Imagine you and 3 friends on a zombie apocalypse shooting adventure in a warehouse. Vertigo Games, the studio that brought us the mega-successful first-person zombie shooter VR game Arizona Sunshine, now has a separate venture called Vertigo Arcades. The large-scale, free-roaming, and location-based (LB) company acts as a VR arcade publisher for companies and arcades with room to host.
Arizona Sunshine’s newest multiplayer gaming setup has “been likened to bringing the classic ‘80s arcade experience into the new millenia”. I’m going to push this comparison further and relate it to laser tag with zombies and VR headsets for all the 90s kids or parents with kids out of the era who are reading this. This isn’t a stationary experience like your dad’s arcade, pinball cabinet, or console. It is a move around, interact and shoot, or get eaten in VR game.
Free Roaming
Businesses like Nomadic use Vertigo Arcade’s VR Arcade Suite games that are played with wireless headsets, haptic suits, tether-free computer backpacks, VR stock weapons, and interactive props to entertain their guests. Wearing interconnected technology that fully tracks the body makes the experience of spraying bullets into hordes of zombies more physically intense with free movement in a warehouse or large-scale setting of at least 20 feet by 20 feet.
Nomadic, a company that works with a team of experts from Disney, Electronic Arts, and Industrial Light and Magic, uses interactive physical props, set design and effects that make VR games and experiences physically immersive and therefore more believable than playing a game at home with controllers. The company is expected to roll out Arizona Sunshine this fall with all the bells and whistles that tactile VR is all about.
“Collaborating with Nomadic to bring a tactile location-based version to their locations nationwide is an awesome realization of the technology and game’s potential. The added layer of tactile interaction brings the world we worked so hard to build alive in a whole new way,” said Richard Stitselaar, Managing Director at Vertigo Games. “Nomadic’s commitment to bringing world-class VR experiences to consumers everywhere makes them the ideal partner in welcoming consumers into the next generation of entertainment.”
Take a look at Vertigo Games trailer for Arizona Sunshine LB VR…
Games
Ushering VR into the mainstream is a challenge that Vertigo Games is confident to jump into. “At time of launch, Vertigo Arcades’ titles account for approximately 20% of all VR arcade minutes played in Western markets.” The highly acclaimed and physically active games that made the cut are Arizona Sunshine, Space Pirate Trainer, and Island 359, with other game selections like Skyworld available to play.
These VR games have a good sized player base that would typically be playing these fitness games in single player at home. Launching Vertigo Arcades’s VR Arcade Suite at locations with space to walk, run, and fight in, is important. It’s a great solution for attracting groups of people who are likely bored waiting around on the sidelines watching others take on zombies, dinosaurs, and orbs solo.
Arizona Sunshine LB VR
The VR arcade publishing company will see their game Arizona Sunshine — LB VR Edition premiere in August 2018. The zombie shooter has all new and never before seen content that is sure to take teammates and professional zombie slayers who beat the original Arizona Sunshine by surprise.
Picture strategizing a zombie takeover with your closest pals outfitted with wireless headsets, tether-free backpacks, and fully armed with fake guns. VR compatible stock guns like Hyperkin Blasters, a Striker Gun, and the PP Gun not only make players feel like a zombie apocalypse warrior, the props add a layer of immersion that many VR and video game fans have never felt before.
Remember when we wished for more haptic feedback companies to become compatible with popular VR games? We got our wish! To turn the immersion and embodiment up on this riveting take on a zombie VR game, Hardlight Suit, the haptic feedback jacket company, has joined in on the action.
Imagine the feeling of zombies clawing at your back or the pressure of a bite on your arms. Our heart rate soars and our fight or flight response kicks into high gear. Either shoot at zombies, swing, duck, kneel, kill or be eaten! Hardlight’s suit adds an extra layer of physical sensation aside from running around in VR that at home VR lacks even with a vibrating hand-held VR controller and room scale.
If you want to feel what it’s like to experience VR at its highest potential or have an active fun day out with friends, family, or co-workers, check out Arizona Sunshine LB VR from Vertigo Arcades.
Where to Find Vertigo Arcades
Vertigo Arcades can be found in Rotterdam, Netherlands and in Los Angeles, California. You can find them on their website, Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and YouTube.