As a big fan of sci-fi I have always been particularly taken with some stories but particularly those that depict a dystopian vision. Particular ones that struck me form my school days were The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury and The Fun They Had by Issac Asimov as well as the movie The Day The Earth Stood Still with the classic, "Klaatu, barada nikto!" call to Gort the intergalactic policeman.
My exposure to sci-fi stories was enhanced in the late seventies when I and many many
others became seduced by the magical sci-fi stories that featured in the 2000AD comic. Featuring favourites such as Judge Dredd, Flesh and Strontium Dog I would get totally lost in the amazing future worlds that were beautifully depicted in this comic but the one theme that always used to make me think was Tharg's Future Shocks. Tharg was the alien editor of the comic and he would occasionally throw in a story that always had a quirk or that would kick you right in the backside and make you think.
This blogpost is about one such 'Future Shock' called The Fourth Wall. Published in Prog 85 in October 1978 this cautionary tale warns of the inexorable march of advancements in technology, and in particular technologies for entertainment. In the story we see the young boy, Chris, very excited about nis new TV experience. The Fourth Wall is an experimental televisual experience and works only when you close the door. It then immerses the viewer in a very 'lifelike world' with terrible consequences...
The Fourth Wall from Derek Robertson on Vimeo.
I remember a few years ago when the NIntendo Wii first came out that I couldn't help thinking just how prescient Tharg was. Here, 30 years ago was a short story predicting immersive technologies so lifelike and involving that you didn't just consume the visuals, you participated in them.
Now with the PS3 Move and the Kinect system from Microsoft coming out the future of immersive gaming is getting very to close to The Fourth Wall. However, I am very excited about the prospect of what both these technologies will have to offer and how they can enhance game play but I do have some concerns too. For example, imagine a system that measures the player's body movements and efficiency to score, for example, how well you placed the plastic bag over the hoodlums head in Manhunt and held it just so and just tight enough to dispatch him! Now that would be immersive gaming but with some sensationally dubious outcomes....maybe not as severe as the boy in the Fourth Wall's but one for us to carefully consider...
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