Virtual Reality — or VR — is a fully immersive digital experience, that completely replacing all visual and audio input for the individual . In other words, the outside world is completely obscured and replaced with a computer rendered world from the user’s point-of-view.

Often associated with the Cyberpunk genre, The promise of VR can be seen in movies like The Matrix and Ready Player One or in books like Neuromancer by William Gibson’s Neuromancer or Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson. Unfortunately, these representations generally show a negative view of the technology as it pushes people further apart in the real world.

Currently, VR requires an eye-ware device to be worn, generally resembling large ski googles, to place a screen in front of the viewer that blocks all external light and sound.

The digital world in VR can be as real or as fantastic as desired, allowing the user to walk around and engage with solid objects or fly and walk through walls. The physics of this world are completely controlled by the computer.