The application of virtual reality (VR) into the attraction and amusement landscape is covered by leading industry specialist Kevin Williams. In his latest Virtual Arena column, he reveals the first deployment of the HTC Focus 3 into the Out-of-Home entertainment sector, part of what will mark a revolutionary new application of VR within the proven Laser Tag scene.
One of the biggest elements to the success of VR in the location-based entertainment sphere has been its utilisation of physicality. In the first phases, this was achieved with motion platforms, then with the next phase, we saw the use of free-roaming – the ability to move around a space, and in some cases very limited interaction with physical objects. But with the latest developments, we see the highest yet achieved levels of interactivity that looks to launch the medium into the next phase.
The entertainment scene has had a long love affair with what has become ubiquitously called “Laser Tag”. Since 1984, when the first arena-based laser tag facility (Photon) opened, the ability for guests of all ages to run around an arena, using walls to hide behind, while blasting fellow players with laser weapons, registering hits from their own vests through tactile feedback, has been established as a major hit. The amusement industry has seen Laser Tag arenas become a staple attraction across the entertainment venue business landscape. Even after a failed attempt to make a home entertainment alternative.
A conventional Lasertag arena, now able to accommodate VR experiences. Image credit: Creative Works
Having carved out a reliable business in the industry, laser tag looks to be at the centre of the next major development in the phase of VR evolution. Free-roaming, backpack PC based VR has been a major phase of investment; but the need for an approach that looked at utilizing the already established arena business for laser tag was needed. An approach that could offer a package that could safely incorporate the physical obstructions found within the space. This was the opportunity that galvanised Creative Works, one of the leading builders of laser tag arenas, as well as a sales force to the industry of VR hardware from HOLOGATE and Major Mega (‘Hyperdeck’).
The fruits of this effort can now be revealed with what has been dubbed the “Next Generation of Laser Tag”. Launching Limitless VR, Creative Works has envisaged a multi-player VR experience, employing the latest Standalone VR hardware, that can be played within actual laser tag locations, without the need for the modification of the space. Offering a seamless means for VR entertainment to sit alongside the already proven physical laser tag experience.
The virtual re-creation of the physical playing arena. Image credit: Creative Works
Using the latest laser scanning technology, existing laser tag arenas, including their walls and obstructions are scanned and represented exactly within the game space. The physical items are married to the virtual environment. Creative Works has partnered with a specialist in LiDAR laser imaging to be able to create an exact recreation of the area elements, through 3D laser scanning. This allows players to interact safely with physical barriers within the game space. The majority of other free-roaming virtual arena systems have negated the inclusion of physical props due to the limitations of their VR hardware.
One of the big elements of the Limitless VR experience is the use of the HTC Vive Focus 3 – the first location-based entertainment (LBE) system to field the brand new standalone headset. The Vive Focus 3 offers a powerful platform targeted wholly at the commercial business scene, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2, which now ventures into commercial entertainment. The platform will offer the ability of up to 16 headsets at launch (with the ability to scale up to 30 in the future), to take part in multi-player experiences, embracing another vital element of laser tag, that of multiple player competition. Creative Works has been in partnership with HTC to be the first to deploy this platform into the entertainment market.
The HTC Vive Focus 3, and the new StrikerVR weapon system in action. Image credit: Creative Works
In support of the headset, the players will be using the latest game interface. From StrikerVR, the experience uses the new ‘HD Haptics’, compact gun systems, which incorporates the haptic feedback technology from the range. Deployed for the first time on this attraction. So along with the latest weapon systems and VR headset, the Limitless VR platform can negate the need for cumbersome backpack PC’s. The laser tag arena now turned into a virtual game space, populated with virtual elements changed at the click of a mouse.
Laser tag offers an important element in many entertainment facilities, offering, not only games and competitions but is also central in many of the private hire (birthday party) business that draws revenue. Being able to target these group bookings with a versatile VR platform incorporating many of the familiar elements of highly physical gameplay, now super-charged with an immersive game experience. Experiences that will be constantly changing without the operator having to totally reconstruct their arena.
