17 episodes

The meandering thoughts of a curious humanaut drifting minds, realities, and the delicious melange of our shared sentient meat-space.

mindwhoosh.substack.com

Reality Quest Jay Silvas

    • Technology
    • 4.8 • 15 Ratings

The meandering thoughts of a curious humanaut drifting minds, realities, and the delicious melange of our shared sentient meat-space.

mindwhoosh.substack.com

    Ep17 | Bonus Thoughts On Thoughts - Sex Tech, Robots, and Identity

    Ep17 | Bonus Thoughts On Thoughts - Sex Tech, Robots, and Identity

    This conversation was originally intended for release prior to Ep15 w/ Ela Darling. Enjoy the extra episode!

    DISCLAIMER: This recording discusses many adult topics. Some of the links below lead to sites containing adult content.

    **Show Notes**
    - Excellent talk about latest Sex Tech: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoDWCb3wAD4

    Teledildonics
    - https://www.lovense.com/cam-model
    - https://www.wearablex.com/pages/fundawear
    - https://virtualrealityreporter.com/your-guide-to-interactive-sex-toys-for-virtual-reality-porn/
    - Blade Runner 2049 scene reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VuV2c-6js8w

    Social XR intimacy
    - ViRo Club: https://viro.club/
    - Support them! https://www.patreon.com/ViRoClub
    - ProjektMelody virtual cam model: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/epgbz4/projekt-melody-hentai-anime-camgirl-chaturbate?utm_source=mbtwitter
    - Robot brothels: https://www.the-sun.com/lifestyle/tech/265842/what-is-a-robot-sex-doll-are-there-sex-robot-brothels-in-paris-and-italy-and-how-much-do-they-cost/vb
    - Gatebox: https://www.gatebox.ai/en/ —
    - Her (movie): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1798709/?ref_=nmawd_awd_1
    - Lars and the Real Girl (movie): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0805564/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
    - Demolition Man (movie):** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106697/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
    - 3D printed sex toys (one of many sources): http://makerlove.com/
    - ASMR "Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response" (one example of many): - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuV7lEo2U48
    - Vagina dentata myths: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/payq79/pussy-bites-back-vagina- -dentata-myths-from-around-the-world
    - OMG Yes study in women's pleasure + technique collection/app: https://www.omgyes.com/
    - Erotica and Pornography: https://www.philosophytalk.org/shows/erotic-vs-pornographic
    - Dan Savage: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_Savage
    - HUMP! Film Festival: https://humpfilmfest.com/
    - Illusory embodiment and gender swapping (The Machine to be Another/ BeAnotherLab): http://beanotherlab.org/home/work/tmtba/
    - Gender Roles Theory: https://search.proquest.com/openview/2a1538ddf042c4613c100a69881e1b26/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750&diss=y
    - Being John Malkovich (movie): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120601/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
    - Sense8 (tv show): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2431438/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
    - Black Mirror - Striking Vipers https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/06/black-mirror-season-5-striking-vipers-review/590743/

    Advice On Parental Controls
    It seems like parental controls are lacking in general with XR but here are some suggestions that may help:
    App purchases require a credit card and/or a PIN- make sure the parent is in control of this.
    For any app you purchase, do some online research to understand if it is considered kid-friendly.
    An example of a helpful website: https://www.commonsensemedia.org/reviews/category/game/platform/oculus-quest-88292 .
    Make sure VR is always played in open visible areas in the house... You can look into "Mirroring" or "Casting" to ensure you can see what they see (e.g. https://www.oqplay.com/how-to/how-to-cast-your-oculus-quest-to-a-mobile-or-tv-display/).
    If you are using a headset that connects to a desktop - ensure there are parental controls on the internet or apps on the desktop like Steam - since that is where the headset is pulling content from.
    Just like video games, some VR apps/experiences have multi-player social interaction which opens the child up to cursing, harassment and other bad actor behavior. Approach this the same way you do with video games to protect the child. We suggest you also use this as an opportunity to help prepare them and coach them about/ through bullying as you need to do with uncontrollable social interactions at school or elsewhere.
    Share your feedback and feature requests with the XR companies through their websites or on social media in order to amplify the need for more integrated and reliable parental controls.

