Remember the euthanasia rollercoaster that actually killed you if you rode it?
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That seemed like one of the most pointless and useless inventions of all time when we first wrote about it, but there might be finally something that’s jumped in and taken its crown. That’s because a guy named Palmer Luckey – who was once behind the Oculus Rift – is now working on a VR headset that kills you in real life if you die in the video game.
Wow. Why would anyone ever want to wear one of those? I suppose it would add an extra level of tension to the experience, but is it really worth it if you might end up dead at the end of it?
Anyway, Luckey’s headset has three explosive charges at the front of it that would detonate if you ended up with zero points, presumably blowing your head up. Here’s what he had to say about the design:
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.
This isn’t a perfect system, of course.
I have plans for an anti-tamper mechanism that, like the NerveGear, will make it impossible to remove or destroy the headset. Even so, there are a huge variety of failures that could occur and kill the user at the wrong time.
This is why I have not worked up the balls to actually use it myself, and also why I am convinced that, like in SAO, the final triggering should really be tied to a high-intelligence agent that can readily determine if conditions for termination are actually correct.
Of course, at this point the headset is merely a piece of office art, serving as a thought-provoking reminder of unexplored avenues in game design.
Lol what? So the guy has spent ages creating an almost fully working version of this death headset just so he can use it as office art??
That doesn’t exactly sound right to me as why would he spend so long making something just to display it on his wall or whatever? Surely if you’re gonna make a homicidal device like this there’s going to be a point to it rather than just for fun?
Think we need to keep an eye on this guy as he’s clearly living in his own version of ‘Black Mirror’. Won’t be long until we hear something dodgy about him I’m sure.
For more of the same, check out this virutal reality simulator that allowed you to experience 9/11 from the victim’s perspective. Cool?