The Limitless VR system in action with players of all ages. Image credit: Creative Works
The ‘Limitless VR’ is the first Standalone VR experience to incorporate detailed physical object tracking and can be deployed across the numerous already established laser tag arenas in the market. Previous attempts had been made to use VR within limited physical arenas with objects, as seen with the aborted Oculus, ‘Dead & Buried Arena’ prototype teased at the Oculus Connect 5 event in 2018, (and then subsequently dropped). The need to have exact tracking of physical objects and offer multi-player experiences is essential to achieve the full potential of VR in this space.
With the new Creative Works release, this will mark the first of a new generation of free-roaming systems that are moving away from the encumbrance of backpack PC’s and employing sophisticated standalone VR systems. We will report on the other entrants into this scene and additional technological advancements that hope to bring the high-end PC VR experience to standalone headsets, unachievable at home.
Netflix has released some exciting TV shows and movies during the course of 2021, one of the biggest films being Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead.As revealed in May, the movie is accompanied by a travelling location-based VR experience (LBE) called Vive Las Vengence. It’s now been confirmed that the UK leg of the tour is coming to London in September.
The tour began this month kicking off in Los Angeles and New York City, followed by Las Vegas and Washington D.C. London will be the first city outside the US to see the VR-enabled mobile taco truck arrive, offering VR and zombie fans alike the chance to battle hordes of the undead on the Las Vegas strip. The story is set several years before the events of the Netflix film.
Up to six people can team up and try to rescue survivors trapped in zombie-infested Las Vegas using Valve Index headsets and StrikerVR guns. To make the experience truly immersive the truck features state-of-the-art motion platforms whilst providing full COVID-19 compliance with extensive hygiene and social distancing precautions in place.
“Army of the Dead is one of the most hotly anticipated releases of the year and now fans have the chance to climb aboard the taco truck to experience the world for themselves,” said Greg Lombardo, Head of Experiences at Netflix in a statement. “We are thrilled to partner with the Snyders, Pure Imagination Studios and Fever to bring Army of the Dead to London this summer in a way like never before.”
Tickets for Army of the Dead’sViva Las Vengence: A VR Experience in London go on sale from 4th August at 10am BST. Prices start from £18 GBP for the 30-minute experience. To make sure you don’t miss out the waiting list for tickets opens today (28th July) granting early access to those who sign up.
While London is the only UK stop, Viva Las Vengence: A VR Experience will be heading across Europe, with Madrid, Berlin and Paris arrival dates still to be confirmed. For all the latest UK-based VR attractions keeping reading VRFocus and our regular The Virtual Arena feature which recently went to Brighton Palace Pier.
Director Zack Snyder knows a thing or two about zombies considering his reboot of Romero’s classic Dawn of the Dead (2004) and then last week saw the highly anticipated launch of Army of the Dead over on Netflix. He’s got big plans for the franchise which, as it turns out, includes a virtual reality (VR) experience called Viva Las Vengence.
Starting in North America this summer Army Of The Dead – Viva Las Vengeance: A VR Experience is going to be a team-based VR shooter set within a mobile taco truck. Up to six players will be able to gear up with Valve Index headsets and StrikerVR guns to take on hordes of the living dead and help rescue survivors.
“It’s time to take matters into your own hands! Helpless civilians are trapped inside the walls confining zombie-infested Las Vegas, and the Las Vengeance crew needs your help rescuing them,” the description explains. “You’ll feel every bump and turn as you shoot your way through zombie-filled streets in an epic adventure. Should you make it out in one piece, you’ll be able to immortalize the mission’s success with exclusive merch and photo ops at the end of the experience.”
The entire experience will take place inside the trailer, so there’s no locomotion for players to worry about, just shooting zombies through the grills. You can even play seated by the look of it. Viva Las Vengence: A VR Experience will clock in at 30 minutes, with prices starting from $24 USD.
“The experience combines state of the art VR with fan-favourite elements of the movie, that will make for an unforgettable tour,” said Snyder in a statement. “Get ready to roll the dice with the undead as you battle your way through hordes of the zombies across a Vegas wasteland.”