    Get full access to 🧠 Brain Stew

    • 3 hr 16 min
    Ep16 | Thoughts On Thoughts - Columbus, You Basic

    Ep16 | Thoughts On Thoughts - Columbus, You Basic

    Welcome back, intrepid explorers! We've come a long way together, and it feels like a good place to begin wrapping up this leg of our journey. We've spent a lot of time over the past year chasing down a myriad of "wonderful human beings", seen new friendships bloom, and learned far more than we ever could have hoped for along the way. A long voyage like this deserves time for respite and reflection, so this will be our final episode for this season of Reality Quest. While we can't make any promises as to what the next creative endeavor will be for us, one thing is certain; this won't be our last foray together.
    We're hoping you read the title for this episode and anticipate that this will be a more freeform discourse than usual. You'll just have to listen and see where all the Christopher Columbus shade is coming from. We've both had a lot on our minds over the past few weeks after tying up all those loose ends on our deep dive into XR intimacy and porn. By the end of this recording, we'll lay down a veritable smorgasbord of tasty tangents. We wade through the speculative worlds of interactive storytelling and gameplay, the colorful humans in the loop of every virtual creation, and share a healthy dose of reflection on our learnings thus far.
    We hope you'll enjoy listening to this final dialogue as much as we enjoyed making it. If you manage to finish this episode and are still hungry for more, keep an eye out for bonus content we'll be releasing soon. As always, thanks for listening to Reality Quest!

    **Show Notes**
    - Paul McCartney's "Scrambled Eggs" (performed by Paul McCartney & Jimmy Fallon): (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGtixkey4_U)
    - Billie Eilish on Howard Stern: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HnTHwzCxxyA)
    - Bartle's Taxonomy of Player Types: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bartle_taxonomy_of_player_types#cite_note-43)
    - Half-Life: Alyx (VR game): (https://www.half-life.com/en/alyx/)
    - Life is Strange (video game): (https://lifeisstrange.square-enix-games.com/en-us/games/life-is-strange)
    - Journey (video game): (https://thatgamecompany.com/journey/)
    - Hamlet on the Holodeck(book): (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B014DXC05M/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1)
    - Christopher Columbus: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Columbus)
    - Erik the Red: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_the_Red)
    - Leif Erikson: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leif_Erikson)
    - Gloomy Eyes* (VR game): (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1111620/Gloomy_Eyes/)
    - Warm Bodies (a zombie love story movie!): (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07s-cNFffDM)
    - Stephen King's *The Stand* (book): (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stand)
    - Sleep No More* (immersive theater show): (https://mckittrickhotel.com/sleep-no-more/)
    - Shelter 2 (bobcat video game): (https://youtu.be/Tk-1M1wNVDY)
    - Colors of Noise: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colors_of_noise)
    - Disoriental (book about Iranian Revolution): (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B079P59631/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1)
    - Persepolis (graphic novel about Iranian Revolution): (https://www.amazon.com/Persepolis-Childhood-Pantheon-Graphic-Library/dp/037571457X)

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    • 3 hr 34 min
    Reality Quest Ep15 | Virtual Intimacy, Pornography, & Sexuality with Ela Darling

    Reality Quest Ep15 | Virtual Intimacy, Pornography, & Sexuality with Ela Darling

    *Disclaimer: We discuss some topics in this episode that may be considered explicit in nature or NSFW.*

    Welcome back to our comfy little corner of the metaverse! We're glad you're here and incredibly excited to finally release an episode on virtual intimacy and adult experiences in XR. Plans have been in the works to bring on the wonderful Ela Darling for quite some time to help us explore this particular niche. Since we couldn't fly to see her, we were finally compelled to get on a call together in this new fully-remote world.

    We approached this topic and conversation from an angle of curiosity, with a few questions in mind that we wanted to explore:

    - What is possible now and in the near future in the space of intimacy and adult content through virtual reality?
    - What are the unique challenges faced as well as lessons learned in designing and creating within this space?
    - How are people protecting ownership of their content and representation in the virtual domain?
    - How is this medium changing our perceptions of pornography and intimate connection?

    We wanted to get a better view of this evolving industry and understand it from the perspective of those working and innovating within it. Ela is a huge advocate for performers working within the industry and is also insatiably curious to find new ways to utilize technology to enhance these experiences. We swept through a range of topics with her, from her initial origins in the space to how she got involved in various forms of live camming, developing virtual avatars, and creating immersive filmed experiences.

