
Would You Give a Virtual Electric Shock to an Avatar? - oblib
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/observations/would-you-give-a-virtual-electric-shock-to-an-avatar/
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oblib
Back around the late `90s there was a tourist attraction setup outside in
Branson, MO. It was a very early version of a VR game. Two people climbed into
a platform that was like a boxing ring and were given a toy gun and a helmet
that displayed a wireframe VR image of the platform you were in.

Our kids played and then urged my wife and I to do it, so we did. It took me a
minute or so to get my bearings, but my wife was completely lost. She was just
spinning circles in her corner of the ring, basically a sitting duck.

Our kids were laughing and yelling "Shoot her, shoot her". I couldn't do it. I
felt awful for even participating in a game where that was the goal.

Later on I got a copy of Wolfenstein and played it a bit, and had fun at
first, but not for long. The same thing happened. I just didn't like the idea
of running around killing, even it when it was cartoon Nazis.

Nowadays I don't even like watching videos of gamers playing shoot `em up
games. I admire the tech, but I just can't play those kinds of games.