The tactical taco truck will start its 10+ month US tour this July, kicking off in Los Angeles and New York City and travelling to: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Miami, Minneapolis, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C. It’ll also head to European locations including London, Madrid, Berlin and Paris at a later date.
For further updates on Army Of The Dead – Viva Las Vengeance: A VR Experience, keep reading VRFocus.
Every weekend VRFocus gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industry, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.
Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hubto check as well.
If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).
We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.
After announcing in February a $4 million investment to help it enter the consumer virtual reality (VR) space, peripheral maker StrikerVR has now revealed a new partnership with Immersion, a specialist in haptic freedback technology.
The will aid StrikerVR’s step into consumer gaming peripherals, with Immersion’s HD haptic and kinesthetic technologies integrated into StrikerVR’s platform. Images like the ones above showcase what the designs could look like, offering a fully functioning gun accessory similar to the company’s location-based entertainment (LBE) products.
From the sound of it, StrikerVR is planning on creating several devices rather than just one gun with a statement noting haptics that simulate: “the power of a floor-shaking speaker; to the crack of a baseball bat; to the pull of a fishing line.”
“New advanced force feedback and high-definition vibrotactile haptic products launched in the market are inspiring the gaming industry to deliver new experiences with touch feedback technology. Gaming experiences today are defined by sight, sound and touch,” said John Griffin, VP of Products and Marketing at Immersion in a statement. “StrikerVR is thinking ahead and building a product that will excite users with its advanced features. We’re looking forward to working with them to expand the use of touch feedback on their platform and change how people experience haptics.”
“Haptics is an important part of making the gaming and VR experience as realistic as possible,” said Martin Holly, VP, and Founder of StrikerVR. “The more that we can do with the sense of touch and haptics, the better the experience. Touch brings it all together and creates a sense of presence. We’ve worked with haptics in our product for VR attractions, and we’re thrilled to be taking this next step with Immersion to bring even more interactivity and presence to new experiences for consumers.”
The collaboration between StrikerVR and Immersion is part of a multi-year license agreement, with the companies yet to confirm when these new devices might be appearing. When further details are made available, VRFocus will let you know.
Striker VR bietet bereits seit einigen Jahren einen hochwertigen Gun-Controller für Arcades und andere Einrichtungen an. Nun will das Unternehmen auch die Heimanwender erreichen und sichert sich ein Investment über 4 Mio. US-Dollar zum Erreichen des Ziels.
Striker VR erhält Investment und plant Version für Konsumenten
Das bisherige System von Striker VR ist extrem kostspielig und deshalb bietet das Unternehmen seine Waffen-Controller nur für professionelle Anwender und Anwenderinnen an. Das Besondere an den Controllern von Striker VR ist, dass sie ein extrem realistisches Feedback an den Spielenden bzw. die Spielende abgeben. Dieses Feedback basiert nicht auf einfacher Vibration, sondern wird durch einen echten Rückstoß erzeugt.
Wie Striker VR gegenüber Road to VR bestätigt, wolle das Unternehmen zukünftig seinen Controller für PC VR und Oculus Quest anbieten. Während dies auf dem PC über SteamVR recht einfach zu bewerkstelligen ist, könnte die Umsetzung für die Quest mit mehr Aufwand verbunden sein, da Oculus sein Tracking-System aktuell geschlossen hält.
Woher die Investitionen über 4 Mio. US-Dollar stammen, verrät das Unternehmen aktuell noch nicht. Man wolle das Geld aber nutzen, um mehr Personen einzustellen und damit schneller das neue Produkt auf den Markt zu bringen.
The second and final part of his report observing the current immersive Out-of-Home entertainment scene for VRFocus. In his latest Virtual Arena column, industry specialist Kevin Williams concludes his overview of the Free-Roaming VR sector in LBE, and looks at the key developments, and the next phase of investment as the market re-emerges.
Continuing the coverage of the impact that free-roaming out-of-home entertainment is having on the re-emerging market, we see that major IP and a continuation of business are driving the sector. While many tried to paint the post-COVID LBE VR market as doomed – the reality is that the market has started to re-emerge from lockdown and are seeing a return of their audience, while the operators that have survived the loss of business now look to the investment towards the next phase of establishing their prospects.
