Grand Theft Auto 5 modder adds hand-tracking and VR, shudders at consequences

Virtual reality is fickle. It’s hard enough to make and sell the Rift and Vive and so on, but what if the end result isn’t even fun? Grand Theft Auto 5 modder Joseph Delgado is wrestling with just that question after playing GTA 5 in virtual reality with hand-tracking support.

He actually felt bad about shooting people.

“This s*** can really make your jaw drop,” Delgado said on Reddit. “You actually feel remorse, it’s crazy!” Delgado suggests that “our instincts to not harm other humans” overpower the otherwise irreverent mayhem of games like GTA 5 when our perspective becomes so intimate, when we move our hands with those on screen and see the violence up close.

“I’m really not sure about this,” he said in a blog post. “I feel horrible about making this. You actually feel guilty. My mouth dropped the first time I shot someone in my GTA: V VR setup.” Nevertheless, Delgado believes in the potential of VR and will continue to explore the project.

So, who wants to play P.T. with hand-tracking?