Dragon Quest is one of the most renowned video game franchises on the planet and more or less invented the entire premise of the turn-based JRPG back in the mid-80s, back before even Final Fantasy. The series’ creator, Yuji Horii, spoke with Yahoo Japan about the legacy of Dragon Quest and its future.
Dragon Quest VR
The above video is a trailer for the arcade-exclusive Dragon Quest VR game from Japan. You can read our hands-on impressions of the experience here. What he’s alluding to in the interview though, is for an official entry in the series for actual consumer platforms at home.
In the interview referenced above, as translated by Google Translate, Horii says:
“I think it’s a question that everyone wants to ask, but what will happen to “Dragon Quest” in the future? It’s a secret (laughs). It also affects what happens to the game console, and in the future, the day may come when you can enjoy it in VR, such as the world of “Dragon Quest” is there while you are in the room.
Also, I think it would be interesting if AI systems could be used in the characters and conversations of fellow characters. It would be nice if the friends who ventured together grew up with AI and became people to talk to. We hope to continue to provide new and exciting play under the name Dragon Quest.”
The most recent main line entry in the Dragon Quest series is Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age. It’s out on PS4, Switch, Xbox, and PC and is available as part of Game Pass on the latter two platforms.
Rather than simply numbering entries like Final Fantasy, the Dragon Quest series is well-known for its esoteric and fancy subtitles. Some of my favorite subtitles include Dragon Quest II: Luminaries of the Legendary Line (NES, 1987) and Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies because I’m a sucker for alliteration.
What exactly a Dragon Quest game could look like in VR is a big mystery. If the arcade adaptation is anything to go by it probably means adapting things to a more action-focused format, which could be a lot of fun. But it’s hard to know how they will adapt the heavy exposition, menu-heavy interface, and slower pace that the series is known for.
Let us know what you think down in the comments below!
In the first of a two-part report observing the current immersive Out-of-Home entertainment scene for VRFocus, Kevin Williams‘ latest Virtual Arena looks at the re-emergence of LBE though the popular free-roaming entertainment trend. Evaluating the pitfalls, and the early fallers, and those operations that have re-opened and hope to define the next phase of business.
While some pontificate that location-based VR has probably taken a terminal hit from COVID – at the same time we have reports on the reopening of venues in Asia and Europe and even America, and see the return of the audience, though in tentative numbers. One aspect of the successful growth of LBE VR before the ravishes of the global health crisis closed all forms of social interaction and entertainment, was the growth in interest of “Arena-Scale”, also dubbed “Free-Roaming” or in Asia “Walking Attractions”. Players donning powerful backpack PC’s and taking part in multi-player immersive experiences. The compelling nature of these experiences were such that major venture capitalists had vied to invest considerable sums in the early developers of this genre of immersive entertainment.
But even before the global-pandemic suspended business, cracks in the business proposition of some arena-scale operations had started to manifest. Gradually exiting lockdown and the issues that impacted some business plans has been magnified, and we start to see the damage inflicted by a loss of revenue. While some of these immersive operations are facing more permanent closures, others are seeing renewed interest in their offering and a new arms race to dominate what is still seen as a lucrative opportunity.
The “Next Gen” virtual playing Arena: Image credit: Bandai Namco
The Landscape Ahead
Seen as one of the first exponents of the concept of immersive, free-roaming experience – The VOID tantalized the investment and operations community with a dream of transporting groups of players into a magical virtual environment, (what the company labelled “Hyper-Reality”), powered by their claimed unique “redirected walking”, with physical effects and props. Seen as one of the prominent representations of the growth in interest in free-roaming immersive experiences – the company had high profile investment, initially from the Disney’s Accelerator fund, including business mentorship that saw development resource through ILMxLab.
