In our digital era with smartphones, gaming consoles, and computers, accumulating screen time has become inevitable. Many gamers and digital enthusiasts know the discomfort of eye strain after prolonged sessions. Constant screen exposure fatigues the ciliary muscles responsible for focus, potentially leading to nearsightedness. Surprisingly, the solution for better vision might come from... playing more games?
Researchers at Japan's Kwansei Gakuin University recently developed a VR game designed to potentially enhance eyesight. While further studies are required, this innovation could benefit those with basic myopia by strengthening visual capability.
The team created a straightforward Unity-based target shooting game for Meta Quest 2. The gameplay involves three lanes with circular targets, activated by a virtual laser via controller trigger. To score hits, players must precisely move the controller according to Landolt C indicators (Japanese vision test symbols with gaps) positioned on targets.
This VR experience provides ocular exercise through distance adjustment between targets and focused identification of Landolt C gap locations. Upon completion, players receive arcade-style performance metrics including accuracy rates and record achievements (noting some subjects became highly competitive about scores).
The six-week trial demonstrated vision improvement across all participants, with particularly notable progress among severely myopic individuals showing dose-dependent enhancement - more gameplay correlated with greater visual gains.
As this preliminary study involved just ten participants aged 22-36, expanded research is necessary to validate VR's potential for myopia treatment. According to the Japanese research documentation, the team intends to conduct additional experiments to verify the game's efficacy.
