Earlier today, I casually posted a tweet which featured a man from the future riding the L train into Manhattan. We know he’s from the future because he’s wearing a VR headset and he’s, like, totally having a VR experience. Now, we are proud to share EXCLUSIVE VIDEO of the future.
The video comes to us thanks to the vigilant John Behlmann, who reports:
“It took this guy a good 2-3 stops to get his head geared up, and we all knew we were in for a treat. It was maybe the greatest NYC-is-magic-we’re-all-on-the-same-subway-car-HOLY-HELL-are-you-guys-seeing-what-I’m-seeing moment I’ve had. And the person we were gawking at couldn’t even see or hear us. So we all had complete license to stare, and boy did we ever. Even the Subway preacher stopped to gaze. All things told, this guy was polite, quiet, and totally unashamed. You’ve got to give him props for total and utter disengagement with the world around him. He had the courage to do what those of us with earbuds in can only pretend at. That might be greatness. I might even respect him.”
Now you might be thinking, as did I, that this might have all been a stunt. Today was a big Oculus Rift event. Was this a very clever idea to remind us about the Samsung Gear VR?
To me, it doesn’t matter. VR Guy, if you’re still out there wandering Manhattan and can read this, we respect you. We might even love you. Please come forward and tell us more about what the future holds?
Update: We found him!
Good evening. I am the L train VR guy. I was very honored and surprised by your article about me.
I did not realize that i was doing something odd; I just had this idea to make my commute more fun and i must report that it works very well. In a few years, I foresee seeing about half the subway car with VR headsets on. VR completely eliminates all the discomfort of being crammed in a confined space with a bunch of strangers. It works so well that once people try this, most will not be able to go back to playing games on the phone as it is as they do presently.
I am a professional mobile game developer and the current state of mobile gaming strikes me as very awkward. People look weird when they play. They bow down to their phone, unnaturally overstress their necks and eye muscles trying to watch the tiny phone screen. I am trying to convince my employer to do a VR version of our game, but i have not gotten much traction yet inthat respect.
I am, however currently creating a VR game on my own. It will be based on my 3D engine that i’ve developed. You can examine the engine in the following Android app I made.
When translated to VR, this technology, i hope, will really shine.
Once again, thank you very much for the publicity and have a great night.
[John Behlmann, h/t Gothamist]