The VOID has been heavily dependent on the development resources of ILMxLab for most of their content, with only Ghostbusters, and horror-experience Nicodemus developed internally (in partnership with Ninja Theory), receiving mixed reviews. It was however the draw of the big IP and crafted VR experiences based on blockbuster movies that drew the attention. Much of their hyped original design hardware would have to be scaled back to reverting to off the shelf hardware, such as their tracking system from OptiTrack or their headset, in reality, being made with components from an Oculus CV1 unit, eventually under license, (after a planned in house design was abandoned). The company at its hight operating some 17 facilities offering a selection of Walt Disney movie IP VR experiences. But the sites opened seemed to offer conflicting information on their actual success, and cracks started to appear.
The company had seen a churn in management, with the revolving door of top executives. Also, behind the scenes the operation had been haemorrhaging finances, plans for a permanent London site was abandoned near completion, and a total restructuring of the operation. Deals were signed with the shopping sector to place a new model of the attraction that was hoped to address the difficulties of audience retention. Things, however, had not gone as planned for The VOID operation, with numerous major executive departures and claimed venue expansion abandoned. Sources suggested that investments were being stretched and revenues were not proving as expected. By this time, the full impact of the global health crisis by March 2020, and all 17 VOID facilities had been at the time temporarily shuttered. But then things started to take a new turn, sources revealed information that one and then a second The VOID facilities on Walt Disney property had posted notices announcing their permanent closure and that all assets associated with Walt Disney were to be removed.
The shut-down order posted on The VOID Disney locations doors. Image credit: WDW
An incredible silence has enveloped an operation that was once so prolific at promotion – while the US venues remained closed, with no information at this time on what the situation of their reopening will be, with only the Malaysia (Genting) venues had reopened for business since August. The VOID Malaysia site had removed all their Disney themed experiences only offering ‘Nicodemus’ and ‘Ghostbusters: Dimension’. And that was all the information that could be garnered at this time. Many will try and paint this as a bigger problem with the free-roaming VR sector, there seems to be a pattern emerging from the initial operators that expensive IP and a problematic business model has been accentuated by the financial impact of the COVID Lockdown.
There is another recent recipient of investment and mentorship from the Disney Accelerator fund that is based in the arena-scale VR sector. Japanese start-up Tyffon has opened their own Tyffonium – Magical-Reality Theater – a backpack VR experience centre. While less well-known than the other Disney Accelerator investment in VR attractions, the operation had developed internally three attractions which they operated in their two Japanese venues. Much more aimed at a theatrical, sensory experience, looking at young couples as a key demographic, offering three game experiences that support up to four VR players for 30-minute durations. The operation would go on to raise their Series A round of funding – added to the previous investment this saw the company valued at $12 million by the end of that year. With this investment, the operation had received publicity towards a plan to open in the US. By March of this year, the Japanese operation had entered lockdown, with plans for the US operation still on the drawing board, and their 35 employees furloughed, though the facilities did reopen by October.
The unique couples focused VR game experience from Tyffon. Image credit: Tyffon
Another of the early pioneers, wanting to carve out an empire for themselves was Dreamscape Immersive. Described as a “Virtual Reality Experience Like No Other”, the company took on a movie theatre style of approach to offering their unique platform – having amassed an impressive cadre of investment from powerhouses from the movie industry. Investors also included AMC and IMAX – cinema legends looking at the concept of LBE VR, to address flagging movie ticket revenue. Along with an impressive lobby presenting the VR experiences on offer like movies – the guests in groups of six would enter donning rooms, putting on their PC backpacks and wearing foot and hand tracking devices based on the Vicon system. Then once inside the VR room, would put on their headset (originally the Oculus Rift CV1, but later the company would migrate over to theHP Reverb platform) – the environment offering physical effects within the space that mirrored the high-quality virtual experience rendered for the players.