    She's helped explore many of these domains first hand, and now spends much of her time helping teams like Viro Playspace to build evocative, fully-virtual experiences for people to explore and play. We had so much fun getting to know Ela and sharing in the many insights she has gathered over her past decade in the industry. We hope you enjoy this episode and learn something new, as we certainly did in our research and conversation. Thanks for listening!

    *Warning: contains links to adult content*

    - **Ela Tedx Talk:** [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9HpC65Pfz4](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9HpC65Pfz4)
    - **Vex Ruby:** [https://www.plexstorm.com/stream/vexruby](https://www.plexstorm.com/stream/vexruby)—
    - **ViRo Playspace:** [https://viro.club/](https://viro.club/)
    - ***"A Cam Life"* (documentary)**: [https://www.hulu.com/movie/a-cam-life-b9a69bd3-8ae5-41c8-8260-f505632826bb](https://www.hulu.com/movie/a-cam-life-b9a69bd3-8ae5-41c8-8260-f505632826bb)
    - **AVN Adult Entertainment Expo**: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVN_Adult_Entertainment_Expo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AVN_Adult_Entertainment_Expo)
    - **Lovense** (teledildonics): [https://www.lovense.com/](https://www.lovense.com/)
    - **Silicon Valley Virtual Reality**: [https://www.svvr.com/](https://www.svvr.com/)
    - **Black Box Collection:** [https://blackboxvrxxx.com/](https://blackboxvrxxx.com/)
    - **Follow Ela:**
    - [https://www.instagram.com/eladarling/](https://www.instagram.com/eladarling/)
    - [https://twitter.com/eladarling?lang=en](https://twitter.com/eladarling?lang=en)

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    • 2 hr 1 min
    RealityQuest Ep13 | Evocative Design with Miko Charbonneau & Mike Hines Part 1

    RealityQuest Ep13 | Evocative Design with Miko Charbonneau & Mike Hines Part 1

    Welcome back to another week with us, fellow mind-spelunkers! In many ways, this week is anything but the usual run of the mill.
    For one, this pair of episodes comes at a time when much of the world is fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. The reality of the situation only just began to sink in for many this past week in the United States.

    In light of the circumstances, we decided to break from our usual rhythms and record our intro and outros from a local cafe in Seattle. You'll hear a bit of the background din and conversation at the beginning and end of each episode. It's a small detail we hope will show that some normalcy had still been clinging on here in Seattle as people came out to grab a morning coffee and conversation with friends.

    As for the main event, we're excited to share with you our first group conversation episode. We brought in two lovely guests this time around to riff and waffle on the topics of storytelling and associated design challenges in the domain of immersive tech.

    Miko Charbonneau and Mike Hines join us to explore the space of possibilities, each bringing a wealth of knowledge gained through creating numerous games and interactive experiences both in XR and more traditional video games. They each brought their own unique energy to the conversation, and we are extremely happy with the results.

    We clearly had too much fun talking as a group, so you get the special treat of two episodes releasing this week. We just didn't want to keep you waiting this time for part two. You're welcome. :D

    DISCLAIMER: The situation since recording has evolved further as of this March 16th, and the now prescribed method to combat the COVID-19 outbreak here is to temporarily avoid all social gathering spaces and non-essential facilities (ie. Grocery stores, pharmacies). There are many ways to continue supporting local businesses without visiting directly, and we want to encourage any present listeners to heed the latest official guidance on curbing the spread of COVID-19.

    Show Notes (Full List at https://realityquestpodcast.com/)

    Follow Miko's latest livestreams and amazing work at:
    Twitch @DrMikachu
    http://www.prettysmartgames.com/
    http://www.driftervr.com/

    Follow Mike on Facebook or find his latest stunning creations at:
    http://www.luminousmachine.com/

    Get full access to 🧠 Brain Stew 🥘 at mindwhoosh.substack.com/subscribe

    • 2 hr 48 min
    RealityQuest Ep14 | Evocative Design with Miko Charbonneau & Mike Hines Part 2

    RealityQuest Ep14 | Evocative Design with Miko Charbonneau & Mike Hines Part 2

    Welcome to part two of our conversation with Miko & Mike!
    If you got here by accident and want to catch up, go back to episode 13 and catch us from the beginning.

    Otherwise, enjoy the episode!

