London, UK-based technology innovation agency INITION is no stranger when its comes to creating high-flying virtual reality (VR) experiences having built The View from The Shard back in 2017. Now the company has showcased its latest endeavour, a spy theme VR experience for the world’s tallest structure, Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
Tasked by DigiComm of Dubai to create an action-packed, crowd-pleasing VR experience for visitors at the tourist attraction, INITION designed Mission 828 in tribute to the Burj Khalifa’s height. The interactive experience takes guests on an exhilarating adventure using HTC Vive, where they find themselves as mission operatives who need to foil an impending cyber attack. To do this they need to scale the Burj Khalifa’s immense 828-metres to intercept an overhead satellite.
Mission 828 is designed to challenge fears whilst letting users see Dubai’s most stunning views from perspectives that wouldn’t otherwise be possible, including a base-jump from the building’s summit. The Mission 828 kiosks are designed to create a multi sensory experience, with physical 4D cues, 360 spatial sound and simulated wind to deepen that immersion.
Designed to be as realistic and visceral as possible, hi-end CG elements were overlaid within real world footage to maximise quality and visual accuracy, with 360 scenes being captured at great height courtesy of drones.
“INITION is a world leader in creating unforgettable VR experiences that have a commercial edge,” said Abdul Bakhrani, CEO of DigiComm. “So they were the natural choice for further enhancing the Burj Khalifa experience with an electrifying VR adventure that will stay in users’ minds long after they have left the building.”
INITION’s CEO, Adrian Leu, added: “The world’s top tourist attractions are now often securing their pole positions by adding value through complimentary immersive experiences. In fact, we recently created a vertigo-inducing VR experience for The Shard, which gave us an opportunity to experiment with convincing users’ brains they’re at immense height without making them feel nauseous.
“This learning was invaluable when it came to creating the project’s all-important realism. But already being well-versed in creating VR height experiences didn’t mean there weren’t other challenges… such as flying drones to capture 360/3D images at altitude and combining 360 footage with CGI in a seamless way.”
For further updates on INITION’s VR work, keep reading VRFocus.