Dreamscapes’ facility operation had opened first in Los Angeles, as part of the Westfield Century City shopping mall in the shadow of an AMCtheatre, in Dallas and Columbus, and then venturing to Dubai. This UAE-based location reopened in July and has seen strong returning audiences – proving the health of LBE VR post-COVID lockdown. October will see the US chain of stores also reopening. But following the upheaval in business following the health crisis the corporation revealed the acceleration of plans for a brand new initiative. Dreamscape Immersive, partnered with Arizona State University (ASU), to launch ‘Dreamscape Learn’. The concept is for “Immersive Education” avatar-driven VR experiences being offered to both campus-based and online courses; planning to start with introductory biology and eventually expanding throughout the sciences and beyond, (vetted by top professors and learning scientists). The plan will utilize the immersive VR story lead experience of the VR company married to the educational platform for students and explorers to create a unique learning environment (immense VR “laboratory”) which will see virtual pods created to traverse students around virtual environments.
A capture of the ‘Dreamscape Learn’ immersive VR laboratory. Image credit: Dreamscape
Numerous developers of arena-scale platforms had already started the process of redressing their business model to embrace new verticals. One of the front-runners in the development of IP based arena-scale VR experiences was the new operation SPACES. The company retained a wealth of experience having been spun out of DreamWorks Animation back in 2016. The corporation saw investment from Tencent and other leading players launched its first arena-scale platform with Terminator Salvation: Fight for the Future, opening the first permanent location in San Jose and then a temporary installation in partnership with Cinemark. Also, SPACES had signed agreements with SEGA JOYPOLIS to install its VR experience at their Japanese sites. The operation was in the process of redefining their offering following feedback as the global crisis hit, but its innovation continued, and pivoted during lockdown to create a ground-breaking VR based video conferencing product. The interest in this product was such that SPACES announced in August that the company had been acquired by tech-giant Apple, for an undisclosed sum.
Sandbox VR had been a prominent name in the LBE VR business, coming from a meteoric rise supported by the Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, and raising some $68m and $11m round of investment. With this investment, the operation focused on both improving the level of experience on offer, signing a licensing agreement to use major IP, such as releasing an experience based on ‘Star Trek: Discovery’. In total some 8 venues, split between Asian sites and their first few US locations, offering four-player backpack PC VR, using Oculus Rift CV1 headsets. But following the lockdown, Sandbox VR (Glostation USA Inc.) filed for Chapter 11 protection in August, this was on top of the previous announcement of the loss of their original CEO and 80-per-cent of their workforce. It was revealed that the company had started to reopen its venues, promoting new safety measures to ensure guests and staff post lockdown. The restructured management evaluating a plan of survival with the VR centre (single attraction) model.
Players beaming into Sandbox VR’s Star Trek: Discovery adventure. Image credit: Sandbox VR
While not getting the same publicity as other arena-scale installations in the West, one of the first VR ZONE free-roaming offerings developed by Bandai Namco and being shuttered at MAZARIA is Dragon Quest VR. Developed for the original VR ZONE brand back in 2018 the videogame is based on the popular RPG property, with four-player PC backpacks (HTC Vive headset) – it’s one of the few arena scale installations that use wholly unique player interfaces representing the shields, and swords of the game. This was not the only Arena Scale VR attraction Bandai Namco developed – with a Ghost In The Shell property, (‘Ghost In The Shell: Arise Stealth Hounds’) back in 2017. Going on from the closure of their MAZARIA facility, the corporation is reappraising its approach to VR and immersive entertainment, with new plans to be revealed soon that could see new free-roaming properties.
Players working as a team against the bosses in Dragon Quest VR. Image credit: KWP
Other Japanese amusement factories that operate their own venues in the territory have been attempting to jump onto the arena scale bandwagon. CAPCOM with its PLAZA CAPCOM chain of sites has added the CAPCOM VR-X areas to their landscape, and with that created a unique arena-scale VR experience based off corporation owned IP. Biohazard: Valiant Raid (better known in the West as Resident Evil) launched last year, the four-player experiences negates the use of cumbersome backpack PC’s for a restricted player space using tethered HTC Vive headsets and customized controllers.
