I’m not crying! You’re crying!
Everyone loves a good proposal story. The terrifying act of popping the big question is a big moment in any young couple’s life. So any attempt at breaking the norm when taking that life-changing knee is always fun.
Unfortunately for any gentlemen or ladies requesting a hand in marriage in a creative way, this Aussi boyfriend may have next leveled the proposal. Not just because he did it in VR, but because he took the knee in a custom world designed just for his special gal.
Collaborating with one of the largest providers of free-roam multiplayer VR, Zero Latency, soon-to-be kick ass husband Alex invited his girlfriend Kelly to the advanced VR arena for an afternoon of what she thought would be some virtual zombie murdering. Little did she know that dozens of her friends and family were secretly waiting in the shadows ready to surprise her after Alex proposed while in-game.
Kelly entered the arena with Alex and several friends as a film crew stealthily captured every moment. The crew strapped on their headsets and haptic feedback equipment and began their round of Zombie Outbreak, one of Zero Latency’s free-roam co-op experiences. However as they neared the end of their experience the screen suddenly went blue as Kelly’s companions abandoned their gear for a good spot to spectate in real-life.
It was then that Kelly was transported to a painstakingly recreated version of her favorite place in the world, her grandparent’s home in South Africa. The virtual environment was based on images pull from Google Earth and Street View, where an artist recreated the building and tress in the area, explained Zero Latency CTO and cofounder, Scott Vandonkelaar to VRScout.
Standing underneath a gorgeous tree plucked straight from Kelly’s childhood, Alex dropped a digital knee and finally heard that question every guy wants to hear while crouched: yes. As she removed her headset she was then greeted to the sight of dozens of close family and friends ready to celebrate.
Her reaction is pretty much what you would expect. Tears, joy, surprise, tears, euphoria, more tears, you get the idea. So we’ll done, Alex! You’ve successfully embarrassed every husband who thought he had the craziest proposal story ever.
The Zombie Outbreak game the couple was playing before popping the question takes players on a 45-minute journey to fight through hordes of Zombies to reach a transport ship in an experimental lab. One of the key moments of the game is crossing a rather unsafe looking bridge between two buildings, always a player favorite.
