[VIDEO] When The Oculus Rift Sent Us Into A Creepy Forest
In conjunction with the launching of History Channel's ALONE.
By John Lim — 23 Jun 2015, 02:14 PM
For the very first time, History Channel has created their own survival reality TV series. Titled ALONE, the concept is pretty straightforward - survive in the wild, be the last man standing and the winner goes home with USD500,000. Sounds doable, right?
Here's the catch: No camera crew, no producers, just desperate determination to survive and the will to endure extreme isolation
Ten men enter the Vancouver Island wilderness carrying only what they can fit in a small backpack. They are alone in harsh, unforgiving terrain with a single mission–stay alive as long as they can. These men must hunt, build shelters and fend off predators. They will endure extreme isolation and psychological distress as they plunge into the unknown and document the experience themselves. No camera crew. No producers. It is the ultimate test of man’s will.
Earlier this month, History Channel Asia gave the SAYS team the one-in-a-lifetime chance of venturing into the wild through the Oculus Rift. We were obviously excited about it!
What is Oculus Rift, you might ask?
Invented by a VR enthusiast named Palmer Luckey, the Oculus Rift is a set of virtual-reality goggles that will work with your computer or mobile device. After he showed a prototype at the E3 gaming convention in 2012, Luckey founded Irvine, Calif.-based Oculus VR with Brendan Iribe, who became CEO. The two launched a Kickstarter project in August 2012 to sell prototype developer versions of the Oculus Rift, raising $2.4 million. Since selling out of the original Oculus Rift development kit, the company has launched a revamped $350 Development Kit 2 (DK2) model while continuing to work on its eventual consumer version.
tomsguide.com
We recorded some of the reactions from that day and some were pretty hilarious!
Our editor, Judith and her hubby freaking out over a falling branch...
...and cuddly bears
You can't hear her in this GIF, but she said, "A bear just attacked me, I think I just died!"
Darian screamed so loud even the people outside the tent could hear him
While the experience only lasted for around 2 minutes, it was surreal and exhilarating. We stepped into a dark hutan and of course it had to be storming outside. We 'walked' past a rotting carcass (a dead body is never a good sign), nasty flies, evaded a falling tree and a bear that was upset we couldn't stay longer. The noise-cancelling headphones we wore made sure we couldn't hear anything but thunder, owl hoots, the crunching of dead leaves and our own screams.
