Virtual reality pioneer Philip Rosedale (and his avatar)
In the High Fidelity office, south of the city’s financial district, Rosedale and I — wired up to headsets and sat in separate rooms — enter his new online universe. His avatar is dressed in black, the tall, athletic build, tousled grey hair and striking blue eyes an accurate representation of the man himself. His conventional choice turns out to be exceptional. Hearing a young woman’s voice behind me, I turn to face a dwarf skeleton with a storm trooper’s helmet for a head; Rosedale introduces Michelle, one of High Fidelity’s coders who may, or may not, be actually sitting at a desk on the other side of the office. A Shakespearean courtier with the face of an elf flies past on what appears to be a broomstick.
Within minutes I am exploring: investigating my new virtual limbs; chatting with other avatars; teleporting over vast distances; firing off a gun that shoots fireworks 100 metres into a desert sky where they explode in a colourful pyrotechnic shower. After 20 minutes of surreal, intoxicating virtual reality, I take off the headset and return, blinking and exhilarated, to the single-desk room where it has all taken place.
See the full story here; https://www.ft.com/content/97d62cae-f39e-11e6-95ee-f14e55513608