The evolution of Bionic Eyes as reported in the New Scientist http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/dn11200 opens the possibility for an extremely immersive experience in all MMORPGs in general and SecondLife in particular.
Bionic Eyes is a technology developed for those whose vision is optically challenged, that is those lens or retina is damaged but whose optical nerves are healthy. Images are captured in tiny cameras, converted to digital signals, processed adequately and then passed directly to the optical nerve through implanted electrodes. Current technology allows 'blind' men to sense light, some fuzzy images and motion to some degree. Rapid advances in image processing technology is expected to lead to significant progress here.
This technology has immense signficance in an MMORPG environment. Currently representations of the virtual world have to be rendered in an alpha-numero-graphic format which is shown on a screen .. and from there the optical physics takes over to carry it to the eye where it is reconverted back to electro-chemical impulses for onward transmission through the optic nerve. So we have digital -> optical -> electro-chemical -> neuro.
Question is can we do without the intermediate step ?
What if the digital signals that represent the virtual world are processed adequately and then passed directly to the optic nerve using the technology used in Bionic Eyes ? That is can we bypass the computer screen + human eye layer ?
If that happens then there would be no difference between the reality that we see with our eyes and the virtual reality that we could see inside SecondLife. The border between the real and the virtual can get completely blurred.
While this may seem a bit far fetched at the moment, while we struggle with Sim crashes and laggy rezzes ... it may make sense to explore this possibility as it would lead MMORPGs to a whole new level altogether.
For a humourous take on this concept, see the movie Are You Real at http://thoughtshoppe.blogspot.com/2006/12/are-your-real.html