A video has emerged of users of VRChat - which is, for the uninitiated, a 90s chat room vision of the future - gathered around a fellow user when they noticed that their avatar was convulsing. There was genuine concern on display, along with a lot of confusion and powerlessness. Given this was VRChat, there was also Ugandan Knuckles clicking away merrily and asking if he knew de wey.
So pretty much like a real life version of the same thing, I guess, racist meme echidnas notwithstanding.
Watch the video here, go on, you’ve got the time. I’ll still be here when you’re done.
So what did we see? General conversation dies pretty quickly as the group notices the robot having a seizure. Everyone is asking questions to which nobody has the answer. Phil Margera paces around, seemingly aimless. Morty turns and calls for a medic. Hank Hill lurks nervously on the periphery.
A couple of onlookers take control of the situation - barking orders at the other chatters and, when he wakes up, asking Seizure Robot questions about his medical history and recommending an IRL course of action.
Afterwards, when Seizure Robot logs out, the group remain in a circle. Some of them are struggling, and the group talk it through, not really providing any solutions but at least offering a gesture of comfort. It’s eerily similar to the scene you’ll see following a real life medical emergency when the ambulance drives away.
Whether Rainbow Wendy was to blame for the seizure is unclear, but the group order her away and then stand in front of her, perhaps in an attempt to block the visual assault. Even the Ugandan Knuckles, infamous for en masse trolling in this application, are subdued. A few clicks and muttered catchphrases seem to be more habitual than malicious.
VRChat is clearly a rudimentary and rather crude attempt to create a virtual world, but this example is a clear sign of life in the medium.
GLEN SEABROOK-BENSON