Next we jumped over to “Interdimensional”, a virtual game show where we had to work together to solve a virtual puzzle. My guide jumped into a room with a large block in the middle while I stood outside and looked through a window with an array of buttons in front of me. His job was to assess the room, and tell me which button I had to hit to move the block to its final goal. Us back and forth reminded me of running escape rooms with friends in real life, and I could easily imagine more complex Horizon environments pushing that idea even further.
When we canceled my visit, we spent some time in Horizon’s creation mode, an empty space where you and your friends can build entire environments from scratch. In many ways it reminded me of the white emptiness of The Matrix – a room full of unlimited potential and creativity. Within minutes, my guide transformed the empty space into a virtual beach, complete with sand, water and a golden sunset. All the while, I spent a few minutes trying to make a palm tree. Creation mode unlocks even more menu options on your Oculus joysticks, and you can also make them giant or small to expand individual components. I’m not much of an artist, but the variety of tools available, and the deep amount of customization per item, can lead to really interesting environments.
Horizon sounds like a social VR dream. But the reality can be much harsher than Facebook realizes, especially when it comes to security. We have seen this story many times: Give people a public space on the Internet, and harassment and abuse inevitably follow. The company says moderators will be alerted when people eventually report, block or mute a specific user, if they notice another strange behavior. These mods can listen to your VR experiences (remember, everything is public), and they also have access to a buffer of recorded world data (although it is unclear how much data it contains). They can ban users immediately if they find violations.
But, really, that’s all common sense. The real question is how Facebook can help prevent congestion in the first place. Just like going anywhere in public, entering Horizon is a risk. We do not know how many moderators Facebook actually has when the service opens. And it’s hard to tell if these safety tools will be enough when there’s a very disruptive event, with a lot of bad actors. Clearly, Facebook is still trying to figure this all out. And until then, I do not expect Horizon beta to be released anytime soon.
