The semiotic interpretation of ‘virtual reality’ and its relevant issues

Abstract Virtual Reality (VR) technology has given rise to a new type of ‘reality’—‘virtual reality’, and whether this ‘reality’ is fundamentally virtual or real has sparked different opinions across various disciplines. Yet, the ‘virtual reality’ in the technological sense is merely a narrow interpretation of ‘virtual reality’. Therefore, this article aims to provide a semiotic view of ‘virtual reality’ by disclosing how it is represented as a multi-layered semantic matrix so as to have a more comprehensive understanding of the essence, cultural potentials, and social significance of ‘virtual reality’. First, as a technological media environment, ‘virtual reality’ makes a ‘digital reality’ that can be both virtual and real at the same time. Second, as an interface metaphor, ‘virtual reality’ demonstrates greater potentials in ‘interactive narration’ than any traditional narrative forms, which witnesses the transformation of the subjects of experience from ‘the reader-receiver’ to ‘the user-player’. Third, as a socio-cultural landscape, ‘virtual reality’ has a dual developmental path—‘the virtualization of reality’ and ‘the actualization of virtuality’, which is actually a diachronic process of development from ‘the virtual’ to ‘the real’. As a result, the discussions on how to interpret ‘virtual reality’ and its relevant issues should be presented in different contexts.