A Quest 2 headset was ordered during the pandemic to break the monotony, and the headset was set up in a small office with a cleared play area. A faint, familiar discomfort appeared even before setup finished, but a pre-installed demo was launched. The demo placed the user on an empty plain beneath a dark red sky with a single silhouetted mountain, accompanied by profound stillness and solitude. Within twenty minutes the user became drenched in cold sweat, nauseated and dizzy, and then removed the headset and lay flat on the floor.
In late 2020, I ordered a Quest 2 headset. It was the middle of the pandemic, and I hoped it might break the sameness of those months. VR was everywhere in the headlines, and I wanted to see what it actually felt like. When it arrived, I put on the headset and began setup. Partway through, I had to clear space in my small office for the designated play area.
Even before setup finished, I felt a faint discomfortfamiliar, unpleasant. I ignored it and launched one of the pre-installed demos. I found myself on an empty plain under a dark red sky, a single mountain silhouetted on the horizon. No sound. Just stillness, all around. It felt like being dropped into a silent desert at the edge of nowhere overwhelming, unfamiliar, and strangely profound.
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