VRChat

Video game fandom
Name	VRchat
Abbreviation(s)	VRC
Developer(s)	VRChat Inc.
Publisher(s)	VRChat Inc.
Release date	Jan 16, 2014
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows, Oculus Quest, Steam VR, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Android (PC, VR headsets, mobile)
Genre(s)	Social, MMO
Related articles on Fanlore.

VRChat (VRC) is a desktop computer (PC) and virtual reality social massively multiplayer online game released in 2014 on Windows and Oculus Rift, later released to a broader audience through Steam in 2017. Though players do not need a virtual reality headset to play, its premise focuses on creating community and playing social games in VR using 3D models for avatars.

Gameplay

Players may choose between preset avatars suggested by the game's developers or they may go to specific avatar worlds to choose avatars created and uploaded by other players. VRchat is not allowed to officially host a player-made avatar search function, so players must travel to "avatar worlds" to search for avatars they wish to favorite and use. Many worlds exist exclusively as avatar hubs and exploring them with friends is a social experience for some. Some popular avatars are, unknown to many players, stolen by avatar rippers and repurposed, for example some of InkyPop's Sun and Moon avatars have been reskinned without her permission and passed around (see Controversies and Discussions).

Players may search through thousands of player-made worlds to join, each with their own premise. Some worlds are purely for socialization, some are for roleplay, and some function as mini-games. Some games, for example Among Us, have VRC versions that function like the original game.

Groups were added in November 2022. Like DeviantART, players may join a group to expand their social circle. Some players may join groups exclusively for the group banner, as when they "represent" the group the banner appears over their username. A popular practice is to mimic Twitter's blue checkmark verification, for example, a group named "Furry" with "Verified Furry" as its banner, or a group named "Cute" with "Verified Cutie" as its banner. Banners also often represent fandoms or fandom voice actors.

Terminology

• Avie- short for avatar.
• ERP- erotic roleplay, not exclusive to VRC.
• FBT- full-body tracking. VR headsets usually only come with the headset and a set of controllers; FBT is often expensive and more common to players who ERP.
• Group- a "club" that places a banner above the player's head when they are representing that group.
• Instance- a single joinable version of a world, like a server. Players may create public, private, friends, or friends+ instances for others to join. Several public instances may be open for popular worlds.
• Mirror Dwellers- players who crowd in front of mirrors to stare at their avatars and the avatars around them, usually derogatory.
• Mute- a player who does not use their microphone for any number of reasons. In VRC, a "mute" is not the same as someone physically incapable of speaking.
• Phantom Touch/Phantom Pain- an empathic reaction to perceiving that one is being touched or hurt in VR. For example, one's scalp tingling when pet in VR, or skin hurting when poked in VR.
• World- an individual map that players can join, for example "The Black Cat" is a popular map designed to look like a bar.
• Questie- a (usually derogatory) nickname for players using a Meta Quest headset, often assumed to be underaged.
• Ripper/Avatar Ripper- players who steal other players avatars, often releasing paid models for free against the artist's wishes.

Relationship to Fandom

VRC is popular with anime fans, furries, and fandom roleplayers, with a prolific community of 3D artists who create models and worlds for canon characters. Players choose fandom avatars and voice act as the characters, sometimes humorously. It is common to enter a popular fandom based world and find fans standing or sitting in front or mirrors voice acting canon characters together.

Several original species have been ported to and created from scratch in VRC. Some already existing original species ported into VRC as avatars are protogens, sergals, dutch angel dragons, and impims. Other species wholly original to VRC are best bois, rexouiums ("Rexies"), and taidums, and ampwaves, among others. Some customizable furry avatars are also popular, such as awtters (otters) and Bubblegum Bark's canine model.

Fans often use VRC to meet up in the virtual space, connecting over a common fandom interest. Meet ups may be scheduled in advance through Discord servers, for example the November 2023 Psychonauts meet up.

In Game Culture and Memes

In addition to pre-established fandoms existing in VRC, VRC itself has its own culture and memes. In 2017 the Ugandan Knuckles meme was originated on VRC by a player and YouTuber named Gregzilla, and in 2018 Live Good, Die Great became a meme from a Syrmor YouTube video, quoted from a underage player named Jordan. Some other aspects of VRC culture are:

• The assumptions of players based on their console and amount of trackers. Quest users ("Questies") and mutes are often assumed to be minors, desktop only players are often assumed to be trolls, and players with expensive headsets and FBT are often assumed to be adults.
• "Brushies," a free avatar type, are often assumed to be new players or minors. Some VRC YouTubers use the Brushie avatar for comedic effect.
• Specific avatars are frequently hidden on sight due to the assumption that the user will use the avatar to crash the players in the world. Specifically, the Goku avatar. This is because the avatar has extensive game-crashing toggles.
• VRC has a clubbing and party community which is usually experienced through Discord servers advertising events. One of the most popular is a Discord called VRChat Party Hub.
• Similar to clubbing, the VRC ERP community usually functions through Discord servers which advertise events. ERPers attempt to be discrete about how to find NSFW avatars and worlds due to the risk of them being banned, leading to the VRC Reddit ERP community disallowing screenshots with nameplates.
• Two worlds, The Black Cat and The Great Pug (or just "The Pug"), are some of the most well-known worlds, and are notorious for being popular public worlds. "The Black Cat" is often referred to derogatorily while The Great Pug is generally considered to have a more adult atmosphere.

