A Californian man has done the unthinkable and set a Guinness World Record in the process. What is the achievement, you wonder? He spent more than a day in virtual reality!
L.A.-based Derek Westerman attempted to live in VR for an entire day and donned an HTC Vive for the purpose, spending nearly 25 hours to set the Guinness World Record.
Instead of a classic video game, Westerman opted for Tilt Brush – a VR painting app – for the entire course of his VR journey, which required him to stay engaged with the experience. Using the app, Westerman stayed vigilant and drew new line drawings throughout the 25-hour period. One of the stipulations by Guinness was that the record be attempted with a single game.
Dressed in a suit and tie, Westerman set about the VR experience. The fact that he did not play a traditional game and instead favored a painting app could possibly be the key to his success. It is possibly far easier to zone out during a role-playing game than goes on endlessly in VR than meandering through a virtual environment at your own pace sans any specific goal.
"I wanted to pick something that gave me the most freedom. And painting in 3D space for 25 hours seemed like the best bet," reveals Westerman.
Westerman's effort is laudable as even a few hours in VR can make one nauseous, and the lad went through it for over a day, while immersed in a single app!
However, setting the record was not an easy feat, as near the 17th hour Westerman seemed to be affected by vertigo and threw up into a bucket. This bucket also came in handy when he wished to eat, drink or urinate (around the sixth hour mark). All this was done while he continued to remain strapped to the HTC Vive headset.
The VR world was slowly getting to the filmmaker at around the 21st hour when he began to babble and wave the controller saying "I don't know where I'm at..."
According to the listing by Guinness, the record was achieved nearly a month ago. However, the video for the same was unveiled on May 3.
"The longest videogame marathon on a virtual reality game system is 25 hr 2 min and was achieved by Derek Westerman (USA) in Los Angeles, California, USA, on 7 April 2016," notes Guinness.
For those wondering what prompted Westerman to attempt the Guinness record, here's what he has to say.
"It seemed important to set an official Guinness record with our current 'excited-about-VR' climate, so we essentially had an official benchmark to beat," says the Guinness World Record holder for "Longest videogame marathon on a virtual reality game system."
Check out the video of Westerman attempting the Guinness record below.
