This has been the first presidential election to have been campaigned and discussed in VR, with content including coverage, comedy and curiosities. A global audience has been able to watch the presidential debates in VR for the first time and who could forget Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey apologising for ‘shitposting’ about Hillary Clinton?
Whether you’re a fan of his policies or not, there’s no denying that Donald Trump’s presidential campaign trail has been mesmerising to watch. Trump may polarise opinion, but as a larger than life character, the president-elect was sure to feature in many VR experiences.
Without further ado, Ladies and Gentlemen, we present to you the 45th President of the United States of America in glorious VR...
Help Donald prepare to deliver a speech in this five-minute morsel of interactive political satire, Trump Simulator VR. Developer Christine Barron said, “We created this game to poke political fun while also calling attention to serious issues.” Costing 79p on the Steam Store now, profits will go to support the refugee crisis at Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS).
Donald Trump: Race To The Presidency
TomoNews ‘animate the most entertaining news on the internets’ and Donald Trump: Race To The Presidency lets you take a wild VR ride with Donald Trump as he races for the presidency. The GOP front-runner starts his bid for the 2016 presidency by running over a poor defenseless lady. He then encounters Megyn Kelly from Fox News and Jorge Ramos from Univision, cruises the Red Light district, tells Chris Christie to open up his bridge, duels with Jeb Bush, encounters Oreo cookie men, picks up Sarah Palin, solves America’s illegal immigration problems and bombs Iran.
Inside Trump’s Head
It’s live action next, with this 360 VR comedy skit from Boom Chicago, Inside Trump’s Head. The story is set in the Rectangle Office (ovals are for losers) after a Trump victory. Go inside President Trump's head and follow him on a typical day. See who he meets. Hear his thoughts. As President Trump says, 'People are going to talk about this video. Smart people. The very best people. It's got the best VR. It's got the best jokes. When you watch it, you will feel the best nausea ever.'
Tilt Brush Political Cartoon
Satire and cartoons have gone hand in hand for many years and we’re glad to see the genre make the transition into the VR space. This cartoon was created in Tilt Brush by Tipatat Chennavasin. In it, we see a caricature of Trump being created, only to find that beneath the surface lies Adolf Hitler. What this creation lacks in subtlety, it makes up for in style.
Inside Donald Trump
Surgeon Simulator players can give Donald Trump a heart transplant operation in the Inside Donald Trump add-on. Users can give their opinion on the president-elect by choosing whether to give Trump a heart of gold, or a heart of stone. At the time of writing, the majority of virtual surgeons believe that he’s a stone-hearted villain, disagreeing with the actual election result.
TrumPiñata
Trumpiñata is a political piñata experience where you use a baseball bat to rip Trump apart. The developers suggest that it’s cathartic to ‘Hit him in his smug face’ until his limbs come off. An update to the game has seen the inclusion of a wall...
Trump Hunt VR
Developed by Daisy Daisy Digital, Trump Hunt is a modern virtual reality retelling of the classic duck hunt story. You play as a post-apocalyptic cyclops alien trying to fend off an invasion of evil mutant ducks. Reckless genetic engineering has released upon the world an army of robot ducks, zombie ducks and worst of all, hybrid Donald Trump ducks who are trying to make America great again.
Pornhub
Obviously NSFW! In partnership with BaDoinkVR, Pornhub has published a VR porn parody based on Trump’s presidential campaign. We haven’t linked to it, but a quick search will turn up results it you want to. Quite why you’d want to is another matter...
Steve is an award-winning editor and copywriter with nearly 25 years’ experience specialising in consumer technology and video games. He was part of a BAFTA nominated developer studio. In addition to editing TheVirtualReport.biz, Steve contributes to BeyondGames.biz, PocketGamer.biz, PCGamesInsider.biz and BlockchainGamer.biz, as well as creating marketing content for a range of SMEs and agencies.