A headset that kills you in real life if you die in the game? A developer would love to have that in reality. MeinMMO explains what the founder of Oculus is thinking.
Palmer Luckey is co-founder of Oculus, the company behind the well-known VR headsets. Now, Luckey has introduced a new, old idea. He wants to develop a headset that literally kills you when you die in the game.
This idea is not new, as the famous series “Sword Art Online” has a similar plot. However, this is still just thought play and not a real product.
VR headset aims to link the real world with a virtual avatar
What is this idea? Luckey presented the idea of the headset in a blog post and clearly refers to “Sword Art Online” as a model. In his post, he also explains that the thought of linking the real world and virtual avatars intrigues him:
The idea of linking real life with the virtual avatar has always fascinated me – it raises the stakes immediately to the highest level and forces people to fundamentally rethink the way they interact with the virtual world and the players within it. Pumped-up graphics might make a game look more real, but only the threat of serious consequences can make a game seem real for you and everyone else in the game.
Our cover image also comes from Luckey’s official blog post.
How is this supposed to work exactly? Luckey has already developed an idea of how his headset will kill people. The headset is supposed to contain three explosive charges that are connected to a photo sensor.
As soon as the sensor detects a game over screen, the color blinks and the explosive charges are detonated, which “immediately destroys the user’s brain.” He himself explains, however, that this is quite error-prone. He still needs to develop a mechanism to prevent manipulation.
Luckey should have access to such life-threatening technology. After the acquisition of Oculus by Facebook in 2014, Luckey founded the company “Anduril Industries.” This develops autonomous defense systems for the US military.
In conclusion, he explains:
At this point, it is just a piece of office art, a thought-provoking idea for unexplored paths in game design. Also, as far as I know, it is the first non-fictional example of a VR device that can actually kill the user. It will not be the last.
VR could play an important role in gaming in the future
Some researchers are already developing a system that allows you to perceive smells in the game. It sounds strange at first, but for many users it also represents an important step in making games even more realistic and authentic.
People like the great MMORPG streamer Asmongold explain that VR games are meant to be the future of the genre. Some users even want to dive completely into the game:
What do you think? Would you want such a headset where you also have to bear the full consequences of the game in real life? Or are you glad about the clear separation between real life and the virtual world? Let us know your opinion in the comments.
VR is a big topic in gaming: Zenith: The Last City is an MMORPG, just like many others. However, it relies entirely on virtual reality and cannot be played without such a headset. And at release, the servers were overwhelmed because everyone wanted to try the technology:
New VR MMORPG on Steam shows the great interest in the technology – servers crash