    Show Notes (Full List at https://realityquestpodcast.com/)

    Miko Charbonneau:
    Follow Miko's latest lives treams and amazing work at:
    Twitch @DrMikachu
    http://www.prettysmartgames.com/
    http://www.driftervr.com/

    Follow Mike on Facebook or find his latest stunning creations at:
    http://www.luminousmachine.com/

    Get full access to 🧠 Brain Stew 🥘 at mindwhoosh.substack.com/subscribe

    • 1 hr 31 min
    Ep12 | Thoughts On Thoughts - What is the Value of XR?

    Ep12 | Thoughts On Thoughts - What is the Value of XR?

    Welcome back, spelunkers! This week is a real milestone for us, as we've now certainly passed the first year mark from the inception of Reality Quest as a shared collaboration. We both feel this episode is our most genuinely unadulterated Jay & Kelly conversation space yet. From the beginning of this endeavor, we strove to reach a comfortable recording headspace which could bring the listener as close to the dinner table as is possible, and this might be the closest to the real deal.
    With a few tangents as is natural, the premise of this conversation began with a question:

    What is the value of XR?

    We immediately had to dive deeper to find the roots of that inquiry. Why should it become widespread? What benefit does it have over other mediums for experience, and where does it differ? How should we be communicating that value to people outside of this nascent industry?

    We ended up starting from a clean slate, laying out some common language, and set upon the task of breaking it down piece by piece. We began forming a mental model of XR & content, then attempted to define some of the basic components of Storytelling & Gameplay. Ultimately, our stack of questions grew far higher than we started with, but with the modest reward of new lenses through which to examine XR and stories in general.

    The riddle is by no means solved in the end, but we'll continue this examination in future #ToTs episodes and with more guests to come.
    So sit back and enjoy a glass with us. Thanks for listening!

    Show Notes:

    - What is the "Doobly-Doo"? (https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=doobly-doo)
    - Bespoke Post (https://www.bespokepost.com/)
    - "Almost and Influencer" article (https://medium.com/swlh/almost-an-influencer-5a843c9a7af3)
    - "Meeting You" South Korean Documentary bringing the dead to life in VR (https://nypost.com/2020/02/12/south-korean-doc-used-vr-to-reunite-mother-with-deceased-daughter/)
    - "All Models are wrong, but some are useful" (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_models_are_wrong)
    - Psychological Human Needs (related to why people like games) (https://www.psychreg.org/why-people-play-video-games/)
    - Song: "Pixels" by Mimicking Birds (https://genius.com/Mimicking-birds-pixels-lyrics)
    - Half + Half VR game (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0gbYe0xW4s)
    - Language and Cave Art History
    - https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2018/02/acoustic-caves-rock-art-language-origin-spd/
    - https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/02/180221122923.htm
    - https://www.inverse.com/article/41517-cave-painting-human-language-evolution
    - http://www.bradshawfoundation.com/news/cave_art_paintings.php?id=Cave-art---the-origin-of-language
    - Dragons Love Tacos (https://www.amazon.com/Dragons-Love-Tacos-Adam-Rubin/dp/0803736800/ref=asc_df_0803736800/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312057607871&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10770875883659509884&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033322&hvtargid=pla-432942759039&psc=1)
    - "The Art of Game Design" by Jesse Schell (https://www.amazon.com/Art-Game-Design-Lenses-Second/dp/0692288872/ref=asc_df_0692288872/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312089030079&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=3414892178152377292&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033322&hvtargid=pla-571795955657&psc=1)
    - How Games Move Us:
    - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWL1jeL0uBU
    - https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/how-games-move-us
    - Medium Article: "There is a second valley past the Uncanny Valley or How developing an AR horror game put me in the hospital" (https://medium.com/@bryanmitchell_67448/there-is-a-second-valley-past-the-uncanny-valley-22d2ea193e0)
    - "Understanding Comics" (https://www.amazon.com/Understanding-Comics-Invisible-Scott-McCloud/dp/006097625X/ref=asc_df_006097625X/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=266182330298&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=7668664535402043761&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033322&hvtargid=pla-435178923051&psc=

    • 3 hr 27 min

Customer Reviews

4.8 out of 5
15 Ratings

15 Ratings

N64Josh ,

Great Show!!!

Great people, great guests!!

💐🌷🌹🥀🌺emoji girl ,

Great new cast!

Funny hosts, great content. I always am looking forward to the next episode!

Ferry Rider 89 ,

Funny and informative

Thought it was a great balance of human and VR discussions with some funny hosts. Very interesting even without any experience in the VR world. Excited for more!

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