One of the largest of the Japanese amusement and gaming corporations is SEGA, and they have invested heavily into VR attractions for their facility business. Under the SEGA Joypolis VR chain, operated through CA SEGA JOYPOLIS (the co-Chinese and Japanese partnership), the company has deployed several third-party VR attractions. At this time SEGA’s amusement GM division has not created a unique VR platform of their own, favouring in representing other developers’ products as they evaluate the opportunities provided by this technology. The Asian market has seen the adoption of the term “Walking Attraction” when describing arena-scale VR experiences, the PC backpack offering freedom over tethered enclosures. Such operating systems include Mortal Blitz for Walking Attraction, developed by Skonec Entertainment. SEGA had also fielded the system from SPACES (as mentioned above), and later the Zero Latency free-roam experience in several Joypolis sites.
Zero Latency is one of the earliest to see the opportunity and unique compelling nature of free-roam VR entertainment. The company deploying their first facility in 2014, and then went on to establish and defined their unique up to eight-player immersive arena experiences, amassing a considerable library of seven popular games. Emerging from the global lockdown, the company has continued to plough a course in this sector. Developing their own backpack harnesses, haptic game controllers, along with the needs for appropriate briefing, loading, and unloading of players, staff training, all packaged in a franchisee offering operations have added to their entertainment venues. The company announced a major partnership to bring AAA content to their platform, Ubisoft – creator, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and services revealed that it would be bringing its million-selling consumer game license to VR with Far Cry VR: Dive into Insanity. This LBE VR experience for up to eight players takes them back to Rook Islands, the setting of‘Far Cry 3 for some intense action. Working in partnership to develop and implement their multi-player combative experience with Zero Latency, the game will be released across their 45 venues in 22 countries during 2021.
Image credit: KWP
This concludes the first part of this extensive coverage; we will now look at the rest of the sector and the new entrants bouncing back into business after lockdown in the following coverage.
We’ve been to some cool VR arcades in our time at Upload but Japan’s are, somewhat unsurprisingly, in a league of their own.
A commitment to lavish production values and access to some of the most legendary pop culture brands on the planet make for an experience you can’t get anywhere else in the world. Nowhere is this truer than Mazaria, Japan’s best VR arcade.
This enormous park, run under Bandai Namco’s VR Zone project, features a wide range of amazing attractions. There’s everything from Dragon Quest to Mario Kart along with some amazing original VR content too. We already gave you a quick glimpse of some of these experiences in the last episode of The VR Culture Show, but we thought we’d give you a more in-depth look, too. Here’s
Dragon Quest VR
Square Enix’s legendary role-playing games are notorious for stretching on for tens of hours. This VR experience, meanwhile, lasts just 10 minutes but manages to capture the heart and soul of the series in that short amount of time. Up to four players take on various class roles, including mages and warriors and are then fitted with the respective kit.
A fighter can expect to wield a hefty sword and shield for example (they’re literally very heavy), and then swing them at slimes as you walk around a large area. It’s all a little hectic; there’s not much of the series’ staple strategy in place beyond reviving downed team members, but it captures the air of adventure and joy incredibly well.
Pac-Man
Pac-Man helped kick start the videogame revolution and now he’s here at the beginning of VR too. Granted this two-player virtual maze might not be as telling a glimpse of the future, but it’s a lot of fun all the same.
Wearing Oculus Quests, you hurriedly navigate classic levels, eating up pellets like the man himself. You’re against the clock and hunted by the iconic ghosts, now far more terrifying than they’ve ever been before. Working together to snap up every last pellet is a giddy delight, although you’re strictly told not to run.
Armored Trooper Votoms
Here’s a more obscure anime hit, though one that’s perfect for VR. Armored Trooper Votoms comes to VR in the form of a two-player mech battling game. You sit in motion chairs and glide around an arena, trying to take each other out. This is a visceral VR experience; the chair rattles violently when you’re peppered with machine-gun fire and sparks fly as you screech across the environment. The controls are a little difficult to get the hang of, but it’s still a pretty fun time.
