Not too long into a 168-hour VR marathon session, Jak Wilmot admits the monotony got to him. Wilmot, who is the co-founder of Disrupt VR, also says this experiment is "quite possibly the dumbest thing" he's ever done. So, why do it? For science, of course.
I can't imagine immersing myself in a virtual world for a full week, nonstop night and day. Wilmot did it, though, for the most part—he allowed himself 30 seconds to switch VR headsets when needed, and 30 seconds without a headset on to eat, if required. Other than those small breaks, he spent every other moment in VR.
It's a bit of a crazy experiment, and let's be honest, it's probably at least partially a publicity stunt. But it's still interesting to see how donning one of the best VR headsets for an extended period of time and essentially living in virtual worlds can mess with the mind.
In Wilmot's case, he found it was easy to make friends. He also spilled a cup of coffee on himself, because manipulating the real world while playing in a virtual one is not always easy. There doesn't seem to be some big takeaway from this experiment (aside from, perhaps, don't drink coffee while playing VR), though one thing I also found interesting was his integration back into the real world when the experiment was over.
"I have never appreciated the smell of outside air so much. One thing we cannot replicate is nature. We can do it visually and auditorally, but there is something about the energy of outside that is amazing," Wilmot observed.
He also said that people in the real world seemed like NPCs, or multiplayer characters, after spending a week in VR. "I'm viewing people differently," Wilmot said.
Check out his video right here:
