I checked out a replay of a Reggie Watts show and definitely felt like the energy and movement of his character came across. Since the show had been recorded before the capture feature was announced, however, AltspaceVR had erased all the avatars in the crowd, as those people had not consented to be filmed. I was alone in a room with a prerecorded avatar of Reggie Watts, and sea of emoji rising toward the ceiling, reactions from the ghost of an audience I could no longer see.

The appeal to broadcasters is obvious. Right now VR content is still expensive to produce, and the audience is small. Giving consumers a chance to experience it on-demand when they join the ranks of headset owners adds a valuable shelf life to virtual reality experiences produced in AltspaceVR.

For the average user, you now have the trippy opportunity to do something, then watch and, in a very limited way, interact with your past self. In clear violation of the Prime Directive, you can reach out and grab objects from out of your past self’s hand.

I can imagine that as our ability to capture what your real body is doing, this would open up incredible opportunities for athletes, dancers, and performers of all stripes to evaluate and perfect their own body language and position. For artists, there is also an opportunity to create interactive works that employ multiple versions of yourself. Instead of just layering samples of his own voice and instruments, Reggie Watts can start looping himself.

Image Credit / Article via flipboard.com