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Virtual Reality Motion Sickness: Five Ways to Prevent The Puking
There is no question that virtual reality gaming is simply amazing; it is immersive, emotion-eliciting and a fresh experience where the entertainment medium has faltered in recent times. Unfortunately, even for the well-initiated, it can elicit another response; mild to severe motion sickness. Here are five ways you can enjoy VR gaming while avoiding a trip to the porcelain gods. Note: This is mostly aimed at Oculus Quest owners, but other VR users may definitely benefit from the information within.
Whether you’re brand new to VR or are a long time purveyor of alternative reality gaming there is a good chance that you suffer from motion sickness.
Some are able to adapt to the environment while others continue to suffer no matter how long they try to get their “VR legs” (named after the concept of getting your “sea legs” when you’re spending extended periods of time on a boat).
We are here to help. We’ve got five concepts that can help the “very susceptible” and the “occasional queasiness” player alike.
Before the list, if you don’t fully understand how motion sickness works, I would recommend you watch this short video first.
Solution #1: Choosing the “Right” Games
For me, there are some types of games that are 100% guaranteed to make me motion sick and that is the typical FPS (first person shooter). These are games that not only trigger common motion sickness properties (your eyes seeing movement but your ear not agreeing; did you watch that video above?) but adds an additional layer.
Looking in one direction while consciously “moving” in another will always make me sick.
Since that is the cornerstone of the VR FPS genre and in virtual reality, your instinct to move your head instead of moving your body takes over.