6 ms·

A cool idea that I'd never ever ever try. Half Life 1 on low res was scary enough. In all seriousness though – is there any studies done on potential PTSD-like

by atonse 7y ago

A cool idea that I'd never ever ever try. Half Life 1 on low res was scary enough. In all seriousness though – is there any studies done on potential PTSD-like effects that arise from this sort of VR game?

swalsh 7y ago
I play mostly FPS games in VR. To be honest stabbing a dude was a pretty jarring experience the first time I did it in VR. I also remember hitting the ground pretty hard the first time I heard rounds whizzing over my head. But that kind of adreneline pumping experience goes away really quickly. Once it's normalized your body stops having a reaction to it.
- panopticon 7y ago
  As a counter anecdote, I had no such reaction. It felt no more "real" than a game played with my mouse and keyboard. The only time I hit the ground was when I tried to go into a crouch and had the floor height misconfigured. That left a mark.
x220 7y ago
Actually VR games and simulations reduce the likelihood of developing PTSD.
- monkeynotes 7y ago
  Source?
  - monkeynotes 7y ago
    I see no mention of VR Games. I am fairly certain the ` well-controlled sensory stimuli` does not cover the latest shooter from the video game industry. I would agree that VR can help with PTSD, but only in the same way as drugs can help with disease. Doesn't mean to say that drugs don't also cause huge problems. The devil, as always, is in the details and life is not simple.
  - mavdi 7y ago
    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6659125/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6659125/
  - jtrip 7y ago
    [The efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy for PTSD symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032719308328 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01650...)
- taurath 7y ago
  Compared to what?
  - vorpalhex 7y ago
    War obviously. Kidding aside, it does seem like VR probably has value as a kind of exposure therapy..
    - empath75 7y ago
      Or to put it another way it desensitizes people to violence.
      - vorpalhex 7y ago
        It can. And if you're the victim of violence, that may be desirable. Likewise, if you have a fear of spiders bad enough that it interferes with your quality of life, you likely want to be desensitized to spiders.
        dole 7y ago
        VR therapy for fear of spiders made the news [1] a few years ago, so it's quite possible there's been more (professional?) progress in the field. [1] https://money.cnn.com/2016/10/16/technology/fearless-vr-spiders/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2016/10/16/technology/fearless-vr-spid...
        catalogia 7y ago
        I wonder how far that could go. If you had people play as spiders could you get people to actually sympathize with spiders?
        dvtrn 7y ago
        If it were part of a designed and controlled therapeutic program maybe. But a regular and 'by design' aspect of a game, presumably online? Dunno if I, as an arachnophobe who plays plenty of games online-trust griefers not to ....well grief with that kind of power, heh.
- cmcd 7y ago
  Specialized programs utilizing VR can reduce the severity of PTSD, that does not mean all VR games reduce the chance of developing.
  - taurath 7y ago
    Especially as compared to a non VR game, which would probably have far less chance of developing
plumbus420 7y ago
This is the kind of the inverse, but apparently they are treating Veterans with PTSD with VR: https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/innovation/how-virtual-reality-helping-heal-soldiers-ptsd-n733816 https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/innovation/how-virtual-reality-...
- Balgair 7y ago
  BraveMind is a heck of a system for sure. The 'guided' part of it really is a step forward. Over at Children's Colorado and they are also trying out VR for pediatric pain management. It seems to be effective thus far. VR's killer app may well be Alyx, but there are a lot of potential uses that are out there that can really help out.
pc86 7y ago
You can't develop PTSD from VR because VR isn't real. Even if you get scared it's not the same kind of fear as being in a situation where you can actually get hurt, or die, or you actually kill another human being.
- dmerrick 7y ago
  [citation needed]
  - pc86 7y ago
    https://www.engadget.com/2014/10/07/virtual-reality-ptsd/ https://www.engadget.com/2014/10/07/virtual-reality-ptsd/ https://www.popsci.com/article/science/can-you-get-ptsd-virtual-experience/ https://www.popsci.com/article/science/can-you-get-ptsd-virt... https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/13/health/virtual-reality-vr-dangers-safety/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/13/health/virtual-reality-vr-dan... https://www.quora.com/Will-VR-games-get-so-realistic-that-they-could-cause-PTSD https://www.quora.com/Will-VR-games-get-so-realistic-that-th...
    - icebraining 7y ago
      The Engadget article just says "probably not" and doesn't provide any sources. The Popsci article says there are no studies pointing one way or the other. The CNN article only talks about PTSD in a quote from Google's Daydream View saying it can cause it. The Quora answers are interesting, but still hardly support that strong claim, they're at most an educated guess.
- cdirkx 7y ago
  But does your body and the non-rational parts of your brain know that it is not real?
  - pc86 7y ago
    The short answer is yes, I replied to the other comment with several citations.
sorenjan 7y ago
At first I got really excited, but the thought of walking through Ravenholm in VR made me uncomfortable and increased my heart rate. I'm a big wuss, so I don't think I'd handle scary games in VR. The headcrab jumping towards the camera in the trailer was bad enough.
- dsfyu404ed 7y ago
  I'm also not a fan of things jumping out at you but I think it's going to be like food that's too spicy but you keep eating anyway. The adrenaline of the time critical puzzles and gunfights should make up for the scary bits.