Battle arena – Image credit: KWP
The Re-emergence of the Free-Roam Business
Establishing a full suite of VR entertainment experiences for the various needs of the entertainment venue business has been a constant challenge for many corporations. One of those that has established an important place in the market is VRstudios. Along with the company’s enclosure and free-standing VR platforms (‘ATOM’), they have also defined backpack VR arena experiences with their ‘FLEX’ VR game arena platform. Supporting from four to eight players in either small 25’x25’ to big 40’x40’ arenas, using their Attraction Management Platform (AMP) to integrate the hardware support working with the HTC Vive headset and HP backpacks.
The company before the pandemic had installed the first ‘FLEX Arena’ system in partnership with entertainment chain Dave & Buster’s demonstrating the value of adding a new attraction and revenue source to otherwise underutilized space. This level of flexibility opening the opportunity to venues of all scale to include a free-roaming arena in their offering. As with all their range, ‘FLEX’ is supported by the company’s overarching Attraction Management Platform (AMP) that handles content and operation of their systems – and also supports the VR sports competitive element of their platform, bringing an eSports capability to the ‘ATOM’ and ‘FLEX’, and free-roaming experiences, in general.
Nomadic VR – the company had initially wanted to develop their own videogame content, but after an initial process, reverted to a partnership to license a version of the popular zombie shooter from Vertigo Arcade (‘Arizona Sunshine: Contagion Z’). But soon the reality of what they offered impacted the plans of the operation. Long before the pandemic, Nomadic had closed its Orlando flagship venue (only open some eleven months) and plans for Las Vegas and Los Angeles sites were shelved. But the company has built on the valuable lessons it has learned from operating in the sector and during 2019 partnered on a major installation creating a pay-to-play LBE VR experience, Vader Immortal: Lightsaber Dojo, based on the consumer VR experience (Star Wars Lightsaber Dojo). In September it was announced that following this initial test, Nomadic and ILMxLabs would be partnering to make Lightsaber Dojo more efficient for family entertainment centres and arcades to operate in a tethered upright amusement version.
Backlight – known for their innovative VR escape game and arena-scale attraction has not been dormant during the lockdown period and are part of the new opening news. The Las Vegas-based AREA15 venue labelled as a 200,000-sq.,ft., “experiential art, retail and entertainment complex”, will be the flagship location for a brand new platform from Backlight – a 6,000sq.,ft., space that will have two groups of six play. The ‘OZ Experience’, pop-up LBE VR installation that will utilize backpack PC’s and offer a compelling attraction to support the eclectic mix of partners for this experimental entertainment venue. But Backlight has also been working on other projects launching this year based on their VR escape gaming and new innovative experience platforms. The company looking at rolling out their new innovative platform for wider deployment, most recently for their groundbreaking free-roaming experience Toyland: Crazy Monkey – combining a unique D-BOX motion seat system, married into the free-roaming experience, players take on hordes of toy enemies as they are shrunk into toyland.
The motion seat part of the unique Toyland experience. Image credit: YMAGIS
While others are re-assessing their LBE VR aspirations, other new incumbents are entering the water and applying much of the lessons learned from theme park style attraction presentation. One of the veteran attraction manufacturers isMack Ride (part of Mark International) and they have over recent years established a media-based interest. Launched in September YULLBE – Full Body Tracking Free-Roaming VR Experience, developed by new division MackNeXT in cooperation with VR Coaster and Mack Rides. Working in calibration with motion tracking specialists Vicon, the YULLBE attraction offers two unique arena-scale experiences which can accommodate up to 32 users – what could be called an “Attraction-scale Platform.” The first being a fully tracked, backpack PC experience presented through the Pimax 4K VR headsets (customised for the attraction). But this is not a one-off installation, YULLBE is part of a roll-out of a chain of LBE VR centres across Europe.
