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Legal bumpf

kingtut
Honored Guest
Not that anyone ever reads any of the legal caveats etc which come with games (or anything else), but the more I read up on the subject of VR-induced illness, the more I'm convinced that Oculus itself, and any games developers supporting OR, need to make sure they cover their arses with legal boilerplate.

It appears that side-effects (e.g. motion sickness type effects) may effect users hours or even days after use. There are anecdotal reports in a number of papers, which include (note: some of these were reported after people had been under actual rotational forces):-
- a US airforce pilot who, whilst driving, began to suffer disorientation and ataxia; he ended up walking as he didn't feel safe driving.
- pilots would be fine for a while after a long period (several hours on simulator), but then some specific movement of the head would suddenly make desks move, rooms tilt, etc
- pilots would, when lying in bed at night, sometimes have their entire vision invert

So, in addition to having legal protections against people claiming because they felt ill (or even were ill) during play, you also need to consider liability hours or days afterwards. Otherwise I guarantee you that one day someone (likely in the US) will accidentally cause a car crash and then say that it wasn't their fault, that instead they suddenly suffered some side-effect from playing with their OR (whether or not that was true is irrelevant).

When people had to go to video game arcades, and play with poor quality systems for only minutes at a time, this wasn't a problem. With an OR at home, playing for hours at a time, I could see this being a problem. Note that users suffering these delayed side effects don't have to have suffered any apparent effects whilst actually using the system. Indeed, some research indicates that the more users get used to the VR environment (and hence the less in-game issues they feel), the more they suffer side-effects post-use.

A paper I just read for the US military recommends that a mandatory 6-hour waiting period between simulator use, and real flight, be maintained. Maybe there should be a similar recommendation (or maybe longer - 12+ hours) covering heavy machinery and vehicle use after OR use.

So, just a thought. It would be horrendous if the burgeoning VR game world would by stymied due to lawsuits by money-grabbing idiots, likely then jumped on by the 'video games are the cause of everything bad in the world' crowd.
3 REPLIES 3

FlameHaze
Honored Guest
I agree that news corporations would jump on the chance to 'prove' that VR and videogames in general are awful satanic creations and must be feared and hated. I'm from the UK. The BBC tries that bulls*** all the time. I've often wondered what legal precautions would have to be taken with the rift. I'm hoping (and presuming) that they won't have to 'recommend' players must not engage in activities such as driving soon after using the OR. Maybe thorough research will be done to help relax the legal requirements a bit. That's if it returns good results 😄

SSJKamui
Honored Guest
From what I know, the most important protection is a detailled warning about possible side effects, which is visible to customers before they buy the product. (For example on the "box" of the product in the shelves of the shop.) It's not neccessary that the audienca can understand the warning (for example, on many nintendo Wii and DS boxes, there is a written warning that "illiterates can't play the games". It's ofcourse illogical to try to write to illiterates.), it's enough if the shop owner or the firends and family can inform the customer about possible dangers.

Medical tests and certificates could bring Oculus also in the position that they can argue that they use the best they can to reduce side effects and dangers and thus, act responsible.

Bad news articles are a different case. There, it's most important to seem trustworthy. The most important point is, avoiding dissonances between communication and behavior. (For example, oil companies got problems because they presented themselves as especially environemtally friendly, at the same time, when they caused environmental disasters.)

KBK
Protege
Only so much can be done and this is covered, for the moment, with the DEV kit aspect.

You are your own test bunny, and you are also Oculus's test bunny.

All this can be prepped, but does not need to be specifically addressed, until consumer release.

the problem, is their own home turf.

As an example, I had a BMW that the back windows could be rolled down all the way. I'm in Canada.

In the US, the same car had warnings,warning stickers... and back windows that will not roll down all the way.

The USA can be horrifically litigious, in a spurious manner. The major requirement is adequate warnings, and they do not have to be prominent.

Not for resale and not for rental, is part of the purchase package, for example, so at that point the issues lie with the renter or the person who has sold the unit to a second party.

Like software, it can have that sticker that says: 'if you open this package, on your head be it'. (punned, yes :P)

A simple case of 'due diligence' in packaging/access is all it really takes. On the rift proper, it can say 'read manual before use'. On an opening image screen, as well.
Intelligence... is not inherent - it is a point in understanding. Q: When does a fire become self sustaining?