Smellovision masks are here, and they're basically implements of torture

Virtual reality is great, but it's... sometimes difficult to stomach, as evidenced by the fact that a device not making people throw up was major news at GDC. But some optimistic folks at a company called Feelreal think that not only has VR arrived, it's advanced enough that users are ready for weather and scents, courtesy of a programmable battery-powered Bluetooth mask that fits underneath your headset. The Feelreal mask incorporates tiny heaters, air coolers, misters, a vibration engine, a microphone, and a "removable cartridge with seven unique smells," according to its website. If a screenshot on the site is accurate, those smells are:

• Ocean
• Jungle
• Fire
• Grass
• Powder
• Flowers
• Metal

No, I have no idea what "powder" means. But thanks to a demo tucked away on the GDC show floor, I know exactly what kind of feeling an immersive nasal simulator can provoke: pure, unfettered fear.

Virtual reality headsets blind you, but they do it by making the inch of space between your eyes and a screen feel huge. With Feelreal, though, you're just strapping a foam block over your mouth and nose, putting yourself at the mercy of its air vents. It's a gas mask arranged into a little smiling face.

In my years of using the Oculus Rift and other headsets, I've become strangely sensitive to the smell of plastics, which I've unconsciously linked to the nausea I felt with early Rift games. The moment I put on the Feelreal, I realized it was going to be even worse. Imagine putting an air freshener in a new car on a hot day. Then imagine burying your face in one of the car's plastic seats. Then imagine the car's driver is navigating some tight curves very quickly. This is Smellovision in the Oculus Rift.

FEEL HOT

I got through a grassy field and a rainforest without more than moderate discomfort. And then, for a few moments, the system worked. I was floating towards a waterfall, sun shining on the rocks around me. FEEL WET, a caption promised. The Feelreal's coolers began to chill the air around my nose and mouth, and a moment later, I felt a drop of water hit my cheek. It wasn't natural, exactly, but it was pleasant — like a cool breeze on the stuffy convention floor.

And then, just as I started getting used to virtual air conditioning, the demo warned me that I was about to FEEL HOT. The micro-coolers turned off, and I felt the equivalent of a hair dryer being held against my mouth and nose. I don't remember what the "fire" cartridge smelled like, because I was too busy reassuring myself that no matter what it felt like inside that hunk of black plastic, I wasn't actually being smothered to death.

Artificial scents have a long pedigree in the world of virtual reality, and they've certainly been part of successful projects. But they're usually produced in a mechanism more pleasant than a high-tech welding helmet. In 50 years, when we're all locked in time-dilated mind-jail for selling virtual drugs, a day in the Feelreal will still be considered cruel and unusual punishment.

• SourceFeelreal
• Related Items feelreal virtual reality gdc gdc 2015 artificial scent smellovision