I don’t think the screenshot looks that bad. Netizens love to be irrationally extremely negative about Zuck, and it’s possible you have been swept up in this.
From a 3D graphics perspective, it’s very similar to the Wii. The Wii was an underpowered console and so its graphics were simple. I assume Horizon’s graphics are simple for a similar reason, because of the limitations of VR (need high framerate, low latency, consumer hardware needs to be reasonably priced, etc). However, the Wii had a lot more charm, IMO.
I think people are also negative about digital minimalism because how pervasive it is the advertising of big tech companies. See “Corporate Memphis”. Corporations prefer minimalism since it is cross-culturally inoffensive—except among those who have learned to associate it with companies they don’t like.
Yes, I think the graphics are quite simple. I think your explanation relating to current limitations of VR is enough to address a lot of the OP’s confusion/questioning. It’s not that Meta is purposefully trying to look bad; they’re just sharing the state of the art honestly. It’s also worth noting that this seen by Zuckerberg as a temporary state, and his goal very much seems to be photorealism. If you listen to his recent interview with Lex Fridman you’ll hear him bring up photorealism again and again.
Why is Meta sharing their work now instead of waiting for something closer to photorealism? I am speculating, but I think it is because Meta sees this is the best way to get a head-start on the competition. When photorealism is achieved, Meta will already have years of experience of making useful and enjoyable applications for VR.
See my response here; this is very much not state-of-the-art, and hasn’t been for a fairly long time. As many on Twitter have pointed out, Second Life, which was released in 2003, is so ahead of Meta in terms of both looks and feel that the concept of them getting a “head start” against competition through this seems implausible. Gwern also mentioned VRchat in the comments, which while it is facing difficulty with moderation/censorship (whichever you’d prefer to call it lol), it is also an obviously superior product. If I were an investor, I’d be more worried after seeing what Meta is publicly releasing than what I’d be under the counterfactual where Meta hadn’t publicized these products yet.
I don’t think the screenshot looks that bad. Netizens love to be irrationally extremely negative about Zuck, and it’s possible you have been swept up in this.
Sir, we seem to have a very different taste I am afraid
From a 3D graphics perspective, it’s very similar to the Wii. The Wii was an underpowered console and so its graphics were simple. I assume Horizon’s graphics are simple for a similar reason, because of the limitations of VR (need high framerate, low latency, consumer hardware needs to be reasonably priced, etc). However, the Wii had a lot more charm, IMO.
I think people are also negative about digital minimalism because how pervasive it is the advertising of big tech companies. See “Corporate Memphis”. Corporations prefer minimalism since it is cross-culturally inoffensive—except among those who have learned to associate it with companies they don’t like.
Yes, I think the graphics are quite simple. I think your explanation relating to current limitations of VR is enough to address a lot of the OP’s confusion/questioning. It’s not that Meta is purposefully trying to look bad; they’re just sharing the state of the art honestly. It’s also worth noting that this seen by Zuckerberg as a temporary state, and his goal very much seems to be photorealism. If you listen to his recent interview with Lex Fridman you’ll hear him bring up photorealism again and again.
Why is Meta sharing their work now instead of waiting for something closer to photorealism? I am speculating, but I think it is because Meta sees this is the best way to get a head-start on the competition. When photorealism is achieved, Meta will already have years of experience of making useful and enjoyable applications for VR.
See my response here; this is very much not state-of-the-art, and hasn’t been for a fairly long time. As many on Twitter have pointed out, Second Life, which was released in 2003, is so ahead of Meta in terms of both looks and feel that the concept of them getting a “head start” against competition through this seems implausible. Gwern also mentioned VRchat in the comments, which while it is facing difficulty with moderation/censorship (whichever you’d prefer to call it lol), it is also an obviously superior product. If I were an investor, I’d be more worried after seeing what Meta is publicly releasing than what I’d be under the counterfactual where Meta hadn’t publicized these products yet.
I read your post but I thought it was more about aesthetics than technology.
Horizon Worlds is a program where users can make their own environments and can make aesthetic decisions for themselves.