XR Commandment #6 - Don't Just Replicate Reality

6️⃣ This is the second post in this series about my "10 XR Commandments," let's talk about the importance of imagination when designing an XR experience and one of the most common errors made in Virtual Reality projects: don't replicate reality.

Let's take a clear example. You are a retail brand and want a virtual representation of your store. The temptation to replicate it precisely in virtual reality is strong, right? You already know the layout, the different rooms, and the product placements. You might even already have the 3D date from the architect.

Unfortunately, once implemented in Virtual Reality, this usually results in a poor experience. As a user, you will have to use the controllers to move around and look at the products, and just that might be difficult for novice users.

On top of that, unless your Virtual Store is super popular and built in a "Metaverse" (more below), your users will be mostly alone. Imagine navigating the many floors of an empty department store just to find the product you want on the 5th floor.

Remember: in virtual Reality, the laws of physics do not apply. Your store can take any shape you want; users can jump, teleport, fly, or the other way around, and products can come towards the user instead.

An example of a recent great execution: The Belvedere Museum of Vienna has recently released an experience on Roblox, a Social Game called "Metaverse" that is very popular with GenZ. By "Metaverse," I mean it's an existing platform where multiplayer features are already built in. Everyone can build their own worlds with integrated quests, explorations, and games.

Instead of creating a 1:1 replica of the museum, they cleverly created unique experiences: much more than just looking at a painting, you can jump into it and play a minigame in a world inspired by this art piece!

And it works: more than 1 million players to date and an award at the 2025 GTC!

Reversal: Of course, if you're building a Virtual Reality training program, where all details matter for the student to learn as much as possible, you want to be as close as possible to reality, even if that means having the users walk around; it's perfect, as they will have to walk around in reality as well!

Are you planning to create a virtual experience for your store or your brand? Let's discuss!

The 10 Commandments of XR: https://lnkd.in/gnZkkKNS