Taiko no Tatsujin
Everywhere you look in Japan, there’s a good chance you’ll see one of the impossibly happy critters from Taiko no Tatsujin staring back at you. The arcade drumming phenomenon continues to be something of a hit. In VR, it somewhat inevitably makes for a Beat Saber-like rhythm game, albeit in a much cuter world.
Vive Trackers stuck to controllers with shifting weights make for a tactile experience. All you need to do in this one is hit the beat as it arrives; there’s no need to swing in certain directions or with a certain hand. It’s a lot more manageable than some Beat Saber tracks, which came as a bit of a relief to us.
Evangelion VR
The legendary anime has a VR arcade adaptation to call its own. Similar to Armored Trooper Votoms, this has you sitting in a cockpit-style setup, though this time you’re working with friends rather than against them. You take on a huge enemy against the clock, smashing down buildings and dodging enormous laser beams as you go. While the sense of scale is amazing, grasping the controls is a little confusing and the time limit makes this pretty easy to fail.
That said, the suiting up scene at the start, which includes famous characters from the series, is recreated to perfection, drowning you in nostalgia as you’re submerged underwater. It’s worth a look for the intro alone.
Mario Kart VR
We’ve been hands-on with Mario Kart VR before, but it remains no less enjoyable as when it debuted over two years ago. You sit in a kart and grab the wheel, Vive Trackers attached to the back of your hands for tracking. The race that follows is a colorful celebration of Nintendo’s beloved racing series, made all the more fun if you’re competing with friends. We’re still hopeful for a full Mario Kart VR game at some point.
Gundam VR
Fortunately, this isn’t just another mech battling game. Instead, this Gundam VR experience wisely captures the thrill of watching giant robots punch it out as if you were a helpless onlooker. At one point you even get to sit in one robot’s hand as it protects you from danger, with a physical version of its giant thumb to cling on to for safety.
Dinosaur Escape
A fun one to end on. This dinosaur escape game is a little scrappy, but it’s got a unique setup that makes it memorable. You ride on virtual scooters, with jets of air blasting your face for immersion. Speeding through the dark with dinos snapping at your heels is a little terrifying, especially when they take a swing as you, but you’ll mostly be laughing at how ridiculously funny this is.
Back in April VRFocusreported on Square Enix launching Dragon Quest VRat the VR Zone in Shinjuku, Japan. Allowing players to immerse themselves in one of the most famous Japanese role-playing games (JRPG), the virtual reality (VR) experience allows up to four visitors to team up and play. Today, BANDAI NAMCO in collaboration with Vicon and Square Enix have showcased the experience in even more depth thanks to a series of new images.
In the Dragon Quest VR experience players can take on the role of a warrior, priest or mage, with each class of character capable of different attacks. Guests wear a customised HTC Vive headset connected to a backpack PC that grants them complete wireless freedom in an empty 240-square-meter room which has 40 Vicon V5 motion tracking cameras recording their movements.
“After the VR Zone facility launched last year, we’ve been looking at ways to take advantage of the open space, and this space really goes well with the concept of the role-playing game,” said Yukiharu Tamiya of BANDAI NAMCO Amusement Inc., who oversees the facility. “The Dragon Quest games are about adventure, so going into a VR world and being able to walk around can give the players the sense of traveling through an unexplored land.”
Due to the size of the room and the amount of Vicon cameras groups of up to four can compete together on a team, while the room itself can hold up to three groups at a time. This is achieved via the Vicon cameras being able to track up to 150 different objects at 180 fps, ensuring low latency and nearly instantaneous movement recreation in the virtual world.
“To see groups of people yelling, shouting and fighting virtual foes while being lost in the experience was amazing,” said Vicon’s Asia Pacific Sales Manager Alex Muir. “We were there at the beginning of this with Bandai Namco as a technical partner, and to see the realization of being immersed in the game – not the technology – was mind blowing.”
If you just happen to be passing by or heading towards Japan then further details including tickets can be found here. Tickets for Dragon Quest VR cost ¥3,200 (around $29 USD) per session. For further updates on location-based VR keep reading VRFocus.
