“If you die in the game, you die in real life,” Oculus creator Palmer Luckey said of his new VR headset packed with explosives.
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The founder of virtual reality (VR) firm Oculus claims he has designed a new headset that can kill you in real life if you die in a game.
Palmer Luckey said the device was inspired by Sword Art Online, the Japanese novel series-turned-anime in which players are trapped in an online role-playing game where death in the game means death in the real world because of the killer “NerveGear” headset they wear.
Luckey launched Oculus in 2012, before selling it to Facebook for $2 billion (€1.99 billion) in 2014.
During his tenure at the helm, he created the Oculus Rift and other VR tech that now underpins Meta’s big bet on the metaverse - an alternative world where you can work, play and meet people without leaving your home.
“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,” Luckey wrote in a now-viral blog post.
“Only the threat of serious consequences can make a game feel real to you and every other person in the game”.
When ‘game over’ blows your head up
Luckey, who left Oculus in 2017 and founded Anduril Industries, a high-tech military contractor, went on to detail that he was working on a real-life version of the NerveGear and was “halfway” there.
When an appropriate game-over screen is displayed, the charges fire, instantly destroying the brain of the user
Palmer Luckey
American entrepreneur
“The bad news is that so far, I have only figured out the half that kills you,” he wrote. “The perfect-VR half of the equation is still many years out”.
Luckey explained the device is connected to “three explosive charge modules” that are tied to a “narrow-band photosensor that can detect when the screen flashes red at a specific frequency”.
“When an appropriate game-over screen is displayed, the charges fire, instantly destroying the brain of the user,” he said.
Having skin in the game
As ARS Technica points out, there have been previous attempts to raise the stakes for gamers.
In 2001, a “PainStation” art installation in Germany threatened players who lost a game of Pong with "sensations such as heat, punches and electroshocks of varying duration," as Wired described at the time.
The game would end only when a player found the pain was too much to bear.
That same year, the "Tekken Torture Tournament" saw 32 participants play the popular Playstation fighting game Tekken 3 while wearing shocking arm straps that gave them “bracing but non-lethal electrical shocks in correspondence to the injuries sustained by their onscreen avatars".
Fast-forward two decades, and we’re now talking of a murderous VR headset.
Luckey cautioned, however, that his new system isn’t “perfect”.
“There are a huge variety of failures that could occur and kill the user at the wrong time,” he wrote.
“This is why I have not worked up the balls to actually use it myself”.
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At this point, the killer headset is just a piece of office art, he concluded, “a thought-provoking reminder of unexplored avenues in game design”.
FAQs
Palmer Luckey, the founder of VR firm Oculus (now owned by Meta), has designed a new headset that can kill users if they die in a game. The device is inspired by Sword Art Online (SAO), a Japanese anime where players' death in the game means death in the real world because of a special VR headset called 'NerveGear.
Is there an Oculus game that can kill you? ›
Palmer Luckey, the founder of VR firm Oculus (now owned by Meta), has designed a new headset that can kill users if they die in a game. The device is inspired by Sword Art Online (SAO), a Japanese anime where players' death in the game means death in the real world because of a special VR headset called 'NerveGear.
What virtual reality movie where if you die in the game you die in real life? ›
Plot. After playing a video game titled Stay Alive, Loomis Crowley, his roommate Rex, and Rex's girlfriend Sarah are killed the same way as their characters were killed in the game. At Loomis' funeral, his friend Hutch meets Abigail—a friend of Sarah—and receives some of Loomis' possessions, including Stay Alive.
What is the virtual reality game that kills the player? ›
In SAO, players put on a NeveGear virtual reality headset and log into a new game called Sword Art Online only to 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 die in the game, they die in real life.
Is the killer Oculus legal? ›
Can I buy a VR headset that kills in real life? No, it is not possible to buy a VR headset that can cause harm or kill someone in real life. VR headsets are designed for virtual reality experiences and entertainment purposes.
Can you buy VR that kills you? ›
Of course, the deadly device is not available for sale. “At this point, it is just a piece of office art, a thought-provoking reminder of unexplored avenues in game design,” Luckey said. “It is also, as far as I know, the first non-fiction example of a VR device that can actually kill the user. It won't be the last.”
What is Oculus Killer? ›
Oculus Killer
Not only does this boost performance by considerable amounts by killing Oculus Dash entirely (seriously, Oculus Dash was eating 200 MB of memory + GPU, even when not in use) so this should help with performance issues with SteamVR on Oculus headsets too.
What was the first killer virtual reality headset? ›
While Luckey's NerveGear seems to be the first real example of an intentionally deadly VR headset, it's not the first time video games have had real-life stakes. In 2001, artists created the PainStation, a Pong clone that dispenses electric shocks, heat, and whips to the hand when players lose.
What is the story of in death VR? ›
A roguelike VR shooter, In Death is set in a procedurally generated medieval world of floating ruins, where forsaken souls, angelic hordes and demons alike have run amok. Battle deep into the Afterlife to restore Harmony.
Is Stay Alive Based on a true story? ›
While the killer video game plot is obvious fiction, the lore the game is based on is very real–and pretty spooky.
Luckey claims this is the only VR headset in existence that can kill the user. But as mad as it is that this thing even exists, it hasn't actually been used by anyone – nor will it ever be. Luckey described the headset as a piece of “office art”.
What is the most brutal game in VR? ›
This is BLOOD TRAIL VR.
Take on the role of a heartless killer for hire and see why Blood Trail has come to be known as "the most violent game in VR". You are Wendigo. A hard-hearted contract killer motivated only by a paycheck. With a trusted arsenal at the ready, you are tasked with annihilating a fanatical cult.
Does VR have inappropriate games? ›
Researchers have repeatedly found it's easy for minors to access inappropriately violent or sexually graphic spaces when using Quest headsets. We found even content that's rated ok for 10-year-olds downloadable from the Meta Quest app store can be disturbing.
Why did Oculus make a headset that kills you? ›
Palmer Luckey said the device was inspired by Sword Art Online, the Japanese novel series-turned-anime in which players are trapped in an online role-playing game where death in the game means death in the real world because of the killer “NerveGear” headset they wear.
Is Oculus safe for brain? ›
Just like with any other technology, overexposure to VR can lead to increased alterations in the brain, resulting in headaches and nausea.
Is there a Hitman game on Oculus? ›
Hitman GO: VR Edition on Oculus Rift | Rift VR Games.
Is Oculus ok for 12 year olds? ›
VR headsets vary in age requirements, but Oculus recommends theirs for kids 13 and up.
Is Oculus ok for 13 year olds? ›
The Oculus Quest 2 Safety manual lists the following in their safety guidelines for children: The headset is not sized for children under 13. The headset should not be used for prolonged periods of time by children 13+ Adults should monitor children 13+ during and after using the headset.
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