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8 DAYSwhat they never taught you in schoolwhat they never taught you in school
Lessons we learnt from
travelling to the moon and
back (in time) with our pals —
in virtual reality.How to
escape
real li fe
You don’t have to be a gaming
guru to play. When an invite to head to
Virtual Room to try out Singapore’s — and
possibly, Asia’s — first group VR experience
flits into our inbox, we’re curious but slightly
apprehensive. We’re always up for an escape
room experience — old-skool puzzles, maps,
and clues? Bring it on! But waitaminute, is this
like a gamer’s thingamajig? When we arrive at
the sprawling Virtual Room tucked in the heart
of Chinatown (at 5,000 sq ft, it’s about the size
of five four-room flats) our team game master
assures us you don’t have to have to be into
VR or gaming to ace this. Phew. Developed over
the course of one year in Paris exclusively for
the Virtual Room franchise (13 outlets in Paris,
Geneva and Brussels), the game is designed to
be at a beginner’s level — easy enough for noobs
like our team of four to play (a more intermediate
level is in the works and will be ready by next
Feb). Sounds easier than Monopoly.This is as close as we’ll get to
becoming one of the X-Men.
Like a typical escape room, you play in teams
of two to four (four is optimum), and, together
with your teammates, solve puzzles to save
the world. Unlike a typical escape room game, each player
gets to use VR equipment worth about $5,000. It
may be a collaborative effort, but you’re actually
stationed alone in a 3m by 3m room, to prevent
any (real-life) accidents when you knock into
other teammates. “Is it going to be scary?”
one of our companions asks with trepidation.
Admittedly, getting holed up solo in a dark room
with nothing but four walls
for company does have the
makings of psychological
thriller. But you forget about
that once you put on the HTC Vive
headset. Once we’re plugged in,
we’re instantly teleported into a
highly immersive alternate reality:Oh para
para-dise: VR
like no one’s
watching.