Skyrim VR player who spent $15k on the “most immersive” setup adds a second haptic suit to simulate real pain

The SkyrimVR streamer who previously spent $15,000 on the “most immersive” virtual reality setup possible has once again upgraded their rig with a second haptic suit that converts in-game damage into real-life pain.

SkyrimVR and FalloutVR streamer GingasVR already built perhaps the most impressive virtual reality rig I’ve ever seen. Mods were used to improve item physics and have the streamer’s body movements turn into in-game actions, thanks to three Vive trackers. Fans match the velocity and direction of Skyrim’s actual weather, realistically simulating airflow. And a haptic vest also mimicked in-game sensations, like eating food, but that idea’s been taken to new heights now. 

GingasVR posted an update on her setup earlier this week, on April 25, to share another “haptic feedback device that produces real pain in VR using electrodes that go directly on your skin. It shocks you with electricity depending on what happens in the game.” The video below shows GingasVR twirling over the floor as a dragon sets the Dovahkiin on fire. “It’s very painful.”

A second haptic suit produces vibrations for those other, less painful sensations that the fantasy avatar might experience. And the fancy wind simulation setup gets a boost with “fans to simulate temperature” – again, turning those fiery dragon fights into sweat-inducing furnace sims.

The only thing that slightly breaks the jaw-dropping immersion is the inclusion of an “OpenAI NPC with never-before-heard dialogue.” I could tell the sentences had never been heard before because no human would write some of these lines – “jumping off cliffs is the best way to test your pain tolerance” – unironically.

Three years ago, in our interview with the SkyrimVR streamer, she said the tech was a “complete revolution in the way in which we communicate with each other. You can now literally be in the same room with another person hundreds of miles away and be able to hug them, high-five them, collaborate, without ever leaving your home.”

Skyrim VR reached new heights when realistic dog petting was finally enabled in the RPG.