but they aren't IN VR.) There are Videos. There are Portals to Worlds that you can hop into, and then hop back out.
I also don't just want a "VR Browser," I want a "VR OS." The same way different Window Managers were all the rage on X, I want there to be lively debate about the best Application Managers in VR. Do they act like a HUD? How does Copy and Paste work? Is there Object Linking and Embedding? How do you get interrupted by Facebook Messenger? What is it like to have two VR apps at the same time?
INNOVATE, PEOPLE. We don't know the answers to these questions, but they are for sure OPERATING SYSTEM questions. We keep screwing around within each game. But that's like putting a floppy in your PC and BOOTING FROM THAT DISK (no OS). DOS and later Windows were COMPLETELY DIFFERENT from how we used to boot, and required lots of changes in behavior. We need that, for VR, now.
In addition, it's hard to use any current VR headset for more than an hour or so because of eye strain.
1) VR didn't actually exist yet.
2) Unreal Engine is beautiful, and didn't exist yet.
3) Bandwidth sucked (and still sucks a lot for many people).
I think you're completely wrong that "nobody wants this after they've tried it." I'm essentially describing Steam VR, and Oculus Home... except I also want hyperlinking between the experiences, and I want the App to download and install much more like how a Browser works than how Steam and Oculus Home works... Which would be aided a lot if we just used one damn engine (Unreal Engine) for everything, rather than having to install the full engine for every World.
Eye strain: I'm very hopeful that Magic Leap or other Light Field Displays will help. Also, okay, so, VR is amazing for an hour. =)
I will release an MVP in July so I guess I should start ramping up my online presence to sell the idea !
* WebVR brings along all of the baggage of the web browser.
* It's incredibly hard to get beautiful content - that's why Unity and Unreal are so popular, they made it as easy as possible
Best of luck.
And you should have a newsletter I can sign up for.
Also, is their file format open source, and is the client open source?
It has "Marketplace" all over it.
That's fine to add to what I'm talking about, I guess... I mean, Unreal Engine already does have a Marketplace, right?
But the core idea needs to be much more like the web. Open source client, standards for content, standards for hyperlinking, open source server.
Except browsers sucked at the time, JS really, really sucked at the time. WebGL didn't exist. WebVR didn't exist at the time. VR Controllers didn't exist at the time. Bandwidth sucked. Most people didn't have GPUs, and couldn't render many triangles...
https://www.viewport.org/ (don't mind the video - it's old at this point)
I just released an update to the Android version last week to make the graphics rendering about as performant as 2D Chrome on Android, and I'm currently working on the same update for the iOS version. There are still features missing (the big one being support for video), but I'm constantly iterating on it and appreciate feedback.
