We can speak face-to-face with people thousands of miles away, print buildings, and order an unthinkable number of products to our doorsteps with a whisper into a listening gadget.
But if films are a glimpse into the experiences that await us, viewers take heed. Stephen Spielberg’s virtual reality adventure Ready Player One is set in a dystopian world some 25 years from now, where the real world has become such a harsh and difficult place to exist that most people choose to spend their waking lives in a virtual reality universe called the OASIS.
This movie’s premise prompts us to think about the value of place in our increasingly virtual world, says Dinesh Acharya, Director of Consulting for JLL Australia.
“If reality is in fact better than illusion, then what are we doing to differentiate the real-world places where we live, learn, work and socialize?
“We have to be creating meaningful and memorable experiences that people want to be a part of. This means designing places from the user perspective, and fundamentally changing our thinking about place as a service or experience, rather than a container and contents.”
And so, here are five key themes from Ready Player One that have real world implications.
Experience is an ecosystem
The OASIS provides a compelling virtual reality universe with a seamless user experience. As people work, shop, go to school, and play, they are rewarded as they gain experiences. These rewards can be redeemed for goods and services which further enhance the user experience.
The take-away: We need to start thinking about buildings and places more holistically as a complex set of interdependent experiences, services and rewards that make up an overall ecosystem. Managing all of the systems together in this way makes the experience much more compelling for the user.
Think physical and digital
In Ready Player One, virtual-reality technology includes wearable tech that lets you feel and touch virtual objects and omni-directional treadmills that provide a compelling user experience by blurring the lines between virtual reality and the real world.
The take-away: The digital experience is often an afterthought when we design physical places, but increasingly digital and physical must be integrated to create a seamless experience. For example, ordering a coffee-to-go via an app, paying for it, and picking it up with no queue and a personal greeting from the barista feels great. Better still if loyalty is rewarded with bonuses or discounts.