DIY Cybersickness Remedies
spectrum.ieee.org
spectrum.ieee.org
2. Maybe people who are prone to motion sickness, or who have vestibular damage, would benefit from some of these tricks, even though VR game isn't their idea of fun.
3. Will people who condition themselves too well to tolerate VR entertainment also break their vestibular system, such as making themselves less likely to be able to recover from a sudden imbalance, or not automatically protect against a fall?
VR is fun despite some discomfort, much like other experiences like roller coasters. I'd volunteer to participate in such a study because I'd like to do more VR than my body can naturally tolerate.
> Will people who condition themselves too well to tolerate VR entertainment also break their vestibular system
Definitely worth studying! From the few I've heard adapt, no, it doesn't make them significantly more likely to have balance problems.
I'm pretty interested in this and would like to participate in a study as well if given the opportunity. I think one of the potential causes and solutions is it being a self-fulfilling prophecy that may be overcome with self-efficacy as described here [1] for seasickness. My only evidence is that I never knew motion sickness was a possibility when I first tried VR, and my friends with the worst motion sickness were worried about it before they even tried VR, even if they never got seasick or carsick.
From the article and other comments, they also mention figure skating which I never thought of before, and I play ice hockey which is likely similar enough. For reference I've been playing VR since 2016 and never once experienced motion sickness, from any style of game/locomotion.
[1] https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0021-9010.8...
Cybersickness endurance games. The person who can make themself the most cybersick wins. Ranked competitive matches with loot box mechanics. People will do pretty much anything when competition is involved.
VR can be amazing. There is nothing on this planet that can provide the same experiences it can. That includes real life.
Something like experiencing floating through space, gazing at an alien sunset and feeling like your body is actually there* without having to deal with pesky things like inventing FTL, radiation shielding, and artificial gravity and whatnot is pretty cool.
* It's amazing how easily our senses are fooled, even with imperfect hardware.
There are plenty of places on this planet where you can rent a real sports car and race around a real track against real people for real.
Until your VR headset emits the smell of burning fuel, rumbles your body so hard that you feel it for hours afterward, deafens you with engine and tire noise, throws so much mud on the screen that your pit crew uses tear-off sheets of plastic to clear it because wipers are useless, and provides a non-zero chance of actually being hurt or dying, your video game is just game.
IRL > VR
The way the view tilts and moves with one's head, combined with the audio alignment, creates a surreal experience.
Whether IRL is better or worse than VR is entirely subjective.
Now, I do agree that real life can provide things that VR can't. Many, many things even. That was not the subject however; it was: "Why would anyone want to give themselves motion sickness for a VR game?"
Your racecar example is a perfect example. It would be dangerous and costly. Would it be better than VR racing? I think so. Would I be able to actually do it? Hell no. I suspect most people would answer the same.
Yes, I know expensive and costly are basically the same thing.
The sense I get from the article is that "VR balance" isn't essentially different from or opposed to ordinary balance; it's just a greater test of one's balance than one ordinarily encounters in daily life. People who have trained their balance - like figure skaters - find VR less of a challenge; performing exercises which improve one's balance - like the "flamingo stance" described in the article - makes VR experiences easier.
Snowboarding was very unnatural to me too, yet I persisted and adapted. Now it feels like second nature. It also involves a lot of balance in positions very distinct from the usual human movement. Sadly, it hasn't helped much with VR sickness in my case though.
Surely no one is using them for games any more? Surely the headsets are all gathering dust up in the attic next to the gramaphone?
It's not perfect. The FOV on lower-end/older headsets leave a lot to be desired, you can't use button boxes/controls since you can't see your hands, and doing any sort of long race gets exhausting.
Also Skyrim VR was breathtaking, especially with mods to improve the scenery and clunky menus.
A former coworker is car crazed and uses a quest 2 in his racing sim setup. Compared to using 1 ultrawide or 3 16:9 monitors it's a no brainer. Much cheaper and more immersive. Plus even small racing sim setups take up a good amount of space in an apartment. Adding monitors to that adds to that a bit but also makes them a lot more visually imposing. It's easier to ignore a weird looking chair than it is to ignore a cockpit with three big monitors an arm's length from the seat.