Body cam footage was submitted on the internet by Alexandre Spindler and showed graphic violence and bloody gunfights. This footage was not in our reality but in virtual reality. VR or virtual reality has had an explosive entrance into the entertainment scene for the last decade as it has rapidly developed. Like when computers were first invented, virtual reality was bulky, unwieldy and extremely expensive. Now people can get an at home virtual reality headset for the cost of a cell phone. As the technology has developed so have the games you can play with it. The game that was shown by Splindler was of a work in progress VR game called “Unrecorded”. With its absolutely mind blowing realistic graphics people are concerned that the experience might be too true to life. Gameplay showing the camera positioned on the characters chest as if you are looking from the perspective of a body cam an officer would use. The character is shown exploring an abandoned building that is tagged up with graffiti. Hostile enemies are shown opening fire and a gun fight ensues. When the computer controlled enemies get shot they react with disturbing realism staggering back and clutching the spot they were shot as blood pours out. Many are fearful that games created with this level of graphic innovation will blur the lines of virtual reality and our reality, and now it looks like there will be no limit to what’s possible.
GriffenT
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The fact that video games have gotten to this point is an amazing thing. My issue with this game is that it’s intended level of realism can be taken advantage of by the mod community to create some disturbing scenarios. The engine used in the game can be used to recreate other events similar to a police shootout. Modders can create any location and add or change character models to look like anyone, meaning players could play as a shooter in any scenario that can be thought of. Mods for these games can be accessed by anyone at any time. This can only further normalize shootings and worsen the desensitization that our youth already undergoes.
No doubt that this will be seen as unrealistic and unrefined some years down the line, but for now, it is scarily close to life. Still, there are many visually realistic games out today that let players engage in acts of violence while not being the primary aim of the developers. These games are usually open world and put great emphasis on stories, not senseless violence. I believe that players are smart enough to separate these games from reality and to recognize that the violence is not reflective of real life. In addition, I think the resources, time, effort, and money required to develop games using this technology will act as a barrier to people who want to use it for nefarious purposes. I don’t imagine that any ultra-realistic murder simulators will be released anytime soon since there is not a high demand or financial incentive for a team of people to spend years developing it. Still, projects like these should be subject to scrutiny, and we should be observant of the types of media that the people around us consume.
I think such technological leaps in videogames are genuinely great incredible things. I’ve avidly played games all my life and have constantly been on the bleeding edge of these technologies. Personally, I’m super excited for horror games in this vein. But even then, I was a little concerned seeing this footage. It’s almost too realistic. Regardless, I can still separate my reality from that fiction. But I understand the concern from those who don’t. There was a lot of people outright saying they can’t support something like this because it’s so uncomfortably real.
I outright don’t believe a child should play something like this. There is no evidence to suggest that playing violent video games makes people violent. I’m more concerned with disturbing the child with such realistic simulated violence. I’m not a “but think of the children” kinda guy, but a line has to be drawn somewhere and this seems like a pretty solid spot. It comes down to a parent knowing what their child is playing and preventing them from playing something like this, which to me is the real concern.
I think that very hyperrealistic virtual reality games can finally fall under that parental umbrella view of video games such that violent video games aren’t safe for children. I feel like with VR sets it kind of blurs what can actually happen in real life, like if by chance a person would encounter a event that was presented to them through virtual reality it doesn’t mean that a person should get involved in real life because VR and reality are still two very different things and in real life an individual tries to be the hero, they might actually get really hurt our even worse dead. However, it is quite insane just how much technology and AI have progressed in last couple of years.
I was initially shown this video without being told it was made by AI, and I couldn’t even tell it was fake. It is crazy how close to reality AI has become and how quickly it’s accomplished it. It’s both fascinating and scary to think what computers will be able to do in the future.
I have seen this video multiple times now, due to its popularity, and still have the same reaction every time. With such amazing graphics, I was amazed at how realistic it all looked. The fact that this is a video game and not a live recording through an actual body camera… Crazy to see the growth of technology throughout the years, especial in videogames! With this in mind, having such realistic features can be very disturbing to some individuals playing or viewing the game. Especially those that were/are in the military, police force, or any type of event similar to that shown in the “body camera”.
To see how much Virtual Reality has changed throughout the years is concerning, our demand for more realistic experiences that depict violence continues to grow. I wonder how this psychologically impacts kids that aren’t fully developed and are intaking these types of games that feel extremely real. Is this to some extent encouraging people to participate in real life violence because they enjoyed it in the vr? Or will it decrease violence because people are letting it out during vr? I personally think it would be harmful for kids and teenagers because they can get carried away by the adrenaline they are newly feeling through virtual reality.
The concept of graphics getting so good as to be indistinguishable from reality is something that seems like it could be very interesting, but also possibly dangerous in the right contexts. Like with so many video game critics with current graphics, there is the complaint that this exposure will desensitize players to violence, and it seems like the more realistic the game gets the more that may be true. Virtual reality is something cool to explore, but there is also the danger of confusing it with reality. As a prior comment mentions, technology like this could be used to create false evidence and videos, and with misinformation on the internet already being rampant, hyper realistic virtual reality could exacerbate the issue.
This article has made me wonder about the concerns of creating fake evidence with the creation of AI and it being so realistic. Are we going to be at a point where we wont be able to distinguish what is artificially generated and what is real? How is this going to affect our justice system and was is plausible in court?