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Yesterday I let my 5 year old play online multiplayer VR for the first time. Deliberately controversial opening tweet aside, read on for the context...1/n
He's physically interacted with nobody but me, his mum and his 2 year-old brother for ages. He was off school ill pre-lockdown (not covid) and never went back. It's tough on him.
Yesterday I decided to see how he'd enjoy Hide + Seek in Half + Half by @normalvr. My Dad got a Quest not long ago, so my younger brother (who lives at home) logged in and we formed a party of two. 3/n
The Quest headset isn't designed for a kid's head, but he's managed playing Bogo before (petting a virtual dragon) so he was okay. He got the gist of the controls fairly easily.
My brother behaved as the stellar uncle he always is and played deliberately badly to give the kiddo a fighting chance. 5/n
My son LOVED it. Laughter like I haven't heard in MONTHS. Physically bouncing around the room when he got found, and reacting suitably hilariously when a large wobbly VR face peeped around a corner to find him. 6/n
There were obvious problems. He definitely got too into it a few times and lost sense of where he was. I had to chaperone him carefully. But it was completely worth it. 7/n
Just seeing him get to physically respond to the presence and interaction of another human he loves was breathtaking. 8/n
To top it all, today he drew this picture of playing hide and seek with his uncle:
No it isn't a masterpiece. Yes it has some questionably shaped objects. But if you've played Half + Half, the essence is there (wobbly arms especially!).
So thanks @normalvr for making something I'm comfortable sharing with my kid. I'm working on getting his Grandad to play next 
