One dedicated fan of The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim has added two haptic feedback suits that simulate real pain to their already $15,000 mass immersion setup.
As reported by GamesRadar, GingasVR on X/Twitter shared how they've made their Skyrim virtual reality experience even more immersive by adding touch and feeling to the world.
GingasVR, who already boasted an extensive VR setup that includes an HTC Vive headset, three Vive trackers, microphones, and face trackers, as well as tons of mods, has added an OWO haptic feedback suit, a haptic feedback vest, and smart plugs hooked up to fans.
The first suit contains electrodes that shock the player when they receive actual damage in the game, while the second is purely for vibrations to simulate feelings of water and other less intense feelings. The fans are hooked up to simulate temperature, so they'll turn on when visiting colder regions of Skyrim and off when it's warmer.
Wearing 2 haptic feedback suits in Skyrim while talking to an OpenAi NPC and simulating temperature with smart plugs 🫡 #vr #skyrim #tech #gaming pic.twitter.com/3vDB17FM4c
— GingasVR (@gingasvr) April 25, 2024
These are shown off in the video, with the pain simulators tested against the Whiterun populus, mages, and even a dragon. GingasVR also used an OpenAI mod to give characters unique and adaptive dialogue which, partnered with their microphone and a mod that projects speech in-game, allows for lifelike interactions with the residents of Skyrim.
With The Elder Scrolls 6 still five years away at least, fans have had to find their own ways, like this, to keep the ageing Skyrim entertaining. Another player recently accrued a 267,000 gold bounty murdering 5,000 NPCs in a quest to kill "everything that was killable", for example, while one fan recreated the game in Age of Empires 2.
Waves of sentimental fans recently booted up their old Xbox 360s and PlayStation 3s to "retire" their original characters too, showing how much Skyrim has remained in player consciousness over its 12 years of being available.
In our 9/10 review of the beloved role playing game, IGN said: "Skyrim is a rare kind of intensely personal, deeply rewarding experience, and one of the best role-playing games yet produced."
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.