Back in 2014, the seed was planted for Mark Zuckerberg to eventually go all-in on virtual reality and the metaverse. That’s when he spent $2 billion on the purchase of Oculus.
He bought the company from founder Palmer Luckey; a defense contractor credited as the father of modern-day virtual reality.
According to a Vice story, Luckey has claimed to have created a VR headset that will kill the user if they die in the game they are playing.
It looks like a Meta Quest Pro, except this one is hooked up with three explosive charge modules that are attached above the screen of the headset. So, they are aimed squarely at the game user’s forebrain, and if detonated, they would essentially blow the head off the person wearing the headset.
Talk about motivation to not lose the game.
Here’s what Luckey wrote in a blog post.
“The idea of tying your real life to your virtual avatar has always fascinated me—you instantly raise the stakes to the maximum level and force people to fundamentally rethink how they interact with the virtual world and the players inside it. Pumped up graphics might make a game look more real, but only the threat of serious consequences can make a game feel real to you and every other person in the game.”
The Vice story said the anime and light novel series Sword Art Online is what triggered interest in VR, and in that game,
Here’s where the whole “killing the user” thing kicks in.
According to the. Vice report Luckey said the anime and light novel Sword Art Online interested people in virtual reality. So in this new game, players put on a NeveGear virtual reality headset and log into a new game called Sword Art Online. Once logged in, they discover a mad scientist has trapped them in a virtual world. The players have to fight their way through a 100-floor dungeon to escape.
If they don’t? Well, things could get messy.
Remember, he’s a defense contractor and a marketing genius. This story essentially came out when the new game was released.
Add comment