Social VR and the Paradox of Connection: How Communication Barriers Enhance Interaction

What if the more you tried to speak to some­one in vir­tual real­ity, the far­ther you were pushed away from them? Space Echo 2.0 is a VR expe­ri­ence that intro­duces this very bar­rier, explor­ing how delib­er­ate obsta­cles in com­mu­ni­ca­tion can para­dox­i­cally foster a deeper and more mean­ing­ful con­nec­tion.

Abstract: Space Echo 2.0 is an exper­i­men­tal media art project that intro­duces delib­er­ate dis­rup­tions into avatar inter­ac­tions within a mul­ti­player vir­tual real­ity (VR) envi­ron­ment (see Figure 1). These inter­rup­tions are designed to prompt reflec­tion on the nature of gen­uine com­mu­ni­ca­tion while offer­ing novel, para­dox­i­cal con­ver­sa­tional expe­ri­ences. Drawing on a range of influences—from social VR plat­forms [Maloney et al. 2020] and exper­i­men­tal game design [Soderman 2021] to psy­cho­log­i­cal research [Eisenberger et al. 2003], mytho­log­i­cal nar­ra­tives, and Bertolt Brecht’s the­atri­cal theory [Brecht 1960]—the project uses inten­tional com­mu­nica­tive dis­rup­tion as a lens through which to recon­sider con­nec­tion.
Set within a dream­like, sym­bolic vir­tual stage shared by two par­tic­i­pants, the expe­ri­ence cen­ters on the Reverse Jetpack, a core mechanic that moves an avatar in the oppo­site direc­tion of their gaze each time they speak. The more par­tic­i­pants attempt to com­mu­ni­cate ver­bally, the more phys­i­cal dis­tance is cre­ated between them. This enforced sep­a­ra­tion para­dox­i­cally fos­ters emo­tional inti­macy, high­light­ing the ten­sion between the desire for con­nec­tion and its inevitable dis­tor­tion.
Scattered through­out the envi­ron­ment are AI-generated images and audio frag­ments. As users approach these ele­ments, whis­pered, looped nar­ra­tives are trig­gered, offer­ing a sen­sory encounter with mis­com­mu­ni­ca­tion, rep­e­ti­tion, and dis­tor­tion themes. Through its inte­gra­tion of sym­bolic nar­ra­tive and exper­i­men­tal mechan­ics, Space Echo 2.0 invites users to reimag­ine con­nec­tion in extended real­ity and reflect on the essence of social con­nec­tion in an increas­ingly medi­ated world.

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