Exploring the Non-Gaming Side of Virtual Reality
Most people strap on a VR headset to shoot zombies, socialize, or watch movies, but there’s a growing collection of virtual reality experiences on Meta Quest headsets that aim at something aside from escapism. They’re about history, empathy, or simply immersing yourself in a weird job you’d never try in real life. Below are a few of the most interesting non-game experiences that prove VR has more to supply than simply games.
Documenting History and Emotions
These experiences are designed to teach, raise awareness, and evoke emotions. They include documentaries, historical recreations, and artistic interpretations that may only be truly experienced in virtual reality.
On the Morning You Wake (To the End of the World)
This evocative VR documentary examines how 38 minutes of waiting for a ballistic missile to hit Hawaii modified people’s lives. It’s a thought-provoking experience that explores what it looks like to know the top has come and the way scary it’s that the subsequent alert may not be a mistake.
Titanic VR
Titanic VR features an immersive, 360-degree cutscene where you float away on considered one of the Titanic’s few lifeboats and watch helplessly as the large ocean liner sinks. Then, you may fast forward to the current and pilot a submersible to go to the sunken wreck, discovering, recovering, and preserving historical artifacts.
Anne Frank House VR
This poignant VR experience enables you to walk through a faithful recreation of the Secret Annex in Amsterdam where Anne Frank and her family hid from Nazis. With no avatars or narration, you’re left alone with the load of history, free to make sense of the things that were left behind.
Immersive Simulations
These experiences simulate real-life jobs, situations, and environments, supplying you with a singular perspective on what it’s prefer to be in another person’s shoes.
Mission: ISS
Mission: ISS is a sensible space travel sim that enables you to float around in zero gravity as you orbit Earth within the International Space Station. You can dock an area capsule and take a spacewalk, but be warned: it’s so realistic that it’d make you motion sick!
Simtryx
Simtryx is a medical training tool that tests diagnostic skills. You’re presented with a patient and a set of tools, and you’ve to make a diagnosis before time runs out. It’s a difficult and hilarious experience, especially if you’ve no medical knowledge.
OneLab VR
Created by the Centers for Disease Control, OneLab VR trains laboratory professionals in scientific best practices. You can operate centrifugal force machines, get rid of biohazardous waste, and sterilize instruments in autoclaves, all in a sensible virtual lab environment.
Artistic Interpretations
These experiences use virtual reality to create unique artistic interpretations that evoke emotions and lift awareness.
Notes on Blindness
Based on the audio diaries of theologian John Hull, who steadily lost his sight, Notes on Blindness is an inventive journey into empathy. It immerses the user in a visible and aural interpretation of what Hull called “a world beyond sight,” making a quiet, emotional, and deeply personal experience.
Conclusion
These non-gaming VR experiences showcase the variety and potential of virtual reality. From historical documentaries to immersive simulations and artistic interpretations, they prove that VR has more to supply than simply games. Whether you’re interested by history, empathy, or simply wish to try something latest, there’s a VR experience on the market for you.
