Immersive Gamebox evaluation: An interactive recreation room that does not require a VR headset
Who needs virtual reality when kids like these are popping up all over the country.
The goal of Immersive Gamebox, a new and rapidly expanding live-action company, is to create a fully immersive gaming experience within the confines of a physical place, all without the use of a virtual reality headset.
Thanks to cutting-edge tech like projection mapping, 3D motion tracking, and touch displays, you can now play Angry Birds on a massive wall with nothing but your bare hands.
Or you can play a digital version of the game that became a Netflix hit despite its gruesome ending, Squid Game.
By collaborating with the like-minded Rovio Entertainment, the masterminds behind the smart phone hit Angry Birds, the brains behind the concept are progressively developing a library of recognisable names.
Even the animation studio Aardman has been merged so that you may play a Shaun the Sheep video game.
We visited the Lakeside retail centre in Essex, one of five Gamebox locations around the country, and had a blast on the site.
For a 30 minute session, prices start at just £10 for children and £15 for adults.
When you enter a Gamebox area, the first thing you do is put on a visor that tracks your head’s motion and identifies the type of gamer you are.
In this way, the electronic cameras and sensing equipment in your environment can track your specific location in real time and incorporate your movements into the game accordingly.
The walls can become interactive displays as they light up and fill with the action of a video game.
Like the popular smartphone game, the goal of Angry Birds is to smash the green pigs’ temporary homes by launching birds at them from slingshots on the game’s two side walls.
The thirty minutes fly by as you physically hurl slingshots at your targets in an effort to do as much damage as possible.
My two children loved the immersive experience of playing this game with the rest of the family; they were able to share in the fun and banter in a way that would have been impossible in a game played solely through a VR computer system headset.
The physical nature of the video games enhances the immersion, while the shared joy and direct eye contact between players creates a wonderful social connection.
In all honesty, it improves the experience.
We also gave the fast-paced Temple of Coins a try; this Pac Man-like game had us dodging ghosts, charging up our turbos, and collecting coins as a team as we made our way through an 8-bit temple.
There’s a fair amount of competition on this game since, when exiting the Gamebox, they tally up how many coins you each managed to collect, and no one wants to come in last.
The levels are progressively harder, as you’d expect from a game in the Spectrum style, and the tension rises as players compete for the highest possible score while still trying to help their team win.
It was a fantastic hour that proves that innovative ideas and a bit of forethought can lead to exciting new games designed for cooperative play rather than the solitary entertainment that has been the norm with today’s online-centric game consoles.
Whether you’re playing with your family or a group of friends/coworkers, there’s something special about sharing the same gaming experience with them.
There’s excitement, just like at a real game, and working together may make watching it at home even better.
The team at Immersive Gamebox has only scratched the surface with these box spaces, but as technology improves and tie-ins multiply, the opportunities to feel like you’re genuinely ‘in’ your favourite video game, film, or television series grow ever more vast.
This early technology was fantastic, and I can’t wait to watch how it evolves into something even more seamless in the future.
DECISION 4/5
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