Virtual reality (VR) is still relatively new, and its gaming application is even newer. The first headset suitable for VR gaming was the Oculus Rift, which was not commercially available until 2016. Developers expected immediate demand for VR games and headsets. In reality, the VR gaming market grew slowly at first.
Fixed issues with motion sickness and the delay between a player’s action and feedback to the headset (known as “latency” in the lingo). Until the launch of Valve Half-Life: Alyx In 2020, the developers had solved some of these problems. Headsets became cheaper and the range of games increased. Google has introduced a line of cardboard headsets, bringing the price down to an affordable level for everyone.
When people interact with a virtual world, their reactions are often funny to watch. The reason why we find VR gamers so amusing to watch is easy to find. Players are immersed in a situation that we might be able to see on a monitor, knowing what’s coming and that the game is completely fake. For the player, the VR world is real – even though deep down they know it’s just a game. Here are our ten funniest moments in VR gaming.
Related: Top 10 things that will shake your perception of reality
10 A screaming good time
In this video, the player keeps telling himself that he doesn’t like what’s happening to him. Judging by his reactions, that’s undoubtedly true, but it begs the question as to why he isn’t taking off the headset. We will see other videos that make us ask the same question. I suppose the answer has to be that he wants to see what happens next and is afraid of looking weak if he gives up.
Note that the man screams quite a bit. What good does it do you think? Yelling isn’t rational, so why do we do it when we’re scared?
The amygdala is a structure in the center of the brain that processes these fear-triggered emotions. A scream in the amygdala makes our brain more alert and strengthens our ability to analyze. This can help you escape from a haunted house, but will do you damn good if you’re jumping out of a plane and your parachute won’t open.
Still, it’s funny to see how primitive people react.
9 Down the rabbit hole
In this clip you have to admire mom’s perseverance. She’s ready to try VR even though she’s scared to death. Her family finds her antics hilarious because they know she’s safe at home and not where she thinks she is. Of course mom would know that too if she could think about the situation rationally. But the thing about virtual reality is that it affects the brain at a more primitive level.
In Lewis Carroll’s timeless classic novel Alice in Wonderland, Alice follows the white rabbit into his den and finds herself in a nonsensical, surreal world. Her experience doesn’t help her much in a place where her rules of logic often don’t apply. Very similar to the experience of putting on a VR headset.
Mom has gone down the rabbit hole and on one level her brain is convinced that this is a true experience.
8th This game has teeth
This girl is a little suspicious of what her boyfriend is trying to convince her to do. He’s honest enough to admit he’s never played the game, so he doesn’t quite know what to expect. The girl has experience in VR games, so she is aware that this underwater world is artificial.
Still, occasionally primitive emotions surface. This game is characterized by the fact that the player has no control over what happens to her. She is in a protective cage and is warned that something is coming. Like many of our players, she says she doesn’t like what’s happening. Still, there’s not much she can do about it if she wants to finish the game.
An interesting benefit of VR gaming is that it can help people overcome phobias. If people can have fun with sharks, they can be helped to overcome their fear.
7 Descent into the Deep End
This one is interesting because it’s a challenge shared by people you know who would probably be too willing to poke fun at failure. As you will see, the premise of this game is simple. Players must run a short board hanging high above a city. When they reach the end, they can climb off the end and fall to the ground. The graphics clearly show an imaginary location; There is no attempt to fool players into believing this is real.
Our brains are divided into the reptilian (or primordial), limbic, and neocortex (although some use different terms). When our players walk the plank, the reptilian section dominates. This is the most primitive of the three parts and controls vital functions such as balance, breathing, heart rate and temperature. Rationality is not part of its function; it’s about basic survival.
The dominance of the reptilian brain explains player reactions in all of our videos and explains why we, who use more rational parts of the brain, find VR games hilarious.
6 Share Steam
Although the player reassures himself that he is safe in a room, once he puts on his VR helmet, sanity flies out the window. He babbles occasionally and swears a lot. There’s a lot of swearing in some of our videos, and most of it is stronger than the occasional “Damn”.
Swearing is a security solution that allows us to relieve tension and the stronger the swear word, the more effective the action. Always aware that his experience is totally artificial, this player removes his helmet to give himself a rest before diving back in. A good idea if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the experience. But our player can’t resist diving back in. The VR world is challenging, fun and addictive.
5 safety first
Here we see a mix of experiences from people not used to VR gaming. We’ve seen them in other videos. Players close their eyes, scream and contort their bodies as spectators laugh and remind them that they are safe.
What is particularly striking about this video is the frequency with which people stumble into objects in the real world. This can be dangerous, especially for inexperienced users who are immersed in a virtual world with no spatial reference to reality.
I suppose the lesson is that you should only use VR technology when you are in a safe environment. This is one of the reasons why some gamers prefer to play in arcades. There they are monitored and can immediately share their experiences with others.
4 This game is sick
This compilation confirms what we have said about other videos. At one point, one of the players says, “I’m getting dizzy,” and that can be a problem with VR technology.
Many gamers report dizziness or nausea when using VR helmets. Basically, this is the difference between what the eyes are telling the player and what the body is actually doing in real space. For example, if a player climbs stairs in a game, but the body knows that it is really on level ground, the player can become disoriented.
This feeling can be amplified by something evocatively called “vergence-accommodation conflict.” This occurs when the eyes in VR are focused on something that appears far away but is actually on a screen directly in front of the eyes.
But watching people twirl and tumble like they’ve spoiled themselves at the Christmas party can be hilarious.
3 VR not alone
This video highlights the fact that people shouldn’t be using VR alone. You may find, and you probably will, that everyone else in the room is laughing their heads off. Not fun for you when you are going through a horrible experience. Never mind, it will be your turn to laugh at the others, and it’s better to be safe than sorry.
I wonder if it would be a good idea to put a proximity sensor in VR headsets to warn people when they get too close to a real object.
2 It only gets better with Metaverse
The commentator of this video points out that space is important. He talks about having enough space to play safely. It’s a point we’ve already made, and it’s certainly true. In VR, however, two different spaces collide – the real world and the imaginary.
The fact that the Facebook group changed its name to Meta says something about the boundless ambition that drives the company. It is now devoted to building a metaverse. The idea behind a metaverse appears to be the construction of an alternate reality that is internally logical but allows users to perform actions in the “real” world.
Gaming will no doubt be a key feature of the metaverse, and companies are developing new technologies to make the experience more real. More real and fun for everyone.
1 Fast Food Futures
I don’t know if “funny” is the right word to describe this last clip. “Surreal” might be better. The normal activity of ordering a meal at McDonald’s becomes an interactive shooter game with graphics right from the start Duke Nukem.
The only limits in VR are the limits we set on our own imagination. The gaming world is changing and the changes are not just limited to gaming. VR can change the way we interact with the world. How we live, work, play and interact with others could change dramatically.