YULLBE players don Pimax and PC backs. Image credit: MackNeXT
The European developer DIVR Labs has proven to be a strong developer of free-roaming VR experiences, most notable for their installation at the Hamleys Toy Store in Prague in the Czech Republic. The operation reconfigured the basement of the toy store to turn it into the Golem VR attraction. An arena-scale immersive experience that was based on the 15th Century Prague folk law, where Rabbi Löw created a creature known as a Golem. The attraction employing backpack PC’s, Oculus Rift CV1 headsets and the use of Ultraleap hand tracking – players in groups of four traversing the virtually created cityscape, the environment employing physical as well as virtual effects with great results.
Building on this success and the DIVR team started to roll out several experiences at new locations but were impacted by the lockdown of business with the global situation. Now re-emerging from this lockdown and the company reveals its first new installations at the Premium Outlet Prague Airport called Meet the Dinosaurs. The free-roaming time-travelling dinosaur experience transporting groups of four players back 80 million years, in an area of 150 square meters (players using backpack PC’s and HP Reverb headsets). Quickly following on from this, and the third DIVR location opened in the UAE.
One of the European developers that has grown a strong following in the LBE VR, is Swiss-based TrueVRSystems. Having been one of the first to develop an effective free-roaming platform incorporating multi-player and physical effect immersion – the operation has gone on to license its platform across numerous sites. During last year, the company announced plans to expand the level of capacity of their virtual worlds, accommodating 10-player simulations. This was the fifth VR arena-scale experience created by the company, supporting the OptiTrack system, and running on Oculus Rift CV1 headsets – with the use of the StrikerVR weapon system. At the time leading up to lockdown, the operation had content licensed across some 13 venues, with plans for new US and EU venues.
A crowded landscape of free-roaming developers and one of the early developers is VEX Solutions – with a suite of different VR applications, the company has their VEX Adventure turnkey platform, offering 6m x 6m virtual arena for players for up to four PC backpack wearing players, using HTC Vive headsets, including the use of haptic vests. The VEX platform offers physical effects (heat, olfactory and vibration) within the arena to enhance the virtual experience – offering some six available games, on average offering 40-minutes of play from developers such as ECLIPSE and Backlight Studios.
Another backpack PC VR arena developer and operator is MASSVR – the company had established in Chicago their unique interpretation of the multiple player experience. Long before Fortnite was a thing, the company had installed an 8,000 square feet VR arena in a converted department store floor plan. This Westfield, Skokie location would be joined by a dedicated facility in Bloomington, IL – offering one of the largest mass playing experiences with some 16-players simultaneously. The game experiences are PvP style with teams battling through environments to capture the flag – but in a unique immersive element, the games incorporate virtual jetpacks and zip-lines, as well as an assortment of weaponry. The company with its emergence from lockdown announced the addition of its VR Champions high-action active game experience with a group of eight players in a “head-to-head” competition.
Players ready for the MASSVR experience. Image credit: MASSVR
One of the start-ups that gained some coverage was BiggerInside – the company showed a free-roaming concept back in 2019 at the IAAPA Europe event and went on to roll out their concept called Protocol 223. It uses the Microsoft MR tracking system, with HP Reverb headset and HP-Z-VR backpack PC – the system had the additional element of full body and hand tracking through extensive “eXosuit” fully body tracking, favouring a softer style of play away from players brandishing weapons. The four-player game arena also included physical maze wall elements to marry the physical and virtual worlds together and created a unique PvP style of experience.
The VR arcade scene has striven to broaden its appeal, looking for the latest innovation to keep relevant. The ability to offer a turn-key arena-scale offering to the widest audience has seen the free-roaming genre added to the libraries of content providers. One of the established facility management and content providers to hundreds of VR arcades is Synthesis VR, and in August the company partnered with Secret Location, to launch a free-roaming, multiplayer version of their previous popular content, releasing Blasters of the Universe: Infinity Forever. This attraction takes the original wave-based shooter and brings it to the world of arena-scale.
As previously reported other developers have started to offer free-roaming plug and play solutions for operators wanting to add this level of entertainment to their facility. As we covered in the first of our venue visits after lockdown, the escape room scene has embraced VR – and we had seen that Vertigo Arcades, along with an arena-scale version of their popular Arizona Sunshine, had released the brand new title Ghost Patrol VR, also for four players and also as a simple turn-key VR arcade addition. Vertigo Arcades had worked closely with Nomadic on a unique version of their popular title, creating Arizona Sunshine: Contagion Z as an exclusive version only for their LBE venues. Charting the major movements in the LBE sector of late, and just as we went to the wire news came from the Dutch game’s parent. It was announced that Vertigo Games Holding had had 100-per-cent of their shares acquired by Koch Media GmbH Austria – a wholly-owned subsidiary of Embracer Group AB, (more commonly known as THQ Nordic), for $59.3m.