What a difference a month makes! We enter June to a cacophony of announcements regarding major LB-VR projects and new hardware using powerful Intellectual Properties (IP), deployment aimed squarely at virtual reality (VR) and the digital out-of-home entertianment (DOE) scene. Industry specialist, Kevin Williams continues his retrospective of developments in this emerging market.
Anyone that tried to ignore or label the Out-of-Home application of VR as an unimportant niche, has had to concede their folly. Following an avalanche of news stories, and investment, regarding brand-new Location-Based VR development. We have followed many of these projects from their inception some years ago and seeing them reach fruition is a vindication of the investment that big IP are willing to bet on DOE VR implementation; all this, while the consumer VR scene seems to be at a major crossroad.
One of the largest social entertainment brands, caused a rash of mainstream media headlines with the announcement that they would be installing, what has been called the “World’s largest commercial multiplayer VR attraction, at over 110 Dave & Busters’ (D&B) locations. The attraction called Jurassic World: VR Expedition – has been developed in partnership with pioneering developer of turn-key large-scale, multiplayer, free-roaming commercial VR attraction systems, VRstudios. The four-player VR attraction incorporates a motion platform and uses HTC Vive headsets and controllers, to immerse players in the Jurassic World environment in a fast-paced virtual experience.
D&B had previously carried out several experiments with early VR technology, considering the best deployment that meets their exacting needs and audience demographics. The company having a history in incorporating VR into their mix, being one of the major supporters of the technology back in the last heyday of VR amusement in the 1990’s. This new VR attraction builds on lessons learned and incorporates what VRstudios has named their VRcade Attraction Management Platform (AMP) to operate and manage the new attraction across the D&B sites.
It was revealed that HTC is taking the new D&B project so seriously that they signed an agreement with the social entertainment venue that will see over 500 HTC Vive headsets deployed to D&B locations across the USA and Canada. This is one of the largest mass deployments of this VR headset into the Out-of-Home entertainment scene in the West; while HTC has already signed other large deployment partnerships – as we reported in our AAA’18 coverage, in affiliation with developer VR LEKE.
Beyond the motion platform approach to VR entertainment – we have seen an explosion of investment in VR free-roaming (Arena-Scale) experiences, also driven by major IP that have garnered many of the big headlines in recent weeks. One of the biggest was the announcement of Terminator Genisys – Time Machine – again based on a major cinematic universe. This Arena-Scale VR experience has been conceived by SPACES, a Californian based immersive entertainment developer, in partnership with IP holder Skydance Media.
It is important to understand that SPACES, a relatively new operation, comprises a strong talent pool of skilled specialist in the creating of immersive attractions – the company including ex-DreamWorks executives with film and attraction experience and is supported by a major investment chain that includes the likes of Songcheng Performance Development Co., Ltd, (one of the world’s biggest theme-park and performing arts companies), Comcast Ventures and GREE, to name a few.
The first of the corporation’s immersive VR attractions sees groups take part in elements taken from the cinematic universe of Terminator – but along with more familiar game elements, there is a team interaction and puzzle solving, as well the overall experience incorporating the personalization of the experience with scanning of the players, and a repeat visitation element. The company partnering their attraction with established location-based destinations (theme parks, tourist destinations, theaters and malls). All aspects driving the innovation of LB-VR into the mainstream.
Not all the major IP being deployed into the commercial entertainment scene comes from Hollywood – recently opened in Japan, we saw the first VR deployment of the popular consumer game brand Dragon Quest. The latest installation within BANDAI NAMCO’s VR ZONE at their Shinjuku facility, the specially developed Dragon Quest VR – that sees four players taking on the unique roles within a virtual representation of the Square Enix RPG.
This Arena-Scale experience supporting up to four players, utilizing unique interfaces such as swords, shields, and staffs, but also the ability for certain characters to cast spells with their wands. The game, concluding with a boss fight, where the party must learn to work as a team to succeed. BANDAI NAMCO have stated that they look towards leveraging more IP into their VR experiences, seeing this as a strong platform to create compelling experiences building on their amusement experience. We have already seen a previous free-roaming VR experience launched by the company based on the Ghost in The Shell anima series.