by atonse 7y ago

swalsh 7y ago

I play mostly FPS games in VR. To be honest stabbing a dude was a pretty jarring experience the first time I did it in VR. I also remember hitting the ground pretty hard the first time I heard rounds whizzing over my head. But that kind of adreneline pumping experience goes away really quickly. Once it's normalized your body stops having a reaction to it.

panopticon 7y ago
As a counter anecdote, I had no such reaction. It felt no more "real" than a game played with my mouse and keyboard. The only time I hit the ground was when I tried to go into a crouch and had the floor height misconfigured. That left a mark.

x220 7y ago

Actually VR games and simulations reduce the likelihood of developing PTSD.

monkeynotes 7y ago
Source?
- monkeynotes 7y ago
  I see no mention of VR Games. I am fairly certain the ` well-controlled sensory stimuli` does not cover the latest shooter from the video game industry. I would agree that VR can help with PTSD, but only in the same way as drugs can help with disease. Doesn't mean to say that drugs don't also cause huge problems. The devil, as always, is in the details and life is not simple.
- mavdi 7y ago
  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6659125/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6659125/
- jtrip 7y ago
  [The efficacy of virtual reality exposure therapy for PTSD symptoms: A systematic review and meta-analysis](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0165032719308328 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S01650...)
taurath 7y ago
Compared to what?
- vorpalhex 7y ago
  War obviously. Kidding aside, it does seem like VR probably has value as a kind of exposure therapy..
  - empath75 7y ago
    Or to put it another way it desensitizes people to violence.
    - vorpalhex 7y ago
      It can. And if you're the victim of violence, that may be desirable. Likewise, if you have a fear of spiders bad enough that it interferes with your quality of life, you likely want to be desensitized to spiders.
      - dole 7y ago
        VR therapy for fear of spiders made the news [1] a few years ago, so it's quite possible there's been more (professional?) progress in the field. [1] https://money.cnn.com/2016/10/16/technology/fearless-vr-spiders/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2016/10/16/technology/fearless-vr-spid...
      - catalogia 7y ago
        I wonder how far that could go. If you had people play as spiders could you get people to actually sympathize with spiders?
        dvtrn 7y ago
        If it were part of a designed and controlled therapeutic program maybe. But a regular and 'by design' aspect of a game, presumably online? Dunno if I, as an arachnophobe who plays plenty of games online-trust griefers not to ....well grief with that kind of power, heh.
cmcd 7y ago
Specialized programs utilizing VR can reduce the severity of PTSD, that does not mean all VR games reduce the chance of developing.
- taurath 7y ago
  Especially as compared to a non VR game, which would probably have far less chance of developing

plumbus420 7y ago

This is the kind of the inverse, but apparently they are treating Veterans with PTSD with VR: https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/innovation/how-virtual-reality-helping-heal-soldiers-ptsd-n733816 https://www.nbcnews.com/mach/innovation/how-virtual-reality-...

Balgair 7y ago
BraveMind is a heck of a system for sure. The 'guided' part of it really is a step forward. Over at Children's Colorado and they are also trying out VR for pediatric pain management. It seems to be effective thus far. VR's killer app may well be Alyx, but there are a lot of potential uses that are out there that can really help out.

pc86 7y ago

You can't develop PTSD from VR because VR isn't real. Even if you get scared it's not the same kind of fear as being in a situation where you can actually get hurt, or die, or you actually kill another human being.

dmerrick 7y ago
[citation needed]
- pc86 7y ago
  https://www.engadget.com/2014/10/07/virtual-reality-ptsd/ https://www.engadget.com/2014/10/07/virtual-reality-ptsd/ https://www.popsci.com/article/science/can-you-get-ptsd-virtual-experience/ https://www.popsci.com/article/science/can-you-get-ptsd-virt... https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/13/health/virtual-reality-vr-dangers-safety/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2017/12/13/health/virtual-reality-vr-dan... https://www.quora.com/Will-VR-games-get-so-realistic-that-they-could-cause-PTSD https://www.quora.com/Will-VR-games-get-so-realistic-that-th...
  - icebraining 7y ago
    The Engadget article just says "probably not" and doesn't provide any sources. The Popsci article says there are no studies pointing one way or the other. The CNN article only talks about PTSD in a quote from Google's Daydream View saying it can cause it. The Quora answers are interesting, but still hardly support that strong claim, they're at most an educated guess.
cdirkx 7y ago
But does your body and the non-rational parts of your brain know that it is not real?
- pc86 7y ago
  The short answer is yes, I replied to the other comment with several citations.

sorenjan 7y ago

At first I got really excited, but the thought of walking through Ravenholm in VR made me uncomfortable and increased my heart rate. I'm a big wuss, so I don't think I'd handle scary games in VR. The headcrab jumping towards the camera in the trailer was bad enough.

dsfyu404ed 7y ago
I'm also not a fan of things jumping out at you but I think it's going to be like food that's too spicy but you keep eating anyway. The adrenaline of the time critical puzzles and gunfights should make up for the scary bits.