The HyperRoom project is situated in a small white room. As visitors enter the darkened room the notice a central plinth which holds a standard computer mouse. Users can walk up to the plinth; by moving the mouse they control the mousepointer which is projected onto the far wall by means of an LCD projector. The HyperRoom does not end here, as visitors will notice an unlit lightbulb hanging down from the ceiling.

Watching visitors in the HyperRoom proved to be unexpectedly interesting. After playing with the mouse for a few seconds the standard user would start to click on various points on the wall. Almost invariably, users would click on the shadow cast by a singular lightbulb which hung directly over the plinth. Some users would leave the exhibition at this point as clicking the lightbulb shadow had no effect. Users would then move the mouse further and click on the lightswitch on the far right of the wall. Clicking the switch lights the lightbulb hanging over the plinth.

The behavior of clicking first on the lightbulb, and then the switch is laughable when you compare to the average lightbulb and lightswitch; nobody would ever touch a lightbulb with their hand to turn it on. Firstly you would have to stand on a stepladder, and secondly you would burn your hand. When we think of the average computer mouseclick the situation is reversed. If we want an action to occur we click directly in the place; to launch an application we click upon it's icon. Sure, there are many switches, or rather toolbar buttons, that operate in the detached way that the lightswitch and lightbulb pair operate. The editor that I am using has a "Bold" button that makes selected text bold, instead of emboldening the button itself which would be rather pointless. The natural reaction is always to click upon the object that we wish to affect directly. Any secondary manipulation must be learned.

Some users then noticed that the projection of the lightswitch isn't just a projection. Underneath the projected image lies a real lightswitch, which can be pressed with their finger. Users that realize the lightswitch is physical often approach the wall and click the switch. A light goes on and the user looks around to see which light it was, as they were invariably looking at the switch when they pressed it. It wasn't the lightbulb above the plinth; that stayed in the same state that it's in. If there are more than one visitor in the room people often traded places a few times until discovering by observing other users press the switch that the physical switch turns on a lightbulb in the projected image of the room, thus lightening the projected image on the wall.

The following quote discusses the difference in CAVE VR, a virtual reality where the images are projected into a room, and Head Mounted Displays, where the user wears goggles and look into a virtual space.

'Philosophically, the difference between the CAVE VR and the HMD(Head Mounted Display) VR is profound. The HMD brand of VR produces what I Call Tunnel VR or perception-oriented immersion. The projection or CAVE brand of VR, on the contrary, produces Spiral VR or apperceptive immersion. The VR that tunnels us down a narrow corridor of perceptions differs subtly but profoundly from the VR that spirals us into higher layers of perception.'

Michael Heim - The Design of Virtual Reality

The HyperRoom displays similar characteristics to both HMDs and CAVE VR. When the user is standing at the plinth they are a conductor's role and are very much aware of their surroundings. By moving forward to the switch the user moves to a more immersed role similar to the HMD. Whereas normally this transition would mean shifting technologies, in HyperRoom the shift between the levels of conductor, immersed user, and also the visitors standing at the back of the room is gradual and unbounded. To fully comprehend all aspects of the room users must observe from all three of these positions.

What does HyperRoom leave us with? Usually a sense of disturbed reality on a small level, but moreover it points to the questions that will soon be raised once total computer immersion becomes technically possible. The next generation of designers and engineers will have to hold forefront in their minds the subtle differences between visitor, conductor and immersed user.