Other major developments continue to underpin the more positive nature of this sphere of immersive tech following the upheaval. SPREE Interactive – despite COVID-19, major venue openings have been taking place. In August SPREE Interactive in partnership with Pixomondo (Hollywood FX house) and broadcaster giant ProSieben launched Mission to Mars attraction at Forum Schwanthalerhöhe, Germany. An example of a pop-up retail unit installation for an immersive 10-player free-roaming VR experience. ProSieben’s popular Galileo television program is recreated immersively with a 15-minute VR experience, having guests take on an adventure to investigate humanity’s possible survival on the red planet. The attraction employing Pico standalone VR headsets and SPREE’s unique architecture that alleviated the need for backpack PC’s. Opened in August as the European LBE VR scene re-emerged from lockdown, an extremely popular attraction with audiences seeing over 60-per-cent capacity which has led the mall owner HBB to expend the attraction until the end of November.
Players get ready to visit the Red Planet. Image credit: SPREE Interactive
Hyperverse – had heavily promoted their interpretation of what was needed, with their “full-immersion free-roam VR park” concept. The company had achieved initial success with installations as part of existing entertainment venues in Moscow, Chelyabinsk, New York, and Samara, the operation had initially raised some $1.5m in investment. Their hopes of being a turn-key solution was difficult as the water became crowded with more start-ups entering the free-roaming arena. Offering three free-roaming experience for between two and six players over 25-minutes, at venues such as Moscow’s ArenaScape.
While most arena-scale investment has been for LBE VR as seen in these reports, there are new applications for free-roaming experiences being developed for the arts. It was revealed recently that in London, The Royal Opera House (ROH) has been developing the first “hyper-reality opera” in partnership with Figment Productions (known for their work in theme parks and attractions). The free-roaming VR experience will place the user in the heart of an original operatic, artistic creation (inspired by the freeing of Ariel from The Tempest). The arena-scale application incorporating 4D effects married to the immersive experience, is called Current, Rising. It is scheduled to open later this year in the Linbury Theatre, part of the Opera House in Covent Garden, London. In what has been described as “historic stagecraft and cutting-edge technology”.
The Road Ahead
One of the key aspects of the latest phase of development in LBE VR has been the adoption of free-roaming applications. What industry specialist KWP has dubbed “Phase Five” of the latest adoption of VR into the commercial entertainment landscape, where vast cumbersome and technologically complicated free-roam arenas were deployed. In many cases employing camera-based mapping and tracking of objects in a complicated ballet usually referred to as SLAM (Simultaneous Localization Mapping). With advancements in technology and the simplification of the process the ability to track multiple users within an arena has been achieved, and the cost reductions are being applied towards creating cost-effective solutions.
The new generation of FAM (Flexible Arena Mapping) platforms will drive the investment in more free-roaming installations. No matter the consumer VR scene hopes to encroach on the experiences achievable with free-roaming, such as with “Co-Location” – the unique entertainment offering from this installation in a commercial setting, is still highly compelling, and unbeatable.
Haptic feedback is becoming an important part of the virtual reality (VR) experience, especially where location-based entertainment (LBE) is concerned. Striker VR is a specialist in this area, having previously built a gun peripheral on the same name. Today, the company has announced a new partnership with Nanoport Technology – creator of TacHammer haptic tech – which will see a new gun released called the Arena Infinity LITE.
The peripheral aims to deliver an even more realistic experience than previous models thanks to TacHammer LMR haptic technology which uses magnetic suspension instead of springs to produce impact haptics. To create the haptic unit Haptech Inc. worked with Nanoport Technology, making a custom unit uniquely sized and fitted for Striker VR products.
