VRChat
Reliance on user created content is a VR double edged sword.
VRChat
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this game.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that VRChat is a downloadable virtual reality social platform available for use on the Oculus Quest, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Valve Index virtual reality hardware. Users can sign in, choose an avatar, and visit different rooms to interact with others in a variety of social activities. The platform's growth is dependent on user created content and user interactions. This can result in experiences that cover the whole spectrum from helpful and supportive to hurtful and even abusive. Though users can block, mute, and report others and their content, there's little in the way of efficient moderation. Though not baked into the framework of the platform, the anonymity of personas and volume of customized content, users could still be exposed to disturbing imagery, sexually suggestive and explicit content, profanity, and references to drug and alcohol use. The platform is free to download and use, as is the software development kit, with a premium VRChat Plus monthly subscription available to supporters and multiple third party content available for purchase and use.
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What’s It About?
VRCHAT is a social network that brings people from all walks of life together in ways only imagined, all inside of a community-built virtual world limited only by its users creativity. Users can choose from a wide selection of avatars that best represent their personalities, then dive into real time 3D virtual chats with others anywhere in the world. Users can get together with friends and host a watch party of your favorite flicks or brainstorm the next big project with peers. You can share stories at a virtual roundtable, enjoy a friendly game of bowling, or take the spotlight for some open mic karaoke, all without ever leaving the comfort of your couch. And if you're feeling extra creative, you can use VRChat's Software Development Kit (SDK) to create your own avatars and worlds, then share your artistic endeavors with the VRChat community at large. Whatever you choose to do and however you choose to do it, VRChat lets you stake your claim and make your mark in a world where nearly everything is possible.
Is It Any Good?
There are some things in life that can't necessarily be defined in basic terms of black and white, but instead are made up by various shades of grey. VRChat is one of these things. After all, the very thing that makes the socially driven virtual reality platform brim with positive potential is also its own worst enemy, and that's the people using it. VRChat is built on the premise that, using its available features and tools, users can do just about anything and be just about anyone they want, all in a seamless virtual environment that's as simple to navigate as the real world. And in many ways, from a purely technical standpoint, VRChat succeeds in doing just that. The problem is, if you give people a giant sandbox to play in without much supervision, there will inevitably be those that just want to kick dirt on everyone else.
Make no mistake about it, technical suggestions on VR tech aside, VRChat is no place for younger audiences. For every person that might be using an avatar to exist in a way that they might not be comfortable with or even able to in the real world, there will be people using that same anonymity to as a mask to cover reprehensible behavior that would never be acceptable in the real world. You might enter one room and find a group of welcoming folks eager to swap stories and share knowledge, while walking into another exposes you to a cesspool of human toxicity and cruelty. It's hard at times to get through any lengthy session of VRChat without running into some sort of offensive content, be it a disturbing avatar or image upload by another user or a lewd conversation from a stranger. Because the platforms thrives on user-content, moderating that content seems to be low on the list of VRChat's priorities. Sure, you can mute others, block their avatars, and even report misconduct, but only after the fact. The result is a sort of Wild West lawlessness in a virtual, neon fueled fever dream. And even though there's so much potential for good and positive uses in the platform, that can only come with learning how to deal with those that would use the same tools for all the wrong reasons.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about safety in online environments. What are some of the ways that online social interaction can provide positive spaces for people to be themselves and learn? What are some of the dangers that people should be aware of when in a virtual environment?
How can customized content, such as avatars, rooms, etc., allow people to express themselves in an online environment? How can this content be used in a positive way, and how can you deal with others using custom content to create more toxic spaces online?
Game Details
- Platforms: Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest, HTC Vive
- Pricing structure: Free
- Available online?: Available online
- Publisher: VRChat, Inc.
- Release date: May 21, 2019
- Genre: Massively Multiplayer Online Game (MMOG)
- Topics: STEM, Adventures
- ESRB rating: T for Users Interact
- Last updated: December 1, 2022
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