Multiplayer VR: Inside the Body — Meta Quest Medical VR Case Study

// THE HEADLINE RESULT

A passive cardiovascular MoA was transformedinto a multiplayer co-op VR experience, placing two HCPs simultaneously inside a diseased artery, where they used HDL-powered beam weapons to physically destroy cholesterol plaques and restore heart health.

What It Achieved

The experience drove a step-change in HCP engagement, replacing a presentation with a game that potential delegates could actively play and talk about long after the experience.

SIMULTANEOUS PLAYERS IN REAL-TIME

True multiplayer: both players share a live environment, team score, and objective

PROGRESSIVE LEVELS OF DIFFICULTY

Increasing plaque density and time pressure across three artery stages.

4×

LONGER BOOTH DWELL VS STANDARD STAND

Test users spent significantly longer engaging vs a traditional panel display

"It was a really creative way to bring the science to life. The multiplayer aspect made it genuinely engaging and memorable."

MEDICAL COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR · GLOBAL PHARMA CLIENT

// WHAT HAPPENED NEXT

Further Therapy Area Deployments

The multiplayer artery framework was architected to be therapy-agnostic: the same core engine can be reskinned for any biological environment.

Reusable level editor for rapid deployment to new therapy areas

Story and cell types configurable without new engineering

Ongoing retainer for conference rotation and version updates

The Context

// WHAT WAS NEEDED

Our internal agencies needed a way to communicate the mechanism of HDL cholesterol, the body's natural defence against arterial plaque. The brief was to build a co-op multiplayer VR experience that would place two HCPs inside a diseased artery, where they could physically fight cholesterol plaques together using HDL-powered weapons. The goal was to create something that would drive a step-change in engagement at conferences, replacing a presentation with a game that potential delegates could actively play and talk about long after the experience.

THE BUILD

I built a fully custom multiplayer VR environment: a co-op first-person shooter set inside a human artery, wrapped around genuine cardiovascular science.

Real-time multiplayer synchronisation: two Meta Quest headsets sharing a live session with shared objectives and team scoring via Unity net code
Scientifically grounded HDL weapon system with two upgrade tiers (Low-Power Beam and High-Power Beam) matching HDL's real mechanism of action
Cholesterol plaque with physical destruction, particle shatter effects, and health bar degradation
Heart Status monitor tracking patient artery health in real time (Moderate → Healthy) as plaques are cleared
Three-level progression system with increasing plaque density, timed rounds, and escalating challenge
HDL resource meter requiring strategic shot management, simulating the body's finite natural defence capacity
Custom robot avatar characters with per-player colour coding for clear co-op identity