The article Goggle for Gamers, written by C. S.-W. is about the hand held device that could potentially change the future of technology. The article first presents the investments that Palmer Luckey, the creator of the Oculus Rift, has made. The Oculus Rift is described as “set of thick black goggles attached to a headband”. The look of it may be deceiving, but the purpose of this device is quite astonishing. The article discusses how the device will be similar to 3D features. Although 3D movies have just become ‘the norm’ in our society, these goggles have evolved the idea and are said to “immerse the user in virtual reality”. The article is very well written overall and leaves the reader wanting to know more about the mysterious goggles. Though it’s audience was most likely those of the gaming community, the goggles are not only for gaming devices (PS3, Xbox, etc.), but also to in social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, etc.). They’ve created prototypes for the gaming system, but this . The aim of the company is for it to become a consumer good, but with the recession, will this product really appeal to people? It could possibly be like the Great Depression, where people used entertainment (movies, comics, etc.), to escape the inhumane reality of our world. There are many competing corporations such as Apple that have continued to advance, but employees claim that the Oculus Rift will be much more than Apple’s iPhone 5. With that being said, it has set high hopes for many people, but will this device be a hit or miss?
You hit a number of insightful points in your commentary. Indeed, even the title suggests that the key demographic is gamers. That being said, I wonder if gamers are the typical readership of "The Economist." Consider the way the article is written: based on your schema of gamers, would you think the author's organization, diction, and style would appeal to gamers? I invite you to consider abstracting the questions I am asking you here and re-situating them in the context of discourse communities.
ReplyDeleteI quite appreciated your reference to the Great Depression and people's tendency to engage in escapist activities. I wonder, though, what constitutes something as escapist. Anything that is fictional? Anything removed from the real? Is escapist, while carrying somewhat of a negative connotation, necessarily bad?
As a final note, do quickly proofread your future commentaries. Note the incomplete thought "They've created prototypes for the gaming system, but this ."