VR Playground
So I don't have a lot of experience with the brave new world technology of VR, although I'd imagine Thrill Laboratory have engineered the perfect way to experience it.
The playground aspect is rogue - you'll have the options of experiencing a metropolis inside a mono-wheel with The Rides, leaping tall structures with Shuttlecock, escaping the deep abyss with Jellyfish and strutting your stuff for highs and lows with Walker. The playground aspect actually comes in the form of a giant swing, which you take to once you've adorned your VR headset and headphones which immerse you completely into the VR world you've opted for, visually and physically. Looking through the options myself, Walker was described to me - by Gangster Granny at The Sainsbury's Centre - as the most hardcore experience. Which I obviously went for, because you can't pussyfoot around amazing experiences, so I took the biggest jump available to me. I really didn't think my very slight fear of heights would be an issue...I was wrong! The combination of some fantastic 360 degree visuals, sound design and swinging motion was amazing...allbeit a little scary at times. While flying through the the Walker experience, I caught myself thinking, "oh my god, I'm gonna fall" quite a few times.
The experience as a whole, was mesmerising, engulfing and thrilling. Sadly the only downside of the VR Playground is that there's a height restriction of about a metre, so there might be a few children and vertically challenged adults that will be disappointingly turned away from the attraction, for health and safety reasons. After you've taken part, your ticket also acts as a link to re-experience everything in the comfort of your own home. The downsides to this is that the loading time on a computer will remind you of dial-up loading time, and that re-experiencing isn't availed on mobile phones yet, so even though you'll kind of be able to share your experience with family and friends, it will never be the same or as amazing as the actual experience. You really just need to go and do it! It's free for all, so if you don't mind a little queueing you could quite easily take part in all of the experiences. I know I'll be going along again!
