Virtual Reality
The second
In what ways can VR be used at parks to improve guest experience? PC: At the moment we’re seeing increasing popularity for free roaming VR experiences, where the movements of guests are tracked wirelessly so they can explore vast spaces without limitation. This allows them to go on what appears to be vast limitless adventures, but in reality the experience can only take up a small footprint due to a clever use of space and tracking. Real-time high dynamic experiences like the R3ex system that we launched last year is also taking VR to exciting new levels. The real-time element allows guests to define their individual experience, something that would be difficult to manage using a big screen. We take this one step further to make it multisensory. Guests experience immersion through audio, motion, SFX including elements like scent, wind and water. Gesture based interactivity allows them to interact naturally with the virtual world, allowing them to take control of the experience, and avatars of their friends helps to maintain the group experience, which is essential to a day at a park. CM: The first generation of VR is existing attractions, such as roller coasters, that have had a VR feature added to it. The second generation, attractions designed as VR experiences from the get go, feature much more compelling guest experiences precisely because the attraction was designed to feature VR rather than as an after-thought. In this ‘second generation’ we also find several types of attractions. The most common differentiator being ‘passive’ vs ‘active’, or more commonly called, ‘interactive’. Passive attractions allow the guest to see the virtual world but
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generation of VR
Q&A: Christian Martin, Triotech and Peter Cliff, Holovis share their thoughts on the future of VR for parks and FECs
that is about the it in terms of user experience. On the other hand, interactive attractions allow the guest to actively participate in the experience. These are the most compelling currently on the market. The idea behind Triotech’s VR Maze was to optimize immersion and interactivity by combining the physical world (the maze itself) and the virtual world (the content). This enhances immersion as participants can actually feel walls and other obstacles they see in the virtual world because those exist in the physical maze.
What are the challenges of using VR at theme parks? CM: The two main challenges in using VR at theme parks are capacity and hygiene. Some VR-equipped roller coasters have seen their THRC reduced by 40%, 50% and some have suffered even more extreme negative throughput impacts. This is why second generation VR attractions, those designed to be a VR experience from the beginning, are the ones being implemented today. It is not that the capacity impact is removed but rather that it is calculated into the investment and ROI as well as operation plans. The hygiene issue is, in a way, being attacked the same way: by introducing operational parameters that take into account the extra steps of cleaning and so on necessary for VR attractions. PC: The key challenges include hygiene, how to keep the headsets clean between users and throughput. Getting enough people through every hour to meet the usual demand at theme parks can be tricky, making these experiences much more
suited to supplementary or paid for extras rather than billed as the main attraction. Robustness of headsets is also still a challenge. They’re not made for mass use so only really work in controlled environments. Operation can also be tricky as people often don’t find VR very intuitive, so an operator having to refocus and resize to meet personal preferences takes too long.
How do you see the use of VR for entertainment experiences developing over the next few years? Will the bubble burst? PC: VR definitely has a big place behind the scenes for design, but until some of the challenges around throughput can be worked out there are limitations for guest experiences. People also come to parks to be with their friends, which VR only lets you do in a very limited capacity. For now, media and motion based dark rides, immersive and flying theatres, dome shows and Augmented Reality are still a highly effective and popular way for immersing guests into story and creating lasting memories with friends. CM: In a VR experience, the content is digital. This allows parks and FECs to immerse the guest in a completely different world. This is especially true with strong branded IP such as Ubisoft’s Raving Rabbids or Assassin’s Creed. The cost of setting up such an attraction in a traditional way is prohibitive to most operators. However in the virtual world, this can be done affordably. Additionally it can be constantly updated, or new IPs can be introduced. This is a strong draw for guests.
APRIL 2018
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