Virtual reality is the future, they say. If that’s true, it’ll be filled with people falling to the floor for no reason beyond their eyes telling them they should, fooled by some screens strapped to their face.
In a video that has gone viral across Facebook, posted by Jukin Media, watched by around 12 million people and shared by Star Trek actor and social media star George Takei, a man demonstrates the power of VR by face-planting in an Oculus Rift headset experience.
Virtually climbing up a mountainside using the new Oculus Touch controllers, he misses a handhold, throwing his disconnected-hand avatar tumbling to its doom. It’s a game. That isn’t a problem and is the whole point of playing a game rather than risking your very real neck on a cliff face. Unless, of course, you feel the compunction to throw yourself to the ground, mimicking the flailing actions of your virtual self.
As the man hits the deck a Microsoft employee has to stifle a laugh – something tells you that this isn’t the first time this has happened on her watch – before helping him to his feet.
Not put off by his real life tumble from a virtual mishap, he jumps right back on the horse, slides the VR headset back on and gets right back into it. Good man.
