Blog Post #2 Experience a cyberpunk Singapore trip in VR.

Theme：Visit Singapore in 2016 and be a witness on how the city looks like in the future as being enhanced with technology. Cyberpunk Singapore Tour is a virtual reality tour that will let you explore the future city of Singapore with neon-lit buildings and busy streets. This exhibition presents a technological experience through a form of a story, and by doing so it shows Singapore as a futuristic city with virtual reality.

（Figure1， describe four seasons of Singapore and added voiceovers for the corresponding scenarios）

Theory：The subject of travel experiences and the role of digital media and the culture of participation was new to me in this week. Leaver and Highfield (2016) introduced the concept of ‘Instagrammatics’ which underscores the significance of the visual social media in writing travel stories. Using sites such as Instagram travellers capture their trip in the form of photos, gifs and emojis to leave an online mark of their journey. This concurs with Jenkins et al. ’s (2015) definition of participatory culture which depicts travelers as active creators of content that defines the image of destinations.

The use of the Virtual Reality (VR) technology has been quite well exemplified by Zero Latency VR (2016); this shifts the travel experience in that it makes it possible to virtually tour a destination and also overlays virtual information on actual physical visits to the given destination.

Process：Singapore, being the world’s leading smart city, is incorporating AR and VR in every sector of the city (Zoria, 2019). Slowly they are building the cyberpunk style of the future into the setting. In the course of making the video “Singapore’s Cyberpunk Urban Development in the Future and Modern Comparison”, I mainly used the natural footage I recorded, and efficiently used the drone footage received from the platform, and with the help of the CG rendering technique, enhanced the cyberpunk style of the urbanization. This creative method not only illustrates the process of Singapore’s development, but also integrates the cyberpunk elements of the future city from the future’s perspective. Therefore, the combination of the natural scenery and the modern technology leads to the appealing video.

(Figure 2, describe VR future trend in Singapore) (Figure 3, Cyberpunk urbanization development)

Photography is used to depict the contemporary aesthetic of Singapore’s smart city, and the tendencies of the further development are towards the cyberpunk aesthetic. CG materials are used to demonstrate AR guide technology to help the visitors to follow the tourist to discover the city and enjoy the augmented reality tourism. Automated cars and robots are beneficial to the people by giving them ease and protection. Smart home systems and ubiquitous technology buildings increase the feeling of technology in the city. Singapore is now employing technology to change the face of the city and build a real life cyberpunk environment.

(Figure 4,Singapore's Cyberpunk Urban Development in the Future and Modern Comparison)

Conclusion：Rethinking travel experiences in Singapore, it is possible to state that the concept of digital media and technology plays a significant role in the contemporary tourism industry. Thus, with the help of visual social media platforms and VR technology, these destinations can offer more interesting and involving experiences for the visitors. It does not only improve the pre-trip preparation but also the on-site activities and the evaluative stage after the trip.

The application of “Instagrammatics” enables travelers to post their individual stories, which foster the description of these destinations among the target population. On the other hand, the use of Virtual Reality technology gives the travelers a chance for travelling virtually and to be more interested and involved in the cultural and historical side of Perth and Singapore.

This incorporation of the digital media and technology in the travel industry fits into the culture of participation as described by Jenkins et al. Jenkins et al. , 2015) where consumers are not only receivers of the messages but also creators of those messages. In the future, it is possible that advancements in technology will change the way in which we can experience and portray our travels and therefore the tourism industry and cultural interactions may be altered.

Reference：

Highfield, T., & Leaver, T. (2016). Instagrammatics and digital methods: studying visual social media, from selfies and GIFs to memes and emoji. Communication Research and Practice, 2(1), 47–62. https://doi.org/10.1080/22041451.2016.1155332

Jenkins, H., Ito, M., & Boyd, D. (2015). Participatory Culture in a Networked Era : A Conversation on Youth, Learning, Commerce, and Politics. Polity Press.

Zero Latency VR. (2016, February 2). Zero Latency on Good Game! YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npqzwqmQcgU

Zoria, S. (2019, November 22). 7 Technological Advancements That Make Singapore a Smart City. IoT for All. https://www.iotforall.com/singapore-smart-city