Hi!
I've been throwing an idea around, but some people told me that it wouldn't be appropriate as most people play game to escape and this isn't an escape, or that it could insult people. I got a surprising amount of criticisms related to sensitivity...
There is a game out there, Wheelchair Simulator VR on Steam (steampowered.com), it is well received and no one seems to be complaining, but it is specifically about being wheelchair bound and seems to be somewhat perceived as an educational game by people rating it positively.
What I am thinking about is more like the old Battlezone arcade, where you controlled your tank using 2 sticks, one for each side. This is kinda like an electric wheelchair... and I just want to do the same but without the joysticks of an electric chair. Think of it as Extreme Wheelchair Basketball, but the concept is workable in many games. It doesn't require humans sitting in a chair as avatars, the idea is that you are a tank, so maybe it's less offensive than a full blown wheelchair bound character?
My take on this is that wheelchairs are a common and proven technology by now. They aren't perfect and we all hope that they will get better somehow, but we know we can use them to move fast and efficiently while sitting, we see it every Special Olympics (and it's not half bad as a sport). VR is in need of a fast and efficiently way of moving while sitting... and it's right there.
Wouldn't wheelchair bound soldiers be a thing if we could strap some rockets on those chairs? Because we can in vr... Would playing an armed to the teeth, rocket wheel-chair bound post-apocalyptic survivor be such an insult? Or fighting zombies in an sport wheelchair with a turret on it?
Then, I certainly used glasses and hearing devices in gaming before, whats the difference beside the gravity of the reason to use them?