Examples of Popular VRC Fandom Communities

Examples Wanted: Editors are encouraged to add more examples or a wider variety of examples.

• Five Nights at Freddy's
• Daycare Attendant - Occurring in the DCA's Playground world, possibly influenced by The Sun and Moon Show using VRC for their YouTube roleplays.
• The Amazing Digital Circus - Almost immediately after its release, TADC roleplay began in a world based on the main location from the animation.
• Furry - There is a large community of furries in VRChat, including furry-centric hangout and avatar worlds.
• Hazbin Hotel - Several Hazbin Hotel worlds are used for socialization and roleplay.

Fanworks

Gallery

• 

  Inkypop avatar world and ripping discussion

• 

  Lego Monkie Kid avatars and roleplayers

• 

  Person in Overwatch avatar drawing

• 

  Mirror dwelling in Daycare Attendant avatars

• 

  Furry meetup in VRC

Fan Models

• a Nightmaren fan character from Nights Journey of Dreams
• Jax from The Amazing Digital Circus
• Cinderace from Pokemon
• Daycare Attendant models from FNAF by Inkypop
• Smiling Critters from Poppy Playtime

Video

• untitled, video of a player in a Stolas avatar from Helluva Boss pretending to play the piano
• GOETIA'S IN STARBUCKS (VRCHAT), Helluva Boss roleplay
• Earth OPENED an AMAZING BAKERY SHOP! in VRCHAT, Sun and Moon Show, a channel with Daycare Attendant FNAF roleplay

Memes

• Ugandan Knuckles (2017)
• Live Good, Die Great (2018)

Controversies and Discussions

Some players consider VRC, particularly popular public worlds, to be toxic due to an abundance of underaged players and trolls. For example, trolls may enter public worlds to yell slurs, play painfully loud sounds, or perform animations intended to crash other players (particularly Meta Quest users).

Some VRC players dislike "mute" players, arguing that VRC "is a social game" and that players cannot socialize if they do not speak. To counteract this sentiment, there are groups dedicated to mute player positivity. Other players argue that even mute players can socialize, as they can still mime and interact physically with the VR world. Additionally, VRC is popular with the deaf community, and a modified version of sign language developed inside of VRC. Some mute players also use VRC sign language.

Erotic roleplay is popular in some adult circles of VRC, however creating inappropriate worlds is prohibited by the game's Terms Of Service. This has lead to some ire, as players with completely private NSFW worlds see their worlds removed or accounts banned.

Phantom touch and phantom pain are psychological sensations of being touched or hurt in real life in reaction to being interacted with in VR. Some players do not believe phantom touch exists, or believe it is not a valid experience due to being psychological, so it is a point of argument in some VRC social circles. Some comments from a Reddit post on phantom touch are included below.

From my experience it's not real. It's like playing with an ouija board with your friends. You all know its not real but for the fun you act like it is. You even have that one friend who purposefully steers it to spell out spooky stuff to mess with maybe the one person that is convinced it is real.

deleted user, Jul 29, 2020.

That's the thing - you're not physically getting someone to pat your head, so it's technically all made up. But it's because of the fact you immerse yourself and act like it's "real" that you manage to get it it in the first place.

I hope you can get it in future, because it really is something else. It takes some people a while, but maybe start by finding an avatar that really resonates with you, one you can look at and say that it's you. That's a good starting spot, if you haven't done that already.

If you want to try and brute force it, you can forcefully give yourself sort of tingles when you should have them with phantom touch - I think very early on, but not just when I was starting out (the crazy amount of build up had to wear off first) I would subconsciously, but purposely, shiver or tingle a little when I would feel even an ounce of phantom touch. Eventually, it became second nature, and now it happens automatically

Prince_Nexus, Jul 29, 2020.

Avatar Ripping

Avatar ripping, or the taking of avatars for re-use and re-upload without the artist's permission, is a divisive topic among VRC players. Some rippers believe that avatar ripping is acceptable if the avatar was already public or if the avatar creator is "a bad person." Others see avatar ripping as art theft, similar to stealing and re-uploading digital art on social media without giving credit to the original artist. For example, some avatar rippers rip avatars that must be bought and upload them for free on websites for VRC avatar pirating.

Some models used in VRC were ported from the MikuMikuDance, Garry's Mod and Source Filmmaker 3D model-making communities without permission. Japanese-speaking model creators for MMD often explicitly forbid others from porting their models to VRC in their terms of use, though many are ported regardless of this warning even if it is written in English specifically to deter English-speaking fans.

The cultural norms surrounding model porting is vastly different between western creators and Japanese creators, and the language/software application barrier may make VRC model porters believe they can get away with repurposing a Japanese modelist's work without permission easier than one that speaks the same language as them. Because this barrier isn't as prominent for Garry's Mod and Source Filmmaker, less models are ported without permission from those communities.