Free-roaming VR technology is not just driven from Asian and American developments – great strides in innovation have been seen in Europe, such as with Swiss based trueVRsystems announcing a few weeks ago their sixth arcade installation in Stockholm, Sweden. Installing a modular 2 x 150m² system that offers groups of players with VR backpacks the chance to explore virtual experiences. The system one of only a few that can support up to 10-players, using full bodying tracking and deploying interfaces such as the StriverVR weapon system.
Another company building on their cinematic universe, to create compelling VR attractions, recently opened the doors to their first test location. 20th Century Fox (FoxNext Destination group) partnering with iP2 and Pure Imagination Studios to develop and launched their ALIEN: DESCENT experience; opening for the first time at The Outlets, at Orange in Orange County, South California. A shopping mall retail unit converted into become a dedicated VR entertainment venue.
This themed VR experience, incorporates a 2,000-sq ft. free-roam space with groups of players navigating virtually rendered darkened corridors, and blasting Xenomorphs, in a full virtual experience. The platform has been in secret test for several months as the company’s perfected their vision of the best VR experience. Using the Samsung Gear VR as their immersive platform, married to a force feedback weapon – again using the StrikerVR gun.
It is great to see StrikerVR, one of the early developers in this latest phase of the VR landscape, making headway, though aspirations in the consumer sector have pivoted to a wholly commercial entertainment business model. Some of the new projects launching in recent months deploy the StrikerVR system – which has completed an arduous evaluation and testing phase to become a dominant brand in this sector.
One of the leading lights in the deployment of Arena-Scale virtual attractions, The VOID announced nine additional locations, bringing the company’s total footprint to 18 venues. This growth marks the progression of The VOID to establish their unique “Hyper Reality” experience that launched back in 2016 with their first location at Madame Tussauds in New York (partnered with Sony Pictures and Merlin Entertainment). The process of doubling its locations comes as the company closed a very successful Series A round of investment.
“Move along…”
Las Vegas recently saw the opening of the latest VOID location (now partnered with Walt Disney), placed within the Venetian Casino Resort – the latest installation of their VR backpack experience based around the cinematic universe of Star Wars. The VOID started with another of their games based around the Ghostbusters IP – and is looking to continue this path of innovation while emerging the guest in an interactive film like narrative.
This opening in Las Vegas last month coincided with several VR openings in this entertainment capital. Several major LV casino resorts incorporating a VR offering to appeal to the “Millennial audience”, looking for a new draw beyond the gaming floors of the casinos. One such example was seen at New York-New York casino resort, who have augmented their popular rollercoaster by added VR Coaster technology. Riders wearing Samsung Gear VR headsets that supply a sweeping VR ride experience to the twists and turns of the coaster.
Watch this space for the next and final part of this latest coverage into DOE, coming soon to The Virtual Arena and VRFocus.
Die Dragon-Quest-Reihe fristete zwar im Westen eher ein Schattendasein, war aber in Japan traditionell der größte Konkurrent zu Final Fantasy und ein japanisches Rollenspiel-Schwergewicht mit Millionen Fans. Die Arcade-Halle VR Zone in Shinjuku ist nicht verlegen um große Namen wie Mario Kart,Dragonball VR oder das im November letzten Jahres eröffnete Ghost in the Shell. Nun steht im April 2018 der nächste Top-Franchise an: Dragon Quest VR.
