Charleston County Public Library

The history of the future, Oculus, Facebook, and the revolution that swept virtual reality, Blake J. Harris ; with a foreword by Ernest Cline

eng

Includes bibliographical references (pages 493-500)

contains biographical information

illustrationsplates

no index present

non fiction

The history of the future

bibliography

1085544898

Blake J. Harris ; with a foreword by Ernest Cline

Oculus, Facebook, and the revolution that swept virtual reality

In The History of the Future, Harris once again deep-dives into a tech drama for the ages to expertly tell the larger-than-life true story of Oculus, the virtual reality company founded in 2012 that--less than two years later--would catch the attention of Mark Zuckerberg and wind up being bought by Facebook for over $2 billion dollars. This incredible underdog story begins with inventor Palmer Luckey, then just a nineteen-year-old dreamer, living alone in a camper trailer in Long Beach, California. At the time, virtual reality--long-hailed as the ultimate technology--was so costly and experimental that it was unattainable outside of a few research labs and military training facilities. But with the founding of Oculus, and the belief that his tantalizing vision of the future could one day be more than science fiction, Luckey put everything he had into creating a device that would allow gamers like him to step into virtual worlds and, in doing so, hopefully kickstart a VR revolution. With the help of an industry legend, a serial entrepreneur, and a slew of colorful characters--including those behind gaming sensations like Doom, Words with Friends, and Guitar Hero--Luckey's scrappy startup would finally deliver the dream of immersive and affordable virtual reality to consumers, leading geeks and gamers to be excited in a way that they hadn't been in years, and tech firms and investors scrambling to get in on the action before it was too late. Over the course of three years (and with unprecedented access from Oculus and Facebook), Harris conducted hundreds of interviews with key players in the VR revolution--including Luckey, his partners, and their cult of dreamers--to weave together a rich, cinematic narrative that captures the breakthroughs, breakdowns, and human drama of trying to change the world. The result is a supremely accessible, entertaining look at the birth of a new multi-billion-dollar industry; one full of heroes, villains, and twists at every corner. Take, for instance, Harris' own discovery while writing this story. When he started this endeavor, he had no idea that this tale would somehow involve Donald Trump, billion-dollar lawsuits, illegal practices, and end with Luckey--eventually ousted from Facebook--as one of the most polarizing figures in Silicon Valley

Foreword / Ernest Cline -- Part one:The revolution virtual (1. The boy who lived to mod ; 2. Carmack the Magnificent ; 3. A tale of two trade shows ; 4. The Scaleform Mafia ; 5 STK ; 6. Pivots, prototypes and partnerships ; 7. Freedom is happiness ; 8. That fateful promise ; 9. Mount up ; 10. Valve! ; 11. Kickstarter)Part two: How to build a company (12. The king of pop software ; 13. Showtime ; 14. The anomalies ; 15. The Hong Kong shuffle ; 16. Just kids ; 17. Oculus vs. Ouya ; 18. Good, better and best at the 2013 CES ; 19. Proverbs 20, verse 16 ; 20. Wall-to-wall drama ; 21. GDC)Part three: The good old days (22. Move slow and build things (aka Facebook 2.0) ; 23. Nine stories ; 24. The future of gaming ; 25. Andrew Reisse ; 26. Ideas so crazy they just might ; 27. The room ; 28. Jockeying for position ; 29. Zuckerberg intrigued ; 30. Blue's clues ; 31. The backlash ; 32. The new normal ; 33. Enter NTC ; 34. Out of the woodwork ; 35. Charging forward ; 36. Canaries in the coalmine)Part four: Politics (37. Twelve days in 2015 ; 38. Awaken the sleeping giants ; 39. Lockdown ; 40. Entitlement checks ; 41. The devil is in the details ; 42. Nimble ; 43. Internet drama ; 44. The daily beast ; 45. Exile ; 46. The heist, the comedy and the fantasy vs. the documentary ; 47. The verdict ; 48. The seemingly impossible challenge ; 49. Employee number one ; 50. He's back)