The moment that a woman fell on her face while walking along a plank in virtual reality was this – her son couldn’t stop laughing at her.
Charlotte Sturge, from Broxbourne, Hertfordshire, filmed her mother-in-law Debbie trying out the immersive game Richie’s Plank Experience on Christmas Day.
You will climb the elevator of an 80-storey building before being able to ‘walk’ the plank jutting out at street level.
As she approaches the small piece of wood that is on the floor, the 34-year old records Debbie. She’s surrounded by her family.
Charlotte Sturge from Broxbourne in Hertfordshire films Debbie, her mother-in law, as she attempts to recreate Richie’s Plank Experience Christmas Day. Debbie attempts to walk on the plank. This is the same one that she uses in virtual reality.
Debbie moves cautiously forward as though she were walking on a tightrope, before losing her balance and panicking. In the photo on the right, her son holds a beverage.
Debbie wears her slippers, a VR headset and places one foot on the plank. She is then given a scare by someone who shouts at Debbie.
She then gathers her composure, looks around and says: ‘I am still in the lift’ – to which Mrs Sturge responds: ‘You need to get out of the lift, Deb.’
Debbie climbs onto the plank. After feeling her way down, Debbie exclaims she cannot see her foot.
She slowly moves forwards, as if on a tightrope, and a family member can be heard saying: ‘She is going to fall into the TV or something.’
Debbie falls on the floor and hits her head on the flooring. Her son, who has failed to stop her fall, checks to see if she is OK. ‘She was surprisingly fine afterwards. However, she said that her elbows were a little sore the next day, but that wasn’t all.
In seconds, Debbie panickedly screams and loses balance. She falls on her side, almost landing on her head on the Christmas tree.
The laughter of her entire family is infectious, even her son, who has been drinking and cannot catch her.
Debbie was fine, despite the fact that her elbows hurt a little.
On Monday, Mrs Sturge uploaded the video to Facebook, writing, “When the mother-in law is on the VR, it’s obvious that you have to film.”
Has anyone had an accident on VR? It’s been great fun for us all. The Plank is her favorite game, but I would not recommend that you use any piece of wood. It makes the experience worse.
“No mothers-in-law were injured in this making of the video. She could not have been caught by my husband, however.
Richie’s Plank Experience allows you to ascend a lift up 80 stories high before going outside and ‘walking the plank’ with an incredible drop down to street level
This post was liked by over 5600 people and received nearly 2,000 comments within a matter of hours.
Users on social media found this video funny and shared their stories.
One writer wrote, “He just stood there and enjoyed his beer while watching her tumble to the ground.” I won’t pour my beer on anyone.
Another commented, “We love it and we laugh at the kids who play it.” I suffered an injury while boxing.
I punched through the wall of brick solid with all my might. There were no major injuries. I had a bruised and very swelling hand.
Today Mrs Sturge stated that she got the VR as a Christmas gift and was eager to give it to her mother-in-law.
“I was afraid she would be scared by the plank game, and how high you’re up. My husband thought that it would make the game feel more real if you added a piece of wood to your plank.
You can then see the result. She lost her footing, and she thought that she was really falling off the plank at 1,000 feet.
The instructions do state that someone must be there in case you lose balance. This was something we didn’t notice.
“She was surprised at how fine she felt after the fall. However, she said that her elbows did hurt the next day, but that was about it.
“After finding out that she was okay, we had a lot of fun laughing about it. It was unbelievable to me that she could have fallen like this.