Imagine, if you will, a key of gold that can be inserted into any door opening up the contents stored within. It has no specified ridges on it, but rather contains segments of a universal code that, when turned slowly, unlocks the pins located inside.

With that tool in hand, you are now able to venture into the future of our existence seeing what is capable and what can be achieved. Ideas start swirling around you falling from the interstellar sky. Writing appears in front of you asking which direction you would like to travel. Which dream of another would you like explore?

Your palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy. There’s vomit on your sweater already. You’re nervous, but its okay because you know that this is just a temporary ride. It is a wild ride when shooting down a tunnel in space. As galaxies and planets pass by, you realize that you are a part of something bigger. But what?

Now snap back to reality. Oh there goes gravity.

You can feel the community all around you. The presence of 300 hundred like-minded individuals pushes forward toward a way to explore these thoughts of what virtual reality actually is. A research lab is nearby. Let’s see what’s inside.

Turns out it is creativity that holds us all together. It brings us to places that we never would have thought existed, including hacker-related incubator spaces like the Mixed Reality Lab at USC in Los Angeles, California. Students who learned new skills here went on to create companies like Oculus and Survios. But this begs the question of how they got there. Where they just smarter than the rest of us? Or where they just given the right tools at the right time?

So, lets ask a virtual reality pioneer some of those questions:

From the sounds of what Mark Bolas is saying, the key is to have the right environment around. You need people that are curious. And you need tools.

If you got all that, then you are really travelling in the correct direction towards figuring out who you are and what you are on this planet for. And, you can even journey into other worlds. Granted you have the right combination between hardware and software.



Once all strapped in, it is time to dig deeper and find what the future of our dreams look like. Where are the ideas coming from? And who is laying down the foundation for those to build up after?

So, lets pick Jonnie Ross‘s brain and see what he comes up with:

To wrap up, virtual is a dream. It is a kind of a dream. We are right at the forefront at a turning point in how people perceive themselves (and others) in time. In a sense, it is a form of storytelling. In a way, it allows us to share our ideas and experiences through technology transporting us somewhere else entirely.

It will all now come down to how we push these dreams further once they have been unlocked. Musicians, writers, game developers, film students, and many other creative people will all explore the edges of what is capable through this medium. Look for what comes next, because it will change the very fabric of how we communicate and learn from each other.

Article written by @industrychanger

Film captured by William Correa with @hndpla

More interviews found below:

Questions of self-discovery answered in this video with Mark Bolas:

Should inner city kids get involved in technology?

Tell us more Mark:

Next week we will explore the transportation aspects surrounding the virtual reality movements.

Additional Links:

Los Angeles VR – http://www.virtualrealityla.com/

Orange County VR – http://orangecountyvr.com/

Silicon Valley VR – http://svvr.com/

San Francisco VR – http://www.meetup.com/virtualreality/

Las Vegas VR – http://www.meetup.com/Las-Vegas-Virtual-Reality-Meetup/

Mixed Reality Lab – http://projects.ict.usc.edu/mxr/

Das Tapes Soundcloud – https://soundcloud.com/das-tapes