Dragon Quest VR im April in japanischer Arcade Halle
Der Dragon-Quest-Schöpfer Yuhi Horii findet im Trailer begeisterte Worte zu der VR-Umsetzung seiner Serie: „Ehrlich gesagt ist es wie ein Traum. Ich fühlte mich so, als ob ich tatsächlich ein Schwert und ein Schild halten und durch die Welt laufen würde – es machte unheimlichen Spaß.“ (Quelle: The Verge)
Damit wären wahrscheinlich auch alle Gameplay-Elemente gut beschrieben. Spielegrafik ist im Trailer zwar nicht zu sehen, dafür darf man aber einen Blick auf die genannte Ausrüstung – Schild und Schwert – werfen. Bei Dragon Quest VR können mehrere Spieler gegen Monster und Unholde in den Kampf ziehen, womit die Erfahrung neben Ghost in the Shell die zweite Field-Multiplayer-Aktivität sein wird.
Reservierung für Dragon Quest VR nimmt die von Bandai-Namco betriebene VR Zone soll laut The Verge ab dem 20. April entgegen, ab dem 27. April wird die Erfahrung dann in der riesigen Arcade-Halle zur Verfügung stehen. Wir hatten das Vergnügen, einige VR-Arcade-Installationen in Japan zu testen und konnten uns vor allem für Mario Kart begeistern. Allerdings überzeugten uns andere Titel weniger, bei Dragonball VR wirkte die Grafik teilweise unschön und die Flugrichtung der Feuerbälle zu zufällig, um wirklich Spaß zu haben. Ob Dragon Quest VR eine bessere Erfahrung bieten wird, bleibt deshalb abzuwarten. Weitere Informationen zu Preisen, Arcade-Titeln und mehr findet man auf der Webseite der VR Zone.
Though not quite as well-known in the West as its famous SquareEnix stable mate Final Fantasy, the Dragon Quest series is nonetheless phenomenally popular, particularly in its native Japan. Over the years it has spawned a bewildering array of sequels, tie-ins and spin-offs, a list that will shortly include its own virtual reality (VR) experience.
Bandai Namco’s VR Zone in Shinjuku, Tokyo will be playing host to Dragon Quest VR from later this month, where it will sit alongside well-regarded high-end VR experience such s the VR version of Mario Kart.
Series creator Yuji Horii was delighted with the news. As he says in the announcement trailer: “It’s honestly like a dream. I really felt like I was holding a sword and shield and walking through the world — I thought it was incredibly fun.”
The trailer doesn’t show any of the gameplay footage just yet, but footage does show test players wearing HTC Vive headsets wielding tracked motion controllers representing a sword and shield in what seems to be an open, free-roam environment.
The Dragon Quest series has been ongoing since 1986, though it is only relatively recently that the series has begun to see recognition outside of Japan, with Dragon Quest IX, published internationally by Nintendo seeing success and raising the profile of the series. The next title, Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, is due to release on PC and PlayStation 4 in the West on 4th September. It is not known at this stage of Dragon Quest VR will be tied in to that title or will stand alone.
VR Zone will be taking reservations to play Dragon Quest VR from 20th April, and the title will be available to play from 27th April, 2018. The launch trailer video is available to view below.
As always, VRFocuswill keep you informed on new updates regarding Dragon Quest VR and other new and upcoming VR projects.
The latest beloved gaming franchise to arrive in Japan’s VR Zone Shinjuku arcade is none other than Dragon Quest VR.
While fans of this long-running Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Dragon Quest 11 later this year, a VR spin-off is coming to the arcade that also features installations for series like Mario Kart and Dragon Ball Z. We don’t know much about the project save for what’s in the trailer below, which shows several players wielding tracked devices with HTC Vives on.
According to Gematsu, players will be able to select a class (Warrior, Preist or Mage), which will dictate what weapons they use in VR. You’ll have a chance to explore the series’ colorful world before taking on a boss named Zome. Dragon Quest usually features turn-based battles, so this will be quite a departure for the series. Sadly, there’s no word on if we could see it over in the west.
The game will launch in the arcade on April 27th and there’ll be a chance to become one of the first people to play it arriving later this month on the official website.
One of the largest social entertainment brands, caused a rash of mainstream media headlines with the announcement that they would be installing, what has been called the “World’s largest commercial multiplayer VR attraction, at over 110 Dave & Busters’ (D&B) locations. The attraction called 
