When you’re young, it’s easy to make friends. You’re doing nothing but hanging out with people at school, and you’re forced into social interactions. When you’re an adult, and time becomes a more precious resource, it gets harder.
So for the grand finale of my VR diary, I decided for the ultimate test of whether virtual reality can truly substitute for reality: making a friend. After a long, exhausting day, could the convenience of VR allow me to make friends from the comfort of my own home?
First up, I tried to tackle something a little more familiar. Back in the early days of Xbox Live and PlayStation Network, I would roam multiplayer games and befriend total strangers. We’d play Wolfenstein or SOCOM: Navy SEALstogether, have fun playing and then often become buddies. Why couldn’t I just recreate this experience in VR?
Plus, shared experiences are a quick way to make friends with people. Experiencing things together with someone else, like a stranger, establishes a sort of bond. You already have something in common, so it’s an easy bridge to a full conversation. So I downloaded Echo Arena, consistently ranked as one of the best multiplayer experiences in VR. I went ahead and tried to play with some folks, but it soon dawned on me that times have changed.
There were no mature adults here playing games for fun, ready and willing to chat like they were back in the day. Instead I was met with a lot of shouting young people who started giving me a headache. Granted, maybe my memories of gaming past were a little rose-tinted, but this certainly wasn’t the type of experience I was looking for.
I next settled on Altspace VR, an app geared toward community and making friends. After I created my avatar, I decided to do what any person would do when joining a new community: check out community events. There was an improv event happening, so I figured it would be a great way to get loose with some strangers and have some laughs. Maybe I’d meet someone interesting.
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Source: Wareable