Sword art online and those types immersive vr game animes make more sense if they were set at least 100 years from now

[Ashes-To-Ashes]

Disclaimer: Im not focusing on the anime Sword Art Online as a critisim of that Anime itself, but on the criticism of the tech used and its time period in which its used, which has been seen in many other animes and stories. SAO is just one of the more well known animes that people can relate to an easily understand what Im talking about. SAO the anime is a relatively moot point.

the original light novel of SAO was released in 2002 but set in the the early 2020's. That means they gave them themselves a period of 20 years to say technology would be up to par by then, unless there was some alternate history deal like cyberpunk 2020 and 2077 has.
Not to focus on SAO but my point is that for the technology presented in SAO and other media that depicts such technology without an alternate history Id say that the technology needed to do that, a full sensory immersion video game, Id at least give it 50 to 100 years gap.

The reason being is that this no only requires technology we dont fully have yet, but also an understanding of the mind and how to intercept and input signals that we dont have yet. this isnt simply putting on a vr headset and your in. A vr headset that we have is simply just two very close screens with magnification lenses in between and speakers on the side. In these animes and stories you are fully inside the game. you can feel, taste, smell too. This means the tech used is intercepting and inputting signals in your brain. We have some tech like that now, yes, but its in a fetus state if you will. Still very R&D. and very limited in what they can do. And typically used on patience via wires going into the brain. the tech in the animes are just headsets.

In these animes you'd move your arm by simply moving your arm in the game like real life. But your real arm isnt moving. This means that the signal from your brain telling your arm to move is intercepted. not just that, but also if you get hit the devise sends a signal to your brain not just providing pain but where the pain is located. all this is done via a non invasive headset. meaning it transmits witlessly into your brain to do this, no need for putting probes through the skin and skull and stick inside the brain.

This isnt an important topic, really, just something thats been swimming through my head from time to time with people on vr games sometimes saying we are close to getting SAO tech. I hoenslty doubt we will see SAO tech until most of those who are very young are very old, if they are lucky.

[Dracoco OwO]

SAO is low effort and bad writing in a nutshell i wouldn't think too much about it.

[Ashes-To-Ashes]

Originally posted by Dracoco OwO:

SAO is low effort and bad writing in a nutshell i wouldn't think too much about it.

SAO really isnt the focus, and there are mulitple animes and other forms of media that have the same kind of tech in the relative timeframe. Im just using SAO as a talking platform as its the more well known of that type of genre.

[Kenneth Adams]

Is Sword Art Online the stuff that has something to do with a man in black clothes with a sword.

[Ashes-To-Ashes]

Originally posted by Kenneth Adams:

Is Sword Art Online the stuff that has something to do with a man in black clothes with a sword.

yes, but...the focus is on the tech thats used and the time period its placed in which has been similar in various other stories and animes.

[Kargor]

Originally posted by LtEggSalad:

Sword art online and those types immersive vr game animes make more sense if they were set at least 100 years from now

The thing is, if you place it "now", the real world is more familiar to people.

This is more important in some cases than it is in others, sure.

I'm only mentioning early-game information here; "Death End re;Quest" is basically about a modern-day game development studio using an advanced game engine to create a VR-MMO called "World's Odyssey". Then, one of the team-members disappears, and eventually the project is shut down.

Years later, another team-member receives a mysterious message, and he discovers that a version of Worlds Odyssey is actually running, even though everything was supposed to be shut down -- and he discovers that the missing team member is trapped inside the game. Since she can't log out for some reason, and doesn't remember anything (in particular, where she is), they decide to invoke the "Ending Engage" -- the automatic logoff that occurs when a player finishes the game. Which, of course, sets off their journey through the game, AND gives the guy in the real world the opportunity to try and figure out what's going on. Also, since he's one of the lead programmers, he also has some limited influence on the game world.

The simple fact that part of the game actually happens in the real world (although the majority is inside Worlds Odyssey) makes it important that players understand the real world. They don't need to introduce the "rules" of a world 100 years in the future: anything that's "not normal" from our perspective is also something the real-world protagonist is interested in as he investigates the situation.

[steven1mac]

If there is ever a neural interface built, games like Sword Art online can exist. However like the OP said it is decades away at the very least. Technology such as Neurolink is working on, slowly is making progress in that direction. There are a multitude of ethical questions that need to be addressed long before we make it to that level of technology.

[xDDD]

Well you can't predict the future. Hindsight is 20/20 but you didn't know what the 2020s would be like in the early 2000s.
For all you know, people in 2050 would be all like "Man I don't know why LtEggSalad set this in 2050. We don't have this technology yet. Maybe 2070"
Or it could be a thing as soon as 2030.

Either way it's just a fictional story, there is plenty of aspects that are far more unrealistic than "we don't have full dive VR mmos yet"
Though we are arguably getting closer and closer. VR is pretty advanced now, we have haptic feedback suits, we have abilities to move in a virtual world without moving.

[Dracoco OwO]

Originally posted by LtEggSalad:

Originally posted by Dracoco OwO:

SAO is low effort and bad writing in a nutshell i wouldn't think too much about it.

SAO really isnt the focus, and there are mulitple animes and other forms of media that have the same kind of tech in the relative timeframe. Im just using SAO as a talking platform as its the more well known of that type of genre.

Well from what i've seen SAO is the one that is truly popular and got relevant in the genre somehow but also simulatneously one of the worst ones in those isekai VR animes.

[Ashes-To-Ashes]

Originally posted by Kargor:

Originally posted by LtEggSalad:

Sword art online and those types immersive vr game animes make more sense if they were set at least 100 years from now

The thing is, if you place it "now", the real world is more familiar to people.

This is more important in some cases than it is in others, sure.

from a story telling perspective I can see how being set now would be important for relevancy context. I just wanted to point out how the tech for such a thing is decades beyond anything we have right now.

Theres a book, I forgot what its called, sadly, but it circumvents this "we dont have the tech now" by saying the tech comes from aliens. Thats how I would write a story using such tech for a modern setting.

[Kargor]

Originally posted by LtEggSalad:

from a story telling perspective I can see how being set now would be important for relevancy context. I just wanted to point out how the tech for such a thing is decades beyond anything we have right now.

Doesn't matter -- we add new stuff to our world all the time. We have superhero movies set in an alternate today; one of my favorite games is set in an alternate today where an alternate dimension exists that few can even see and fewer can actually do stuff in. And so on.