The sky was dark and the ground soaked with hours of rain. It took only a few moments before one’s cheeks and fingers wrinkled under the intensity of the cold.
As many probably wore their heaviest jumpers or clutched their tea cups to keep warm, barely leaving their house the whole day, hundreds braved the morning rain to find different, livelier ways to keep warm: virtual reality.
Pulling a ski-like VR headset over her eyes sent Nighty Ajok, into a virtual world where she did not expect “someone” to be waiting to “box” her.
“I was excited to find myself in a foreign country, yet I was in my country at the same time.” said Nighty after having a first-time experience with Creed.
“Finding a ‘man’ just waiting to fight, instead of welcoming me in his country was frightening. But the morale boosting I received during the match was so relieving that in a few minutes, the muscular opponent was down.” she said, beaming.
“I came in freezing, and after about five minutes, I was sweating! It was an unexpected way to get warm!” she added.
Beat Saber was among the many virtual reality games that guests enjoyed on Virtual Reality (VR) Day for 24 hours at Elephante Commons in Gulu, Uganda.
Those who experienced it said it wasn’t just a casual engagement, but a tournament. As, the game tasks you with swinging lightsabers through a series of blocks that are flying through the air. Usually set to electronic music, slashing and ducking during the game is sure to warm up, or make you sweat.
“Super-duper” is the term George, one of the virtual realists used to describe Creed a video boxing game that was enjoyed on VR day. George’s level of immersion as he challenged an opponent in Creed, and the small crowd shouting words of encouragement around him was indescribable.
Tension and uncertainty were written all over George’s posture when he was hit, but hope seeped in immediately, followed by shouts of victory, when he won.
The thrill of VR Day is not just new games and hardware, but for many of the attendees, it was also experiencing VR for the first time.
Samuel Omiya summed it up as, “A lovely experience. I would love to be part of this more often.”
Virtual Reality Day is an annual global event that was launched in 2017, to make VR and AR more accessible to the public.
Individuals and organizations host sessions at different locations across the world. In Africa, the event was hosted by two organizations in 2018, Oysters & Pearls-Uganda included. But this year, Oysters & Pearls was the only host.
