Kill Screen #8: The Virtual Reality Issue

All the strange and beautiful things about videogames can only get stranger and more beautiful when viewed through an enormous glowing headset. Kill Screen’s 8th issue tackles the topic du jour—virtual reality—by taking a timeless approach. We want to understand the era we’re heading into by looking into its past and future.

And so we sent the best writers in videogames to try on primitive, battery-powered gloves from the Victorian era, and find a forgotten prototype from the 50’s gathering dust in an Orange County apartment. We talked to the people designing the games, therapy treatments, and military tools today that will define our experiences tomorrow. We explored the political and psychological ramifications of a world in which all our VR fantasies have come home to roost.

Did the Lawnmower Man ruin everything? Will this all just crash and burn like it did in the 90’s? And, What happens if we can’t get out?

Written Ryan Bradley, Chris Breault, Stephanie Carmichael, Gavin Craig, Darren Davis, William Drew, Nathaniel Ewert-Krocker, Kyle Fowle, Erik Fredner, Stephen Hershey, Brian Howe, Jason Johnson, Jess Joho, Zack Kotzer, Calum Marsh, Thomas Rousse, David Shimomura, Rich Shivener, Dan Solberg, Carli Velocci

Art Naomi Butterfield, Shane Jessup, Dave Kloc, Kiji McCafferty, PJ McQuade, Chris Nickels, Overture, Dana Paresa, Steven Strom, Keith Telfeyan

Cover art Dark Igloo and KidMograph

Art direction CJ Dunn