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.
Over the last few months of the beginning of 2017, our consultancy (KWP) specializing in the DOE sector has been rushed off its feet attending conventions and conferences as a speaker and observer on the latest inroads that are being made in the utilization of VR tech into the Out-of-Home scene, and I have attempted to encapsulate the key developments seen across the global business.
On the Show halls of both AAA and VR&AR, the exhibition booths were crammed with new VR offerings that moved to a new phase of investment, best described as a phase four for the market, moving beyond the original egg-shaped 9D VR film experiences, and the early VR arcade investment, and now to a brand-new approach to the business. Even the established amusement trade has been forced to consider deploying a VR solution in their venues. One of the large Asian amusement manufacturers and distributors, WAHLAP Technologies underlined their investment in this sector, by partnering with prominent VR Park developer Movie Power; the company showing a selection of the systems they field to VR Parks, including a unique HTC based VR boxing game called Kuntun Fight. Movie Power had an extensive booth of their own on the show floor, showing their latest networked driving simulator VR experience.
A consolidation has been achieved in the Chinese VR arcade scene, with investment consolidated into successful VR business, while a few scruple less operator have started to fall by the wayside. We have seen an evolution in the business approach seeing VR arcades (known as “VR Parks” in China), the business has seen major investment as the market has solidified into franchise operations, and revenue sharing opportunities.
As seen with VR roller-coasters in the West the utilization of existing attractions, with an added VR element has gained much interest, and new investment in this approach was seen on the Chinese show floor. VR attractions on display included from Hirain their 720° Rider a multi-dimensional VR motion platform comprising three-seater spinning the riders corresponding to a unique VR ride film. Veteran Chinese ride manufacturer Golden Dragon had their Hero Dream, a robotic arm two-seat VR platform. But a new approach was revealed from C&Q Amusement, the company taking their Spin Zone bumper-car platform, retrofitted with specially tracked VR head-mount game experience. The first of its kind VR bumper-car experience using a unique multiple tracking arena-scale solution. C&Q working on a flat-ride variant of the VR platform, offering a retrofit solution to established attractions.
That’s all for this week, but come back next Friday at the same time for part two, as Kevin Williams covers the American, Japanese and Dubai amusement trades’ interest in VR based Out-of-Home technology.
