Virtual Reality is in its infancy stage when regarding mass market appeal. But as the prices drop, more and more consumers are stepping into other worlds and getting their first taste of this amazing technology. We thought it would be fun to capture a young teenager’s experience as he ventures into a realm filled with amusement, fun and of course, horror.
Test Subject: Logan
Age : Teen
Gender: Male
Fears: Insects
ANALYSIS:
We allowed our subject to experience the entire first level lasting a total of fifteen minutes. We had him begin at the menu scene and there was an immediate jump in his numbers as expected. (The hallway was a terrifying introduction) His levels declined slightly as our subject clicked through the setup but you can see the exact moment the game began. (1:30) His heart-rate climbed to active exercise levels and we did take into account his arm movements while wielding two virtual pistols. One of the coolest results we captured was his peak HR at 07:36. This highly elevated number did not come from any horror effect but from climbing to the peak of a roller coaster. There was no shooting at that point so his arms were motionless. He managed to hit 99bpm which is an incredible number to reach for a video game.
CONCLUSION:
The combination of Horror and Virtual Reality are a perfect match. The game kept our subject engaged from an entertainment standpoint while including the immersive experience. His heart was racing at high levels the entire time. Having such a consistently high average (88bpm) tells us that the game was consistently scary… and fun. Not only did the scares come from thematic horror elements but we finally got to see heart-rates climb from other enjoyable experiences such as the roller coaster. The length of level one was fairly short which didn’t allow much time for calorie burning. But we’re sure if we allowed him to finish another few levels, this game might just leave him scared thinner.
Resting HR: 70 bpm
Walking HR: 75-80 bpm
Average HR during Level 1: 88 bpm
Peak HR: 99 bpm
Calories burned: 46
