- [Narrator] Virtual reality is the
hardest thing to describe to someone
who hasn't tried it.
After all, as an outside observer
watching someone use VR,
this is the view you get.
How cool could this goofy (censored) possibly be?
It's only when you put the visor on yourself
that you get the sense of being transported somewhere else.
But even then, your other senses
keep you anchored in our common, mundane reality.
Your living room is not a holodeck.
But what if there was a kind of hybrid world
that went beyond the visor?
What if you could touch virtual objects
like they were real?
Or feel the breeze on your face
when a simulated storm rolled in?
What if, when you got hit by a bad guy in the virtual world,
you felt it in the real one?
That's what the folks are doing out at The Void,
a hyper reality amusement complex being built in Utah
by the company of the same name.
And they've brought a little slice of it
to Madame Tussaud's in New York City.
This is Ghostbusters Dimension,
a so-called hyper reality experience.
I went to the press opening with Russel Holly
and some other members of the VR Heads team last summer.
The experience starts out with the usual
amusement park fare.
Wax reproductions of your favorite characters,
holographic ghosts, replica props from the new movie.
It's only when you head downstairs
into a darkened airlock-like prep chamber
that things start getting interesting.
In addition to donning the expected headgear,
you're helped into a special harness mounted vest
by some assistants.
I remember it as a more massive apparatus
than the video shows to be the case,
and the reason for that will become clear in a second.
Lastly, you're given a BFG 9000,
or whatever the name of this big phaser rifle is,
and sent through the door.
And the first thing that tips you off
that this isn't just a regular VR experience is that
the dilapidated Manhattan apartment
you seem to be walking into
has virtual furniture that you can reach out and touch
because it's been mapped onto real furniture
in the room you're standing in.
As you can tell, it's hard to explain.
This is the kind of subtle, mind-bending stuff
you just can't do with a home VR setup.
It's stuff you can only experience
by stepping into a physical arena like this.
And it doesn't take long at all
for the unsubtle stuff to start happening.
Ghosts break through the walls and start attacking you,
and when they hit your body,
that heavy vest guarantees you feel it.
The haptic modules on the vest vibrate violently,
and it takes some getting used to.
First time it feels like someone's grabbing your sides
and jiggling your guts.
But it definitely motivates you to start
shooting the bad guys before they shoot you.
Other senses come into play too.
When the Stay Puft dude rips the side of the building off,
you feel the blast of breeze hit you in the face.
It's a really simple trick.
It's literally a floor fan
synced up with the simulation.
But in the moment, all you're thinking is,
that wall just came off, and the outside air came in.
And when you, of course, cross the streams
to blow up the Stay Puft guy,
your reward is a blast of air that's,
no joke, scented with marshmallow.
The Ghostbusters experience is a remarkable demonstration
of what's possible with virtual reality,
which left a big impression on me.
But the 10 minute session seemed to go by
in about five minutes,
which doesn't feel quite long enough,
given the ticket price.
Now, that said, I understand this is a very popular venue
and they needed to get lots of folks
in and out relatively quickly.
So, if you're visiting New York
and planning a trip to Madame Tussaud's anyway,
then this only represents a $20 rep charge.
And in that case, it's worth it,
especially if you're a newcomer to VR.
For me, the bigger takeaway is that
I'm now even more excited to try The Void proper
when the Utah center opens, date still TBD,
because I'm just dying for more hyper reality
that I can feel, touch, and smell.
For a different perspective on the same experience,
check out Russel's interview and article over at VR Heads
and subscribe to Mr. Mobile
so you don't miss that Utah trip when it happens.
Till next time.
Thanks for watching, and stay mobile, my friends.