Using Unity for the first time was definitely a cool experience— not only because the program itself is pretty fun, but also, I felt like I received a “behind-the-scenes” look into how VR is made. VR is pretty impressive when you realize that it is built from the bottom up. Creators of VR scenes begin with what is essentially a blank screen and eventually produce an entire world. Every single aspect of a VR world is chosen by the creator, from the level of light present in the scene to the distance between two trees— much like other art forms, but different in that users can react with this world to a much greater extent. The fact that one must contribute every single element to the world seems kind of intimidating and overwhelming as we begin working on our group projects— how are we going to create a world entirely from scratch?

Thinking about our group projects led me to reconsider all of the texts we’ve read thus far for class. All of the worlds that the authors have created have been constructed mostly from scratch, drawing on elements of the “real” world to create their alternative worlds. Something that I am left wondering is how these authors chose elements of the “real” world to manipulate– Why does a looking glass allow Alice to access wonderland? Why does the protagonist become an axolotl in “Axolotl”? What elements of the worlds that these authors create allow readers to differentiate them from “this” world”?