There have now been several examples of theme parks using virtual reality (VR) technology to enhance rollercoasters and other rides, such as the Drop of Doom at Six Flags Great Adventure, Derren Brown’s Ghost Train at Thorpe Park or Galactica at Alton Towers. China is taking this idea a step further by developing an entire theme park incorporating VR technology.
Names Oriental Sci-Fi Valley, the theme park has been designed with 13 themed pavillions and will cover roughly 13,000 square meters. Up to £1 billion (GBP) has been invested in the project, which is set to feature a multitude of VR-enhanced features, including VR rollercoasters, VR movies, VR flat rides, among others.
Located in Guizhou Province in Southwest China, construction on the project has already started, with some of the buildings, such as dark cyberpunk ‘alien base’ already taking shape. Not too far away, massive steel statue of Optimus Prime from the Transformers film franchise looms into the sky, 53 meters high, consisting of 750 tonnes of steel and weighing as much as two Boeing 747 aircraft.
A production company is being set up to provide media research and development into VR movie technology, which will provide content and technology research for the theme park. There are already plans for the park to feature dreamlike VR experiences, such as the chance to travel in a UFO and battle a giant dragon.
Oriental Sci-Fi Valley set to open at some point in December 2017, and is being supported by the Asia VR & AR Fair and Summit, an event which is aimed at raising China’s profile in the developing VR and AR markets. The next Asia VR & AR Fair is due to occur on 3rd-5th April, 2018 in Guangzhou, China. Its previous events have proved to be a great success, attracting big name brands and independent content creators from all over the world.
VRFocus is a media partner for the Asia VR & AR Fair and Summit, so you can expect all the latest news from the event right here.