Reality obsession. Much of contemporary computer graphics is obsessed with the perfect recreation of reality, including the simulation of complicated lighting, natural phenomena, and the motion of organic form. At the same time, the real world is become increasingly saturated in data. Reality is being redefined. We have virtual reality, real reality, annotated reality, augmented reality, and mixed reality. How does our obsession with simulating the real change our perception of unmediated, actual reality?

We love simulacra. We want to believe – we are seduced by our constructed realities, and we want to fill them with life. Synthespians, artificial life, and archetypal videogame characters make up much of the population of virtual worlds. The desire to engage with artificial life is such that more intelligence or meaning is often assigned to the actions of artificial life than what is really there. The right movement, expression, sound or reaction triggers the human imagination, and the mind fills in the rest of the story.