“We worked with Striker VR to develop this new TacHammer and it was quite a challenge given the tight requirements and large g-forces. Testing was particularly hairy; the intense forces destroyed the fixtures and restraints that we initially used” explains Kyle Skippon, development engineer for TacHammer, in a statement.
Providing strong impact haptics so that Arena Infinity LITE could simulate strong gunshot-like blasts, the TacHammer technology is also able to simulate more subtle effects, like the rumble of a distant explosion or accelerated heartbeat of a player.
“Haptics quality is our highest priority. It is how we create the highest level of immersion for AAA content and VR experiences,” says Martin Holly, co-founder and vice president, Striker VR. “This partnership represents our commitment to delivering the best products in the LBE industry.”
The Arena Infinity LITE blaster will be the first product to feature TacHammer haptics, offering players impact-based haptics that can reach up to 50 Gs of acceleration. The new model retains the same form factor as the original Striker VR gun but is now 20% lighter, making it easier to wield.
Striker VR has already begun shipping the Arena Infinity LITE blaster to selection VR LBE providers with full production capabilities starting in Q1 2020. Recently VRFocustried out Manus VR’s haptic glove, Manus Prime Haptic, offering an expensive look at an enterprise-focused device. For further updates on haptic technology, 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.
At GDC 2017 this week we’ve gone hands-on with the latest prototype of StrikerVR’s ‘Arena Infinity’ haptic VR gun. Built (for now) for the out-of-home sector, the peripheral’s powerful haptics adapt from guns to chainsaws to grenade launchers and more.
In virtual reality you can make the tracked object you’re holding look like anything. So a one-size-fits-all haptic kick isn’t going to cut it when immersion is the goal. StrikerVR knows this, and has created their Arena Infinity haptic gun to be able to output an impressive range of haptic effects which feel significantly different depending upon what virtual weapon you’re firing.
I got to try the latest prototype, which is now fully self contained, at GDC 2017 this week and was impressed with the extremely solid feel of the Arena Infinity and the powerful and satisfying kick it provides. In the demo I wore a VR backpack, an Oculus Rift, and wielded the Arena Infinity, all tracked by the new active-marker ‘OptiTrack Active’ system.
In the single-fire mode, you get a very satisfying kick with every pull; you can feel the gun move your shoulder, and even see it when other people are using the peripheral. Because of the type of haptics StrikerVR has implemented, the response time is also very tight relative to the in-game visuals and sound effects, and continues to be responsive as fast as I was able to pull the trigger. After pulling the trigger enough times to deplete the virtual clip, successive pulls give only a tiny nudge to indicate that you’re out of ammo. The bottom of the gun has a ‘smack button’, that somewhat recreates the motion of smacking a clip to ensure it’s been securely inserted into the magazine well. That initiates a reload and allows you to continue firing away.
A button on the side of the gun (in this case) was used to toggle between different virtual weapon modes with different haptic effects. One mode was full-auto which gave a satisfying repeating kick as I held down the trigger (this was especially fun for dual wielding the guns, Rambo style). The next mode was a grenade launcher which gave the feeling of a single ‘thump’ followed by a rumble indicating when the weapon was reloaded. And then there was the chainsaw mode, which put revving chains on the end of the gun model in the game (along with sound effects). In this mode, the gun is constantly making a low rumble which picks up speed as you hold the trigger down. When you let the trigger go, the chains slow down after losing their momentum and return to the idle rumble.
The effect, especially paired with the in-game chainsaw visual and sound effects, made me momentarily fearful of putting my hand on the end of the gun where the virtual chainsaw was.
StrikerVR has also shown other haptic effects that weren’t present in this demo, and developers could make their own effects that specifically fit their in-game weapons.
While the Arena Infinity is made for the out-of-home market and presently tracked by a high-end commercial tracking system, StrikerVR co-founder Martin Holly says that the company wants to prove the device in the commercial market before commoditizing it into a consumer package. When it comes to tracking, Holly says that future versions of the gun will feature a scope rail which will make an easy attachment point for something like the Vive Tracker to enable SteamVR Tracking. Holly also says the company is in contact with Oculus regarding the possibility of using Oculus’ Constellation tracking system.
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 
