Introduction
VR or Virtual Reality has become a staple in the gaming industry. Virtual Reality headsets are devices that function as our gateway to this world. Virtual reality is an artificial world that is created via special programs and Devices such as the VR headset.
In a VR world, it is possible to create a complete 360-degree, panoramic view. Most importantly, you can interact with this world as you want. This presents a unique opportunity for gamers to experience a variety of new experiences.
However, can VR really assist or affect the Escape room and its developments?
Well, for starters, they do, and you can find Proof of it. Escape rooms are complex puzzles like a situation where immersion, puzzles, interactivity, and ambiance play a key role. However, physical rooms are bound by limitations, such as physics, resources, and interaction.
So, how does VR develop Escape rooms?
To understand the development of escape rooms through VR, we need to understand the development of VR. VR has slowly and steadily, over the past decade, taken control of gaming systems. Initially, what was considered revolutionary, slowly became a staple of the industry and technology.
VR Headsets
VR grew and started getting involved in areas other than gaming as well. From architecture and scientific research to escape rooms, VR headsets have been a gateway to our virtual world.
Oculus is a popular company owned by Meta (than Facebook) that has been involved in developing VR. VR has allowed gamers and various other people to experience a new world. This has been possible due to the VR headsets.
Benefits of VR technology
VR technology has allowed companies (Gaming) to create new environments for interacting. This has led to even more immersion since Virtual reality in itself is quite immersive. VR headsets work by creating a 3D world around your eyes. This world corresponds to the player’s movements.
A simple way to understand this is, imagine donning a VR headset. This allows you to immerse yourself in a virtual world. You hear it through your ears, and you can see it with your eyes. The difference, however, is that instead of moving your character to the left, while you stay stationary, you move left as well. VR headsets mimic the movements you make and allow you to play as the character in an improved first-person perspective.
That being said, some benefits of VR technology are given below:
1. Much more Flexible escape rooms
Using VR technology to develop escape rooms will help in creating an immersive escape room experience. But it will also help with flexible restructuring if it is ever needed. Physical rooms cannot be changed and shifted that easily. The costs alone are quite high for remodeling.
However, with VR headsets, you create a seamless experience. It is just a program change away from being something different.
2. New Business approach
One of the biggest issues with an escape room is the space you need to make one. You need a decent-sized room to be able to make a good escape room game. You need to add props, get lighting, sound effects, and much more.
However, with a VR escape room, you just need enough space for VR to operate and enough VR headsets. Not only does this cut a lot of costs that go into maintenance, but it is also an appealing business idea.
3. Goes beyond Imagination
You would not expect to see real missiles go off in a spy-themed escape room, would you? However, VR allows escape rooms to fulfill their potential and make escape rooms even more creative. Companies can create situations that they normally couldn’t, and people had to imagine those situations.
Not only that, VR escape rooms are just as immersive as real escape rooms. You get much better sound effects, better interaction, a 3D interactive world, and no distractions.
4. More Interactive
VR, apart from providing greater creative output, also allows for a greater interactive experience. The only thing that limits interaction is your own imagination. Whether you decide to play the role of a detective, adventurer, space marine, or dog, you are limited by your imagination.
VR headset allows players to move and interact with numerous objects in a more realistic and interesting manner. Games such as Half-life Alyx and Phasmophobia provide a good insight into how VR can allow greater interactivity.
5. Better Accessibility
Just like traditional games, VR escape rooms can be played from the comfort of our homes. This new feature allows people unable to access physical escape rooms to enjoy them. Escape room companies can easily work towards making and developing escape room games for VR especially. They can then sell or rent these to the player with VR.
Conclusion
VR can really develop escape rooms into a much more interesting industry. VR can in no way replace physical escape rooms. However, the aim should be a hybrid mechanism that brings the best of both worlds.
VR in itself is a developing field. It has not been perfected yet, and it will only improve as time goes on. Till then, we can only hope for greater involvement of VR in Escape room companies like Breakout escape rooms.
