Companies like InfinaDeck make the headlines in tech news from time to time, normally following the release of a shiny new machine that adds physical phenomena (such as haptics or walking) to existing VR experiences. This approach is great, and likely the direction that VR experiences are headed in the future, but mainly because users of the technology don't have existing infrastructure that can be adapted for VR.
But what if you do already have a £12 million set of actuators? The Galactica ride at Alton Towers is a virtual reality roller coaster, where riders traverse the 2,700ft track whilst wearing VR headsets. This results in a roller coaster that's unlike any other. The ride is themed as a spaceship flight which uses wormholes (totally not modelled as stargates) to visit several different planets millions of light years away.
I really enjoyed my trip on Galactica, but it did highlight some amusing problems that arise when you take the VR to the physical simulator, instead of the other way around. Samsung VR headsets, for instance, were not designed to offer the buttery smooth response times that are required when the headset itself (as opposed to the in-game camera) is moving at 75km/h. Similar problems arise with the headset straps, which struggle to keep the goggles in place when users hit 3.5g during the ride's loops and turns.
Still, these are necessary evils when fitting a roller coaster with VR, without designing an entirely new bespoke (and therefore hella expensive) system from scratch. But even with better technology in the headsets, the on-rails nature of the roller coaster really limits the type of experiences you can create with it.
What I would be interested to see done, is a VR coaster experience designed around fear. The singular most terrifying experience I've had in VR was when I hacked Mirror's Edge to use the Oculus Rift. During a mission I mistimed a jump and fell off the side of a skyscraper. On the way down, with the ground rushing up to meet me, and the wind whistling by my ears, I felt something akin to true fear. The whole concept of the roller coasters centres around this type of experience (and exploiting these kinds of fears), so here's to hoping that one day we get a ride that targets specific fears, like the fear of falling.
(as an aside, am I the only one who found it really weird having wind blowing in my face whilst I was ostensibly in space?)
