Imagine playing a video game with your virtual reality headset, but when you die in the game, you die in real life too.
If this sounds like something out of a dystopian novel, that’s because it is.
Palmer Luckey, founder of Oculus Rift, just created a VR headset that will blow up your brain in real life, if you die in the video game.
Luckey, who also founded weapons manufacturer Anduril, made the "mind-blowing" device to commemorate his favourite anime, Sword Art Online.
In Sword Art Online, characters use virtual reality headgears to play a game, but end up in a sadistic experiment conducted by a mad scientist.
If the characters die in the video game, the headgears 'micro-waves' their brain in real life too.
Unlike in the anime, Luckey's headset uses explosives to kill the player.
In a blog post Luckey said, "The idea of tying your real life to your virtual avatar has always fascinated me — you instantly raise the stakes to the maximum level and force people to fundamentally rethink how they interact with the virtual world and the players inside it.
“Pumped-up graphics might make a game look more real, but only the threat of serious consequences can make a game feel real to you and every other person in the game.”
Luckey unveiled his newest creation to the world on November 6, the same day the game was launched in the Sword Art Online anime.
His newest creation isn't meant to be worn, obviously, but is meant to serve as a conversation piece about technology as a whole.
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